9/24/2020 4:48

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Electronic Circuits (18NPC304)

Assignment 2 part – 2

Zener Diode
Question and Answers:

1.) What is Zener diode?

Zener diode is a specially designed PN junction diode. A reverse biased heavily doped PN
junction diode. A reverse biased heavily doped PN junction diode which is operated in the
breakdown region is known as Zener diode. It is also called as voltage regulator diode or
breakdown diode.

2.) What is a principal characteristic of the Zener diode?

 Current flow in both the direction
 In reverse bias voltage remains constant with increase in current at a particular
voltage

3.) What is a Zener voltage?

The voltage at where the Zener diode breaks down is called the Zener voltage.

4.) What is a Zener breakdown?

When a diode is heavily doped, their depletion region will become very narrow. At that time
by applying a high reverse voltage across the junction, there will be a strong electric field is
created. There electron-hole generation takes place that’s why heavy current will flow. This
is known as a Zener breakdown.

5.) While increasing a Zener regulator dc input, what happens for the series current, load
current and Zener current?
Zener current and series current will increase but load current always remains constant.

6.) What cause Zener diode to fail in working?

In many cases of the Zener diode will fail due to the excess power dissipation across it. Each
one has a rated power dissipation by a manufacturer when the power dissipation is more
than the rated power then it fails. Power dissipation is nothing but the product of the
voltage drops across the Zener and their current flow through it.

7.) How does the behaviour of a Zener diode differ substantially from that of a normal
(rectifying) diode?
Zener diodes break down at substantially lower reverse voltages than rectifying diodes, and
their breakdown voltages are predictable.

8.) How to control the breakdown voltage of the Zener diode?

The breakdown voltage of the Zener diode can be controlled either by adding impurities or
by increasing the doping level.
9.) How the Zener diode work as a voltage regulator?
Zener diode is especially made to have a reverse breakdown voltage, even its characteristics
are much similar to the common diodes. In a breakdown voltage across the Zener diode is
close to constant over a wide range of currents that’s why it works as a shunt voltage
regulator.

10.)Write some applications of the Zener diode.

Zener diode is used as,
 Voltage regulator
 Stabilizer
 Wave shaper
 Meter protector