PHY-BE -11 Zener Diode

Zener Diode
• A zener diode is a special type of device designed to operate in the zener
breakdown region.
• Zener diodes acts like normal p-n junction diodes under forward biased condition.
• When forward biased voltage is applied to the zener diode it allows  large amount
of electric current and blocks only a small amount of electric current.
• Zener diode is heavily doped than the normal p-n junction diode. Hence, it has
very thin depletion region.
• Therefore, zener diodes allow more electric current than the normal p-n junction
diodes.
• Zener diode allows electric current in forward direction like a normal diode but
also allows electric current in the reverse direction if the applied reverse voltage
is greater than the zener voltage.
• Zener diode is always connected in reverse direction because it is specifically
designed to work in reverse direction.
 Zener Diode
Reverse-biased heavily doped pn-junction diode which
operated in the breakdown region.
A zener diode is a p-n junction semiconductor device designed
to operate in the reverse breakdown region.
The breakdown voltage of a zener diode is carefully set by
controlling the doping level during manufacture.
 Junction Breakdown
• By increasing reverse bias
voltage, a point is reaches where
the junction breakdown and
reverse current rises sharply to a
value limited only by the
external resistance connected in
series with the junction.

• This breakdown voltage depends

on the width of the depletion
region, which depends upon
doping level.
 Types of Breakdown
in Zener Diode

• There are two types of reverse breakdown in

zener diode;

– Avalanche Breakdown
• It occurs in both rectifier diode and zener diode at a
sufficiently high reverse voltage.

– Zener Breakdown
• It occurs in a zener diode at low reverse voltages.
 Avalanche Breakdown
• It occurs in junctions which have wide depletion layers due to
light doping level.
• Minority carriers (accelerated by this field) collide with
semiconductor atoms in depletion region.
• On collision with valance electrons, covalent bonds are broken
and electron-hole pairs are generated.
• These newly-generated charge carriers also accelerated by
electric field resulting in more collisions and hence further
production of charge carriers.
• This leads to an avalanche (flood) of charge carriers.

• Note:- Junction have very low resistance in breakdown region.

 Zener Breakdown
• It occurs in junctions which have
narrow depletion layers due to
heavily doped.
• Breakdown voltage setup a very
strong electric field across this narrow
layer.
• This field rupture or break the
covalent bonds; thereby creating
electron-hole pairs.
• A slight further increase in reverse
voltage is capable of producing large
number of current carriers.

• Note:- Junction have very low

resistance in breakdown region.
 Zener Biasing
• Diode should be;
– Reverse Biased
– Have voltage across it greater than Vz
– Be in a circuit where current is less than Izmax

Note:- If a zener diode is forward-biased, it

operates in the same way as a rectifier diode does.
 V / I Characteristics
Vz = Zener breakdown voltage

Izmin = Minimum current to sustain zener

breakdown

Izmax = Maximum zener current limited by

maximum power dissipation

For an ideal zener diode, the voltage does

not change once it goes into breakdown.
It means that Vz remains constant even
when Iz increases considerably.
 V / I Characteristics
• As the reverse voltage (VR) is increased, the reverse
current (IR) remains extremely small upto the “knee” of
the curve.
• The reverse current is also called the zener current, IZ.
• At this point, the breakdown effect begins; the internal
zener resistance, also known as zener impedance (ZZ),
begins to decrease as the reverse current increase
rapidly.
• Note that from the bottom of the knee, the zener
breakdown voltage (VZ) remains nearly constant.
 Zener Impedance
A change in zener
current (ΔIZ) produces
a small change in zener
voltage (ΔVZ). This is
represented as zener
impedance (ZZ), as

ZZ = ΔVZ
ΔIZ