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There is a hysteresis effect; once avalanche breakdown has occurred, the material will continue to conduct even if the voltage across it drops below the breakdown voltage. This is different from a Zener diode, which will stop conducting once the reverse voltage drops below the breakdown voltage.
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 ...
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 ...
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] Another mechanism that produces a similar effect is the avalanche effect as in the avalanche diode. [2]
The effect is process dependent, but it can be minimized. Diodes may also be selected for low multistate noise. [10] A commercial example of an avalanche diode noise generator is the Agilent 346C that covers 10 MHz to 26.5 GHz. [11] Electronics portal
Avalanche diodes These are diodes that conduct in the reverse direction when the reverse bias voltage exceeds the breakdown voltage. These are electrically very similar to Zener diodes (and are often mistakenly called Zener diodes), but break down by a different mechanism: the avalanche effect. This occurs when the reverse electric field ...
The effect can be minimized. Motchenbacher & Fitchen (1973, pp. 291–292) describe a noise source using a Zener diode (also suitable for an avalanche diode). Some commercial microwave noise generators use avalanche diodes to create a large excess noise figure that can be turned off and on.
Severely overloaded Zener diodes in reverse bias shorting. A sufficiently high voltage causes avalanche breakdown of the Zener junction; that and a large current being passed through the diode causes extreme localised heating, melting the junction and metallisation and forming a silicon-aluminium alloy that shorts the terminals.
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