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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 choosing its biasing conditions.
Zener breakdown is found to occur at electric field intensity of about 3 × 10 7 V/m. [1] Zener breakdown occurs in heavily doped junctions (p-type semiconductor moderately doped and n-type heavily doped), which produces a narrow depletion region. [2] The avalanche breakdown occurs in lightly doped junctions, which produce a wider depletion region.
Avalanche diodes (commonly encountered as high voltage Zener diodes) are constructed to break down at a uniform voltage and to avoid current crowding during breakdown. These diodes can indefinitely sustain a moderate level of current during breakdown. The voltage at which the breakdown occurs is called the breakdown voltage.
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 ...
The breakdown voltage of an insulator is the minimum voltage that causes a portion of an insulator to experience electrical breakdown and become electrically conductive. For diodes , the breakdown voltage is the minimum reverse voltage that makes the diode conduct appreciably in reverse.
The breakdown is due to internal field emission, since the junctions are thin, and the electric field is high. Zener-type breakdown is shot noise. The flicker ( ) noise corner can be below 10 Hz. [10] The noise generated by Zener diodes is a simple shot noise.
Zener diodes have a low breakdown voltage. A standard value for breakdown voltage is for instance 5.6 V. A standard value for breakdown voltage is for instance 5.6 V. This means that the voltage at the cathode cannot be more than about 5.6 V higher than the voltage at the anode (though there is a slight rise with current), because the diode ...
Avalanche diodes are optimized for avalanche effect, so they exhibit small but significant voltage drop under breakdown conditions, unlike Zener diodes that always maintain a voltage higher than breakdown. [dubious – discuss] This feature provides better surge protection than a simple Zener diode and acts more like a gas-discharge tube ...
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