Whilst flicking through an old user manual for a Toshiba Tosdic 215D single loop controller I found this gem.

The user manual suggests that when interfacing inductive loads to the Tosdic 215D’s digital outputs, the user must implement sparkle eliminating diodes.

My Japanese language skills are relatively poor so I’m not sure if sparkle eliminating diode is a literal translation or a mistake from the original Japanese user manual.

Personally I like sparkle eliminating diode as it is visually descriptive. A much better explanation than the traditional freewheeling or flyback diode.