Hey friends welcome to the YouTube
channel ALL ABOUT ELECTRONICS. In the
previous video we have seen that how the
PN Junction diode can be operated in the
forward as well as the reverse bias
condition. And we have seen that in the
forward bias condition when the applied
voltage is more than this threshold
voltage or the Barrier potential of this
PN Junction diode, then the current
starts flowing from the P side through
the N side. On the other end in the
reverse bias condition there is a hardly
any flow of current from P side to the N
side. But a small amount of reverse
saturation current flows from the N side
to the P side. And we had seen that this
current flows due to the minority charge
carriers. And then we had seen that even
if we increase this reverse bias voltage
then also there is a hardly any change
in this reverse saturation current. But
there is a maximum limit on the voltage
which can be applied in this reverse
bias condition, and if we apply this
voltage beyond this limit then the
suddenly lot of current starts flowing
in this reverse direction. So this region
of operation of the diode is known as
the breakdown region of operation and
the effect due to which it occurs is
known as the Avalanche effect. So let us
understand what exactly happens in this
effect and why suddenly current shoots up
after this breakdown voltage. now
we know that in the reverse bias
condition the current which we are
getting is due to the minority charge
carriers. so in the reverse bias as we
increase the applied reverse voltage, the
width of the depletion region will
increase and due to that the immobile
ions in this depletion region will also
increase. So because of the increase in
this immobile ions, the electric field in
the depletion region will become
stronger. And due to this stronger electric
field now the minority charge carriers
which are in the vicinity to this
depletion region will get accelerated.
And now they can move more quickly
through this depletion region and while
moving
this free charge carriers can collide
with this silicon atoms. But once the
applied voltage reaches the breakdown
voltage then the kinetic energy which is
gained by this charge carrier will be
such that they can knock off the bound
or the valence electron of this silicon
atoms. so if we see the same thing at the
crystal level then the accelerated
electron may collide with the silicon
atom and when it has enough kinetic
energy then it can knock out a bound
charge or the valence charge of this
atom. so after the collision instead of
one electron now we have a two free
electrons. And under influence of the
electric field, now these two electrons
can collide with the two more atoms and
they can knock out the two more
electrons. Similarly now these four
electrons will again collide with the
four more atoms and they can knock out
the four more electrons. So due to this
collision the number of free charge
carriers in the depletion region will
increase drastically. And due to the
increase in this charge carrier, we will
see a sudden jump in the reverse
saturation current. so this effect is
known as the Avalanche breakdown effect
and the voltage after which it occurs is
known as the breakdown voltage. so, so far
as we have seen this Avalanche breakdown
effect is caused by the impact
ionization, meaning that the high-energy
charged particle can knock out the bound
electrons from the silicon atom and in
this way it creates the electron hole
pair. so for the normal diode this region
of operation should be avoided because
when the applied voltage is more than
this breakdown voltage then the diode
starts conducting in the reverse
direction also. Moreover that if there is
no current limiting resistor in series
with this diode then due to the very
large current or very high power
dissipation this diode may get damaged.
so for the normal diode this region of
operation should be avoided but there
are some diodes which are mean to be
used in this breakdown region, and this
diode is known as the Zener diode. But in
the Zener diode in the breakdown
mechanism is different
from the Avalanche effect and this
breakdown mechanism is known as the
Zener breakdown effect. So now let us
understand what exactly happens in this
Zener breakdown effect. so unlike the
normal diode the p and n-type regions of
the Zener diodes are heavily doped,
meaning that the number of impurity
atoms in this p and n region will be
more and due to that the number of free
charge carriers in both regions will be
more. so here instead of denoting these
two regions by p and n, here these two
regions are denoted by the symbol P plus
and n plus. so basically it represents
that these two regions are heavily doped
so now due to this heavy doping the
width of the depletion region will be
much narrower compared to the normal
diode, because now when the electron
diffuses from n side to the P side then
it will get recombined very much near to
the junction itself. And moreover that
due to this heavy doping this small
depletion region will now have a more
number of immobile ions compared to the
normal diode. So due to this now the
built-in electric field inside this
depletion region will be much stronger
and when this diode is reverse bias then
the external electric field will also
get added with this built-in electric
field. And due to that now the electric
field in this depletion region will
become very strong. And at one particular
voltage it will become so strong that it
can knock out the bound electrons of
this silicon atom. So due to this very
strong electric field many charge
carriers are generated and due to the
very narrow depletion region they can
tunnel through it and they can reach the
other side of the depletion region. So in
this way due to the very high electric
field, many charge carriers are
generated in this depletion region and
suddenly a lot of current starts flowing
in the reverse direction. so this effect
is known as the Zener breakdown effect.
And the voltage at which this Zener
effect starts is known as the Zener
voltage. But the Zener effect is seen at
the lower breakdown voltages. Now from the graph if you
observe even if we increase the applied
voltage beyond the Zener voltage then
the voltage across the diode will almost
remains constant. And only the current
through the diode will increase. so
because of this property the Zener diode
is used as a voltage regulator in many
applications. And the commercially
available Zener diodes can have a Zener
voltage from two volt to even two
hundred of volts. But for the Zener
diodes whose breakdown voltage is less
than four volt the Zener effect is
predominant. On the other end for the
Zener diodes where the breakdown voltage
is more than six volt the Avalanche
effect is predominant. And for the
breakdown voltages between this four
volt and six volt, both effects are
usually seen. But irrespective of the
bread down mechanism all the diodes
which are used as a voltage regulator
are categorized as Zener diode. so now
before ending this video let us also see
the effect of temperature on this two
breakdown mechanisms. So for the diodes
where the Zener breakdown effect is
predominant the temperature coefficient
of breakdown voltage is negative, meaning
that as the temperature increases the
breakdown voltage will reduce. On the
other end in case of a diodes where the
Avalanche effect is the predominant,
the temperature coefficient of breakdown
voltage is positive, meaning that as the
temperature increases the breakdown
voltage will increase. so now let us also
see the reason behind these two effects.
so in case of a Zener effect the
additional charge carriers are generated
due to the strong electric field. But as
the temperature increases the more and
more number of electron hole pair will
get generated. so due to that now we
require a less electric field to
generate this additional charge carriers
or in other words we can say that the
required breakdown voltage will reduce.
on the other end in case of a Avalanche
breakdown effect, the additional charge
carriers are generated due to the impact
ionization. Or in other words we can say
that it is generated due to the
collision of the charge carrier with the
silicon atoms. so as the temperature
increases the silicon
starts vibrating and due to this
vibration the mean free path of the
collision will reduce. or we can say that
the time required between the two
collision will reduce. so due to that now
the electrons will not be able to gain
the sufficient kinetic energy and due to
that now they will require a more
electric field. Or in other words we can
say that they require the more external
voltage. so we can say that in case of a
Avalanche Breakdown effect as the
temperature increases the breakdown
voltage will also increase. so this is
all about the Avalanche and the zener
breakdown effect and in summary here is
a list of a differences between the Avalanche
and the Zener breakdown effect. so I hope
in this video you understood the two
types of breakdown mechanism which is
commonly seen in the PN Junction diode.
so if you have any question or
suggestion do let me know here in the
comment section below. if you like this
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