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A Zener diode is a special type of diode designed to reliably allow current to flow "backwards" (inverted polarity) when a certain set reverse voltage, known as the Zener voltage, is reached. Zener diodes are manufactured with a great variety of Zener voltages and some are even variable.
Zener diode based noise source. A noise generator is a circuit that produces electrical noise (i.e., a random signal). Noise generators are used to test signals for measuring noise figure, frequency response, and other parameters. Noise generators are also used for generating random numbers. [1]
In the Zener diode, the concept of PIV is not applicable. A Zener diode contains a heavily doped p–n junction allowing electrons to tunnel from the valence band of the p-type material to the conduction band of the n-type material, such that the reverse voltage is "clamped" to a known value (called the Zener voltage), and avalanche does not ...
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. It occurs in a reverse biased p-n diode when the electric field enables tunneling of electrons from the valence to the conduction band of a semiconductor , leading to numerous ...
Since the forward voltage of a diode is small, this kind of voltage regulator is only suitable for low voltage regulated output. When higher voltage output is needed, a zener diode or series of zener diodes may be employed. Zener diode regulators make use of the zener diode's fixed reverse voltage, which can be quite large.
Zener diodes are also frequently used to provide a reference voltage of moderate stability and accuracy, useful for many electronic devices. An avalanche diode displays a similar stable voltage over a range of current. The most stable diodes of this type are made by temperature-compensating a Zener diode by placing it in series with a forward ...
Electrically, these devices resemble Zener diodes, with the following major differences: They rely on gas ionization, rather than Zener breakdown; The unregulated supply voltage must be 15–20% above the nominal output voltage to ensure that the discharge starts; The output can be higher than nominal if the current through the tube is too low.
In addition, failure of a single component can result in unacceptably high voltages at the output. For instance, if the Zener diode in the circuit shown should fail open, there will result a gradually-rising voltage at the output, eventually reaching the input (AC) voltage. [4] Capacitive power supplies typically have a low power factor.