5.

ZENER DIODE CHARACTERISTICS AND ITS

APPLICATION - VOLTAGE REGULATOR

Zener Diode :
A Zener Diode, also known as a breakdown diode, is a heavily doped semiconductor device
that is designed to operate in the reverse direction. When the voltage across the terminals of a
Zener diode is reversed and the potential reaches the Zener Voltage (knee voltage), the
junction breaks down and the current flows in the reverse direction. This effect is known as
the Zener Effect.
A Zener diode operates just like a normal diode when it is forward-biased. However, when
connected in reverse biased mode, a small leakage current flows through the diode. As the
reverse voltage increases to the predetermined breakdown voltage (Vz), current starts
flowing through the diode. The current increases to a maximum, which is determined by the
series resistor, after which it stabilizes and remains constant over a wide range of applied
voltage.
There are two types of breakdowns for a Zener Diode:
● Avalanche Breakdown
● Zener Breakdown

Avalanche Breakdown in Zener Diode:

Avalanche breakdown occurs both in normal diodes and Zener diodes at high reverse
voltage. When a high value of reverse voltage is applied to the PN junction, the free electrons
gain sufficient energy and accelerate at high velocities. These free electrons moving at high
velocity collide other atoms and knock off more electrons. Due to this continuous collision, a
large number of free electrons are generated as a result of electric current in the diode rapidly
increasing. This sudden increase in electric current may permanently destroy the normal
diode, however, a Zener diode is designed to operate under avalanche breakdown and can
sustain the sudden spike of current. Avalanche breakdown occurs in Zener diodes with Zener
voltage (Vz) greater than 6V.

Zener Breakdown in Zener Diode:

When the applied reverse bias voltage reaches closer to the Zener voltage, the electric field in
the depletion region gets strong enough to pull electrons from their valence band. The
valence electrons that gain sufficient energy from the strong electric field of the depletion
region break free from the parent atom. At the Zener breakdown region, a small increase in
the voltage results in the rapid increase of the electric current.
Avalanche Breakdown vs Zener Breakdown
● The Zener effect is dominant in voltages up to 5.6 volts and the avalanche effect takes
over above that.
● They are both similar effects, the difference being that the Zener effect is a quantum
phenomenon and the avalanche effect is the movement of electrons in the valence
band like in any electric current.
● Avalanche effect also allows a larger current through the diode than what a Zener
breakdown would allow.

Reverse Characteristics of Zener Diode:

When a reverse voltage is applied to a Zener voltage, initially a small reverse
saturation current Io flows across the diode. This current is due to thermally generated
minority carriers. As the reverse voltage is increased, at a certain value of reverse voltage,
the reverse current increases drastically and sharply. This is an indication that the breakdown
has occurred. We call this voltage breakdown voltage of Zener voltage and it is denoted by
Vz.
Zener Diode Specifications:
Some commonly used specifications for Zener diodes are as follows:
● Zener/Breakdown Voltage – The Zener or the reverse breakdown voltage ranges
from 2.4 V to 200 V, sometimes it can go up to 1 kV while the maximum for the
surface-mounted device is 47 V.
● Current Iz (max) – It is the maximum current at the rated Zener Voltage (Vz –
200μA to 200 A)
● Current Iz (min) – It is the minimum value of current required for the diode to break
down.
● Power Rating – It denotes the maximum power the Zener diode can dissipate. It is
given by the product of the voltage of the diode and the current flowing through it.
● Temperature Stability – Diodes around 5 V have the best stability
● Voltage Tolerance – It is typically ±5%
● Zener Resistance (Rz) – It is the resistance to the Zener diode exhibits.

Application of zener diode:

Zener diodes are used for

● voltage regulation
● as reference elements
● surge suppressors
● in switching applications
● clipper circuits.
ZENER DIODE AS VOLTAGE REGULATOR:

Line regulation:

Line regulation is the ability of the power supply to maintain its specified output voltage over
changes in the input line voltage. It is expressed as percent of change in the output voltage
relative to the change in the input line voltage.

Load Regulation:

Load regulation is the ability of the power supply to maintain its specified output voltage
given changes in the load. This does not mean the tolerance applies when there are sudden
changes in load, it means over the permissible load range the regulation can change by this
amount.

load regulation can be given by,

also,
AIM:
To Study and Plot the V-I characteristics of Zener diode and the line and load regulation
characteristics of Zener diode Voltage Regulator.

