Zener Diode Working

High-level impurities are added to a Zener diode to make it more conductive and thus the Zener diodes can easily conduct electricity compared to other p-n junction diodes. These impurities reduce the depletion layer of the Zener diode and make it very thin. Thus, this diode also works even if the voltage applied is very small.

In no biassing condition of the Zener diode, all the electrons accumulate in the valence band of the p-type semiconductor material and thus no current flow occurs through the diode.

In reverse bias conditions, if the Zener voltage is equal to the supplied voltage, the diode conducts electricity in the direction of reverse bias. When the Zener voltage equals the supplied voltage the depletion layer vanishes completely.

Zener Diode

Zener Diode is one of the most important semiconductor diodes used in our daily life. It is a specific diode that works in reverse bias conditions. It allows current to flow from anode to cathode and it also works in the reverse direction. Let’s learn about Zener Diodes their function, and their construction, in detail in this article.

Similar Reads

Zener Diode

A heavily doped p-n junction diode that works in reverse bias conditions is called a Zener Diode. They are special semiconductor devices that allow the current to flow in both forward and backward directions. For the Zener diode, the voltage drop across the diode is always constant irrespective of the applied voltage. Thus, Zener diodes are used as a voltage regulator....

History of Zener Diodes

A theoretical physicist working at Bell Labs was the first man to describe the electrical properties of Zener Diode. His name was Clarence Melvin Zener, he was the first to tell about this special diode that works on reverse bias conditions so the diode is named after him Zener Diode. He first postulated the breakdown effect in a paper published in 1934....

Zener Diode Explanation

Zener diode that is also known as a breakdown diode is a heavily doped semiconductor device that has been specially designed to operate in the reverse direction. When the potential reaches the Zener voltage which is also known as Knee voltage and the voltage across the terminal of the Zener diode is reversed, at that point time, the junction breaks down and the current starts flowing in the reverse direction. This effect is known as the Zener effect....

Zener Diode Circuit Diagram

The figure given below is the circuit diagram of the Zener diode. The Zener diode has applications in various electronic devices and it works in reverse biasing conditions. In reverse biasing, the P-type material of the diode is connected with the negative terminal of the power supply, and the n-type material is connected with the positive terminal of the power supply. The diode consists of a very thin depletion region as it is made up of heavily doped semiconductor material....

Zener Diode Working

High-level impurities are added to a Zener diode to make it more conductive and thus the Zener diodes can easily conduct electricity compared to other p-n junction diodes. These impurities reduce the depletion layer of the Zener diode and make it very thin. Thus, this diode also works even if the voltage applied is very small....

Zener Diode Working in Reverse Biased

In forward-biased conditions, the Zener Diode works like any normal diode but in the reverse-bias condition, a small leak current flows through the diode. As we keep increasing the reverse voltage it reaches a point where the reverse voltage equals the breakdown voltage. The breakdown voltage is represented as Vz and in this condition the current start flowing in the diode. After the breakdown voltage the current increase drastically unit it reaches a stable value....

Avalanche Breakdown vs Zener Breakdown

There is a clear difference between Avalanche Breakdown and Zener Breakdown which can easily be understood by the table discussed below,...

VI Characteristics of Zener Diode

The graph given underneath shows the V-I characteristics of the Zener diode....

Applications of  Zener Diode

Zener diode is a very useful diode. Due to its ability to allow current to flow in reverse bias conditions, it is used widely for various purposes. Some of the common uses of Zener Diode are discussed below,...

Zener Diode Specifications

Zener Diode is one other most commonly used diode and some of the specifications of Zener diode are,...

FAQs on Zener Diode

Question 1: What is a Zener diode?...