Basic Electronics and Electrical Engineering: Chapter 1: Basic Electronics
Diode Breakdown
As the reverse‒bias voltage increases, the depletion layer widens and the barrier voltage raises.
DIODE
BREAKDOWN
As the reverse‒bias
voltage increases, the depletion layer widens and the barrier voltage raises.
This later effect causes the diffusion current to decrease eventually it will
be reduced to almost zero. As the process leading to the widening of the
depletion layer continues until a sufficiently high junction voltage develops,
when a new mechanism is set to supply the charge carriers needed to support the
large current (I). The two possible breakdown mechanisms are the zener
mechanism and the avalanche mechanism.
1. Avalanche effect
As discussed earlier on
PN‒ junction the avalanche breakdown occurs, when the accelerated three
electrons acquire sufficient energy to ionize a lattice atom by bombardment. The
additional free electrons created in this way are accelerated by the reverse
field causing more and more ionization. The multiplication of the number of
free electrons causes the reverse current to increase rapidly.
2. Zener effect
The zener breakdown
mechanism is fundamentally different from avalanche breakdown. Zener breakdown
occurs when the electric field in the deflection layer increases to the point
where it can break covalent bonds and generate electron‒hole pairs. The
electrons generated way will be swept by the electric field into N‒side and
holes into P‒sides. Thus, these electrons and holes constitute reverse current
across the junction that helps to supports the external current. In terms of an
energy band structure, in this breakdown process an electron makes a transition
from the valance band to the conduction band without the interaction of any
other particle. Once the Zener effect starts a large number of carriers can be
generated negligible increase in the junction voltage. In fact the zener
process is quantum tunnelling. However, later on the breakdown in junction
which may result from avalanche multiplication or tunneling was in general
called Zener breakdown.
The maximum reverse
bias potential that can be applied before entering the zener region is called
the peak inverse voltage or peak reverse voltage.
Basic Electronics and Electrical Engineering: Chapter 1: Basic Electronics : Tag: Basic Engineering : - Diode Breakdown
Basic Electronics and Electrical Engineering: Chapter 1: Basic Electronics
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