APPARATUS REQUIRED:

Apparatus Name Range Quantity

Zener diode SZ 5.6 1
Resistors 75Ω 1
25Ω 1
Ammeter (0-250)mA 1
(0-100)mA 1
Voltmeter (0-10)V 1
Rheostat 2.2KΩ,1.1A 1
Power Supply 10V DC 1
Bread Board 1

DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS FOR SZ 5.6:

FORMULAE:
1. Rs(min) = [ Vi(max) - Vz ] / [ IZ(max) + IL(min) ]
2. From V-I characteristics
Zener Dynamic Resistance ZR = dV / dI in Ω
3. From Line Regulation Characteristics
Stability Factor = dV0 / dVin
4. From Load Regulation Characteristics
Output Resistance of the regulator R0= dV0 / dIL in Ω
% Load Regulation = [(VNL – VFL) / VNL] x 100

PROCEDURE:
1. Make the connections as shown in the Figure 1 (A) circuit diagram.
2. Vary the 2.2 kΩ Rheostat position and note down the corresponding voltage and current
values.
3. Make the connections for the voltage regulator as shown in the Figure 1 (B) circuit
diagram.
4. For Load regulation, set the input voltage as 10 V and note down the output currents and
output voltages by varying load resistance RL (0 to 2.2 kΩ).
5. Repeat the same procedure for setting input voltage as 8V and plot the Load Regulation
curves.
6. For Line regulation, set RL = 1kΩ and note down the output voltages for different input
voltages.
7. Repeat the same procedure for RL = 2kΩ and plot the line regulation curves.
Fig 1. (A) Circuit Diagram for Zener Diode Characteristics
Fig 2. (B) Characteristics of Zener Diode
TABULAR COLUMN FOR V-I CHARACTERISTICS:

Voltage (Volts) Current (mA)

0 0
-1 0
-1.6 -0.0000099
-2.19 -0.000001
-2.79 -0.0000028
-3.38 -0.0000223
-3.8 -0.000224
-4.24 -0.001524
-4.33 -0.00239
-4.47 -0.00469
-4.541 -0.006422
-4.695 -0.013356
-4.816 -0.023027
-5.079 -0.065617
Fig 3.(C) Circuit Diagram for Line Regulation and Load Regulation
LINE REGULATION (RL=1kohm):

LINE REGULATION (RL=2k ohm):

TABULAR COLUMN FOR LINE REGULATION:

LINE REGULATION
IL (mA) V in (volts) V out (volts)
0 0 0
0.585 0.6 0.599
1.171 1.8 1.8
2.341 2.4 2.4
3.512 3 3
4.683 4.2 4.2
5.686 4.8 4.8
5.753 5.4 5.4
5.775 6 5.704
5.777 6.6 5.74
5.784 7.2 5.757
5.787 7.8 5.768
5.79 8.4 5.776
5.796 9.6 5.789
5.799 10.2 5.794
5.801 11.4 5.801
5.805 12 5.805

LINE REGULATION
IL (mA) V in (volts) V out (volts)
0 0 0
0.585 0.6 0.599
1.171 1.2 1.2
2.341 2.4 2.4
3.512 3 3
4.683 3.6 3.6
5.686 4.2 4.2
5.753 4.8 4.8
5.775 5.4 5.4
5.777 6 5.704
5.784 6.6 5.74
5.787 7.2 5.757
5.79 8.4 5.776
5.796 9 5.783
5.799 10.2 5.794
5.801 10.8 5.798
5.805 11.4 5.801
12 5.805
LOAD REGULATION (Vin = 8V):

LOAD REGULATION (Vin = 10V):

TABULAR COLUMN FOR LOAD REGULATION:

LOAD REGULATION
V in (volts) IL (mA) V out (volts)
5.791 5.791
6.096 5.791
6.434 5.791
6.813 5.791
7.721 5.79
8.272 5.79
8.908 5.79
9.65 5.79
10.527 5.79
10V 11.579 5.79
12.865 5.789
14.473 5.789
16.539 5.789
19.293 5.788
23.149 5.787
28.929 5.786
38.557 5.784

LOAD REGULATION
V in (volts) IL (mA) V out (volts)
5.769 5.769
6.072 5.769
6.41 5.769
6.786 5.768
7.21 5.768
8.24 5.768
8.873 5.768
9.612 5.767
8V 10.485 5.767
11.533 5.767
12.813 5.766
14.413 5.765
16.47 5.764
19.211 5.763
23.046 5.761
28.792 5.758
38.353 5.748
CONCLUSION:

Thus V-I characteristics of zener diode and the line and load regulation characteristics of zener
diode as voltage regulator are studied and verified.