Breakdown

in Diode (Zener and avalanche)

The diodes designed to work in breakdown region are called zener diode. If the reverse voltage
exceeds the breakdown voltage, the zener diode will normally not be destroyed as long as the
current does not exceed maximum value and the device closes not over load.

When a thermally generated carrier (part of the reverse saturation current) falls down the
junction and acquires energy of the applied potential, the carrier collides with crystal ions and
imparts sufficient energy to disrupt a covalent bond. In addition to the original carrier, a new
electron-hole pair is generated. This pair may pick up sufficient energy from the applied field to
collide with another crystal ion and create still another electron-hole pair. This action continues
and thereby disrupts the covalent bonds. The process is referred to as impact ionization,
avalanche multiplication or avalanche breakdown.

There is a second mechanism that disrupts the covalent bonds. The use of a sufficiently strong
electric field at the junction (the energy bands become crossed at relatively low voltages
i.e., the n-side conduction band appears opposite the p-side valence band) can cause a
direct rupture of the bond. If the electric field exerts a strong force on a bound electron, the
electron can be torn from the covalent bond thus causing the number of electron-hole pair
combinations to multiply. This mechanism is called high field emission (field ionization) or
Zener breakdown. The value of reverse voltage at which this occurs is controlled by the amount
of doping of the diode. A heavily doped diode has a low Zener breakdown voltage, while a
lightly doped diode has a high Zener breakdown voltage.

At voltages above approximately 8V, the predominant mechanism is the avalanche breakdown.
Since the Zener effect (avalanche) occurs at a predictable point, the diode can be used as a
voltage reference. The reverse voltage at which the avalanche occurs is called the breakdown
or Zener voltage.

A typical Zener diode characteristic is shown in fig. 1. The circuit symbol for the Zener diode is
different from that of a regular diode, and is illustrated in the figure. The maximum reverse
current, IZ(max), which the Zener diode can withstand is dependent on the design and
construction of the diode. A design guideline that the minimum Zener current, where the
characteristic curve remains at VZ (near the knee of the curve), is 0.1/ IZ(max).

Fig. 1 - Zener diode characteristic

The power handling capacity of these diodes is better. The power dissipation of a zener diode
equals the product of its voltage and current.

PZ= VZ IZ
The amount of power which the zener diode can withstand ( VZ.IZ(max) ) is a limiting factor in
power supply design.

Zener Regulator:

When zener diode is forward biased it works as a diode and drop across it is 0.7 V. When it
works in breakdown region the voltage across it is constant (VZ) and the current through diode
is decided by the external resistance. Thus, zener diode can be used as a voltage regulator in
the configuration shown in fig. 2 for regulating the dc voltage. It maintains the output voltage
constant even through the current through it changes.

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

The load line of the circuit is given by Vs= Is Rs + Vz. The load line is plotted along with zener
characteristic in fig. 3. The intersection point of the load line and the zener characteristic gives
the output voltage and zener current.

To operate the zener in breakdown region Vs should always be greater then Vz. Rs is used to
limit the current. If the Vs voltage changes, operating point also changes simultaneously but
voltage across zener is almost constant. The first approximation of zener diode is a voltage
source of Vz magnitude and second approximation includes the resistance also. The two
approximate equivalent circuits are shown in fig. 4.

If second approximation of zener diode is considered, the output voltage varies slightly as
shown in fig. 5. The zener ON state resistance produces more I * R drop as the current
increases. As the voltage varies form V1 to V2 the operating point shifts from Q1 to Q2.

The voltage at Q1 is

V1 = I1 RZ +VZ

and at Q2
V2 = I2 RZ +VZ

Thus, change in voltage is

V2 – V1 = ( I2 – I1 ) RZ

Δ VZ =Δ IZ RZ

Design of Zener regulator circuit:

A zenere regulator circuit is shown in fig. 6. The varying load current is represented by a
variable load resistance RL.

The zener will work in the breakdown

region only if the Thevenin voltage across
zener is more than VZ .

If zener is operating in breakdown region,

the current through RS is given by

Fig. 6

and load current

Is= Iz + IL

The circuit is designed such that the diode always operates in the breakdown region and the
voltage VZ across it remains fairly constant even though the current IZ through it vary
considerably.

If the load IL should increase, the current IZ should decrease by the same percentage in order to
maintain load current constant Is. This keeps the voltage drop across Rs constant and hence the
output voltage.

If the input voltage should increase, the zener diode passes a larger current, that extra voltage
is dropped across the resistance Rs. If input voltage falls, the current IZ falls such that VZ is
constant.

In the practical application the source voltage, vs, varies and the load current also varies. The
design challenge is to choose a value of Rswhich permits the diode to maintain a relatively
constant output voltage, even when the input source voltage varies and the load current also
varies.

We now analyze the circuit to determine the proper choice of Rs. For the circuit shown in figure,

(E-1)

(E-2)
The variable quantities in Equation (E-2) are vZ and iL. In order to assure that the diode remains
in the constant voltage (breakdown) region, we examine the two extremes of input/output
conditions, as follows:

• The current through the diode, iZ, is a minimum (IZ min) when the load current, iL is
maximum (IL max) and the source voltage, vs is minimum (Vs min).
• The current through the diode, iZ, is a maximum (IZ max) when the load current, iL,
is minmum (iL min) and the source voltage vsis minimum(Vs max).

When these characteristics of the two extremes are inserted into Equation (E-1),

we find (E-3)

(E-4)

In a practical problem, we know the range of input voltages, the range of output load currents,
and the desired Zener voltage. Equation (E-4) thus represents one equation in two unknowns,
the maximum and minimum Zener current. A second equation is found from the characteristic
of zener. To avoid the non-constant portion of the characteristic curve, we use an accepted rule
of thumb that the minimum Zener current should be 0.1 times the maximum (i.e., 10%), that is,

(E-5)

Solving the equations E-4 and E-5, we get,

(E-6)

Now that we can solve for the maximum Zener current, the value of Rs, is calculated from
Equation (E-3).

Zener diodes are manufactured with breakdown voltages VZ in the range of a few volts to a few
hundred volts. The manufacturer specifies the maximum power the diode can dissipate. For
example, a 1W, 10 V zener can operate safely at currents up to 100mA.