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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.
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 ...
The Shockley diode equation relates the diode current of a p-n junction diode to the diode voltage .This relationship is the diode I-V characteristic: = (), where is the saturation current or scale current of the diode (the magnitude of the current that flows for negative in excess of a few , typically 10 −12 A).
English: Diode I-V diagram. Includes three main areas of operation: breakdown, reverse-biased, and forward-biased. Vbr denotes the breakdown voltage, and Vd denotes the voltage that is typically considered "on" (conducting current).
A diode's high resistance to current flowing in the reverse direction suddenly drops to a low resistance when the reverse voltage across the diode reaches a value called the breakdown voltage. This effect is used to regulate voltage ( Zener diodes ) or to protect circuits from high voltage surges ( avalanche diodes ).
For two-terminal devices (such as diodes and DIACs), this is sufficient to fully characterize the device. The curve tracer can display all of the interesting parameters such as the diode's forward voltage, reverse leakage current, reverse breakdown voltage, and so on. For triggerable devices such as DIACs, the forward and reverse trigger ...
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 well suited 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. [2]
In semiconductor diodes, peak reverse voltage or peak inverse voltage is the maximum voltage that a diode can withstand in the reverse direction without breaking down or avalanching. [2] [3] If this voltage is exceeded the diode may be destroyed. Diodes must have a peak inverse voltage rating that is higher than the maximum voltage that will be ...