Zener Diode and Diode

Application
Zener Diode
A Special diode
Zener diode

 A special diode designed to work in the reverse

breakdown region.
 Unlike normal diode, zener diode will not get damaged
when operated in the reverse breakdown region.
 The I-V characteristic of Zener diode: 

At breakdown voltage, VZ:

 Diode current increases
extremely.
 Reverse voltage across the
diode remains contant (VZ)
Zener diode
The reverse breakdown region
Zener diode
The reverse breakdown region
minimum current required to maintain
voltage regulation

the maximum amount of current the

diode can handle without being
damaged.

the current level at which VZ is measured

Zener diode
General properties
 Invented by Clarence Zener  Heavily doped diode  Sharp breakdown voltage
called zener voltage, VZ

 Forward characteristics are

same as p-n diode
characteristics
 Thin depletion region

(1905 – 1993)
Zener diode
Symbol and packaging
 Circuit symbol

“Z” symbol at cathode

is a indication for
zener diode.

 Hardware packaging
Zener diode
Equivalent circuit
 Forward bias  Reverse bias  Breakdown
when reverse voltage below zener when reverse voltage above zener
voltage voltage, VZ

+
Vϒ Vreverse

Piecewise linear model

Ideal & Pratical

 Acts as closed switch.
 Acts as constant voltage
 Acts as open circuit. source
Zener diode
Equivalent circuit
BREAKDOWN REGION

Vϒ

REVERSE REGION FORWARD REGION

The simplest of Zener diode regulator networks appears in Fig. 2.1. The applied dc
voltage is fixed, as is the load resistor. The analysis can fundamentally be broken
down into
two steps.
1. Determine the state of the Zener diode by removing it from the network
and calculating the voltage across the resulting open circuit.
Applying step 1 to the network of Fig. 2.1 results in the network of Fig. 2.2 , where
an application of the voltage divider rule results in

Fig. 2.1

Fig. 2.2
2. Substitute the appropriate equivalent circuit and solve for the desired
unknowns.
For the network of Fig. 2.1 , the “on” state will result in the equivalent network of Fig. 2.3 .
Since voltages across parallel elements must be the same, we find that

Fig. 2.3
Example-1

a. For the Zener diode network of Fig. 2.2 , determine VL , VR , IZ , and

PZ .
b. Repeat part (a) with RL = 3 k.
To determine the minimum load resistance of Fig. 2.1 that will turn the Zener diode on,
simply calculate the value of R L that will result in a load voltage V L V Z . That is,

Any load resistance value greater than the R L obtained from the above Eq.
will ensure that the Zener diode is in the “on” state and the diode can be
replaced by its V Z source equivalent. The condition defined by the above
Eq. establishes the minimum R L , but in turn specifies the maximum I L as
resulting in a minimum IZ when IL is a maximum and a maximum IZ when IL is a
minimum value, since IR is constant.

Since IZ is limited to IZM as provided on the data sheet, it does affect the range of R
L and therefore IL . Substituting IZM for IZ establishes the minimum IL as
 Example-2
a. For the network of Fig. 2.3, determine the range of RL and IL that will result in VRL
being maintained at 10 V.
b. Determine the maximum wattage rating of the diode
For fixed values of RL in Fig. 2.1, the voltage Vi must be sufficiently large to turn the
Zener diode on. The minimum turn-on voltage Vi = Vimin is determined by
 Example-3
Determine the range of values of V i that will maintain the Zener diode of Fig.
2.4 in the “on” state.
the diode
resistance is
ignored as the
value is small
and not a useful
parameter
Example-4
Example-5
 Diode Application
Half-Wave Rectifier
Full-Wave Rectifier
 Half-Wave Rectifier
• Because of their ability to conduct current in one direction and block
current in the other direction, diodes are used in circuits called
rectifiers that convert ac voltage into dc voltage.
• Rectifiers are found in all dc power supplies that operate from an ac
voltage source.
• A power supply is an essential part of each electronic system from the
simplest to the most complex.
• The dc power supply converts the standard 120 V, 60 Hz ac voltage
available at wall outlets into a constant dc voltage.
Power Supply
Half-Wave Rectifier Operation
 Average Value of the Half-Wave Output Voltage

• The average value of the half-wave rectified output voltage is the value you
would measure on a dc voltmeter.
• Mathematically, it is determined by finding the area under the curve over a full
cycle, as illustrated in the below figure.

• This equation shows that VAVG is approximately 31.8% of Vp for a half-wave

rectified voltage
Effect of the Barrier Potential on the Half-Wave Rectifier Output

VI Note
• It is usually acceptable to use the ideal diode model, which neglects the effect
of the barrier potential, when the peak value of the applied voltage is much
greater than the barrier potential.
Quiz 3a
Quiz 3b
Half Wave Rectifier-Efficiency
 Full-Wave Rectifier
• Allows unidirectional (one-way) current through the load during the entire 360 of the
input cycle, whereas a half-wave rectifier allows current through the load only during
one-half of the cycle.
• The result of full-wave rectification is an output voltage with a frequency twice the
input frequency and that pulsates every half-cycle of the input, as shown in the
below Figure.
• The number of positive alternations that make up the full-wave
rectified voltage is twice that of the half-wave voltage for the same
time interval.
• The average value, which is the value measured on a dc voltmeter, for
a full-wave rectified sinusoidal voltage is twice that of the half-wave,
as shown in the following formula
Quiz 3a
Full-Wave Rectifier
Centre-Tapped Rectifier
Center Tapped Rectifier
Efficiency
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV)
Centre-Tapped (Quiz 3c)
 Quiz 3d
Determine the output waveform for the network of below Fig and
calculate the output dc level and the required PIV of each diode.
 Bridge Rectifier

The dc level obtained from a sinusoidal input can be improved 100%

using a process called full-wave rectification. The most familiar network
for performing such a function is the Bridge Rectifier, its four diodes in
a bridge configuration
Full-Wave Rectifier (Bridge Rectifier)
Full-Wave Rectifier (Bridge Rectifier)
Output Voltage
Quiz 3e
Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV)