What is a Zener diode?
A Zener Diode, also known as a breakdown diode, is a heavily doped semiconductor device that is designed to operate in the reverse direction. When the voltage across the terminals of a Zener diode is reversed and the potential reaches the Zener Voltage (knee voltage), the junction breaks down and the current flows in the reverse direction.
What is avalanche breakdown in Zener diode?
Avalanche breakdown occurs in Zener diodes with Zener voltage (Vz) greater than 6V. Zener Breakdown in Zener Diode When the applied reverse bias voltage reaches closer to the Zener voltage, the electric field in the depletion region gets strong enough to pull electrons from their valence band.
What is the VZ value of a diode?
Voltage Vz: The Zener voltage or reverse voltage specification of the diode is often designated by the letters Vz. Voltages are available over a wide range of values, normally following the E12 and E24 ranges, although not all diodes are bound by this convention.
What happens when a Zener diode reaches Revere breakdown voltage?
Once the revere breakdown voltage is reached, the voltage remains relatively constant regardless of the current flowing through the diode. When looking at the specification sheet for a Zener diode there are several parameters that will be included.
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What is Zener/breakdown voltage (Vz)?
We call this voltage breakdown voltage or Zener voltage and it is denoted by Vz. Some commonly used specifications for Zener diodes are as follows: Zener/Breakdown Voltage – The Zener or the reverse breakdown voltage ranges from 2.4 V to 200 V, sometimes it can go up to 1 kV while the maximum for the surface-mounted device is 47 V.
What happens to current when voltage is increased in Zener?
When we increase the voltage through Zener in reverse bias mode, first current increases uniformly with it but after it reaches the breakdown state, the current increases massively for a very small or negligible change in voltage. The change is sharper in Zener than the normal diode.