Aramadhan

A Zener diode allows current to flow from its anode to its cathode like a normal semiconductor diode, but it also permits current to flow in the reverse direction when its "Zener voltage" is reached. Zener diodes have a highly doped p-n junction. Normal diodes will also break down with a reverse voltage but the voltage and sharpness of the knee are not as well defined as for a Zener diode. Also normal diodes are not designed to operate in the breakdown region, but Zener diodes can reliably operate in this region.

The device was named after Clarence Melvin Zener, who discovered the Zener effect. Zener reverse breakdown is due to electron quantum tunnelling caused by a high strength electric field. However, many diodes described as "Zener" diodes rely instead on avalanche breakdown. Both breakdown types are used in Zener diodes with the Zener effect predominating under 5.6 V and avalanche breakdown above.

Zener diodes are widely used in electronic equipment of all kinds and are one of the basic building blocks of electronic circuits. They are used to generate low power stabilized supply rails from a higher voltage and to provide reference voltages for circuits, especially stabilized power supplies. They are also used to protect circuits from over-voltage, especially electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Operation

A conventional solid-state diode allows significant current if it is reverse-biased above its reverse breakdown voltage. When the reverse bias breakdown voltage is exceeded, a conventional diode is subject to high current due to avalanche breakdown. Unless this current is limited by circuitry, the diode may be permanently damaged due to overheating. A Zener diode exhibits almost the same properties, except the device is specially designed so as to have a reduced breakdown voltage, the so-called Zener voltage. By contrast with the conventional device, a reverse-biased Zener diode exhibits a controlled breakdown and allows the current to keep the voltage across the Zener diode close to the Zener breakdown voltage. For example, a diode with a Zener breakdown voltage of 3.2 V exhibits a voltage drop of very nearly 3.2 V across a wide range of reverse currents. The Zener diode is therefore ideal for applications such as the generation of a reference voltage (e.g. for an amplifier stage), or as a voltage stabilizer for low-current applications.[1]

Another mechanism that produces a similar effect is the avalanche effect as in the avalanche diode.[1] The two types of diode are in fact constructed the same way and both effects are present in diodes of this type. In silicon diodes up to about 5.6 volts, the Zener effect is the predominant effect and shows a marked negative temperature coefficient. Above 5.6 volts, the avalanche effect becomes predominant and exhibits a positive temperature coefficient.[2]

In a 5.6 V diode, the two effects occur together, and their temperature coefficients nearly cancel each other out, thus the 5.6 V diode is useful in temperature-critical applications. An alternative, which is used for voltage references that need to be highly stable over long periods of time, is to use a Zener diode with a temperature coefficient (TC) of +2 mV/°C (breakdown voltage 6.2–6.3 V) connected in series with a forward-biased silicon diode (or a transistor B-E junction) manufactured on the same chip.[3] The forward-biased diode has a temperature coefficient of −2 mV/°C, causing the TCs to cancel out.

Modern manufacturing techniques have produced devices with voltages lower than 5.6 V with negligible temperature coefficients,[citation needed] but as higher-voltage devices are encountered, the temperature coefficient rises dramatically. A 75 V diode has 10 times the coefficient of a 12 V diode.

Zener and avalanche diodes, regardless of breakdown voltage, are usually marketed under the umbrella term of "Zener diode".

Under 5.6 V, where the Zener effect dominates, the IV curve near breakdown is much more rounded, which calls for more care in targeting its biasing conditions. The IV curve for Zeners above 5.6 V (being dominated by Avalanche), is much sharper at breakdown.

Waveform clipper

Two Zener diodes facing each other in series will act to clip both halves of an input signal. Waveform clippers can be used to not only reshape a signal, but also to prevent voltage spikes from affecting circuits that are connected to the power supply.[4]

Voltage shifter

A Zener diode can be applied to a circuit with a resistor to act as a voltage shifter. This circuit lowers the output voltage by a quantity that is equal to the Zener diode's breakdown voltage.

Voltage regulator

A Zener diode can be applied in a voltage regulator circuit to regulate the voltage applied to a load, such as in a linear regulator.