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The backward diode has the unusual property that the so-called reverse bias direction actually has more current flow than the so-called forward bias. The forward I–V characteristic is the same as that of an ordinary P–N diode. The breakdown starts when reverse voltage is applied. In the case of Zener breakdown, it starts at a particular ...
English: Band diagram of a backward diode. Energy of an electron is on the vertical axis, position in the device is on the horizontal axis. The backward diode has the unusual property that the so-called reverse bias direction actually has more current flow than the so-called forward bias.
Under zero- or reverse-bias (the "off" state), a PIN diode has a low capacitance. The low capacitance will not pass much of an RF signal. Under a forward bias of 1 mA (the "on" state), a typical PIN diode will have an RF resistance of about 1 ohm, making it a good conductor of RF. Consequently, the PIN diode makes a good RF switch.
The I-V curve for a diode showing avalanche and Zener breakdown.. In electronics, the Zener effect (employed most notably in the appropriately named Zener diode) is a type of electrical breakdown, discovered by Clarence Melvin Zener.
In electronics, an avalanche diode is a diode (made from silicon or other semiconductor) that is designed to experience avalanche breakdown at a specified reverse bias voltage. The junction of an avalanche diode is designed to prevent current concentration and resulting hot spots, so that the diode is undamaged by the breakdown.
A normally-bound electron (e.g., in a bond) in a reverse-biased diode may break loose due to a thermal fluctuation or excitation, creating a mobile electron-hole pair . If there is a voltage gradient (electric field) in the semiconductor, then the electron will move towards the positive voltage while the hole will move towards the negative voltage.
Diode I-V diagram. Breakdown voltage is a parameter of a diode that defines the largest reverse voltage that can be applied without causing an exponential increase in the leakage current in the diode. Exceeding the breakdown voltage of a diode, per se, is not destructive; although, exceeding its current capacity will be.
These can be made to conduct in reverse bias (backward), and are correctly termed reverse breakdown diodes. This effect called Zener breakdown, occurs at a precisely defined voltage, allowing the diode to be used as a precision voltage reference. The term Zener diodes is colloquially applied to several types of breakdown diodes, but strictly ...