EEVblog #908 - Zener Diodes

Fundamentals Friday.
A tutorial on Zener Diodes.
Avalanche breakdown, zener breakdown, zener effect, knee voltage, power dissipation, differences from regular diodes, calculating dropper resistor value, voltage regulation, clipping, clamping, transient surge overvoltage protection, characteristic curve, forward and reverse characteristics.

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[SauvikRoy]

I'm just a hobbyist, but I have deep love for electronics. Videos like these also keep us amateur students interested in the subject.
Thank you for taking the time to make it. I loved it. I'm going to binge watch all the fundamental videos in the series!

[barryanderson]

Dave ... I just retired from the industry a year ago after 52 years. I've been watching your video blogs for months and must say that you do the very best job explaining concepts in a very entertaining manner than any other I've found. GREAT JOB !! I have seen in the comments trolls troubleshooting your videos. Don't let them bother you. You have something really good going on here.

[cliveradvan]

Working 35 years in the professional electronics industry and i never considered the iconic shape of the zener symbol. We are never too old to learn something new! Thanks Dave :)

[bobwhite]

Well, that made me feel old - in college days, before they stopped students from sneaking into the faculty dining room, I sat at the table next to Clarence Zener. Woo Hoo - brush with greatness!

[arongooch]

I like these sort of videos the most Dave. Very educational. More of this would be great.

[jakbain]

Fundamental Fridays has to be the best segment on the EEVBLOG.

[TH-nfeo]

You have to respect a guy who’s so enthusiastic about explaining things.

[applsaucemcgee]

i wish i had watched these videos in school. i'm working now and these are great for building the intuition i should have built as an EE graduate (instead of getting bogged down with math).... i'm learning way more here than i did in my 2 semesters of analog electronics courses.

[ΝικολαοςΚαλογνώμας]

I do not know if you will ever read this, but i want you to know that your videos helped me a great deal through my exams and I can't express how gratefull I am. I am 27 yold from Greece studying for my 2nd Class Marine Enginneering Certificate after a long time away from the profession due to health problems and I've been through a lot lately. So many setbacks i can't even begin with. Your videos where helpfull and cheered me up while in a really bad place. As a mechanical engineer my electronics knowledge was limited to the stuff i learned at school and it has been a very long time in marine engine rooms's noise and heat since the last time i studied about electronics, so your style of explaining helped me fill many of my knowledge gaps in and pass my exams. I will never forget your help. I will also try to donate a little something as I am in a realy bad place right now... I wish i could do more. May you always have good health and keep up the good job. I wish you the best with the new lab .You have my everlasting gratitude and respect.

[aaronleavy]

Love your work Dave. I’m currently studying an AD in electrical and electronics engineering and your videos are much easier to understand than any of the material provided by the university.

[MrEkg]

Man I wish I could hang out with you for a week. This stuff comes so naturally to you. I am learning so much and I have been working with electronics for 20 years.

[tyaprak]

You are fifty times better than my instructor, Dave. You should record these kind of videos more often. Thank you.

[borisdorofeev]

You are a very good teacher. Funny at the right times, light but full of info that's easy to digest, and you have a pleasant voice.
I think the way things are taught, especially how they are said, plays a big role in students being capable of absorbing the concepts.

[lavague]

Man congrats. I was googling in order to understand but without lack. The real secret of zener diode is actually its dynamic resistant that explains exactly how it regulates the voltage. Thanks so much for educating us.

[NorthernKitty]

Thank you!! I was aware of the basic properties of the Zener diode, and didn't understand why people avoided them as a solution for voltage regulation, and your tutorial helped me to understand why.

[nickguy]

Audiophile reasons for using Zener diodes: 1) Input protection (clamping) to avoid damaging or latching op-amps or ADCs down the chain. 2) As a peak limiter (high ratio dynamics compression) to limit the signal level -- e.g., to control the clipping point before ADCs (which may sound even worse than analog clipping when overdriven) or to protect speakers from over-excursion (typically for high-power PA stuff.) 3) Intentional distortion (as in effects pedals.)

[poruatokin]

From a beginner, thank you very much, that answered my questions perfectly on using a zener diode as clamping protection.

[PeterMilanovski]

These are the videos that made EEVBLOG what it has become. Well this and test equipment reviews... This video hasn't aged one bit after all these years and I can see this being the standard for many years to come...

[RavenLuni]

Interesting. Now I know why my DIY EPROM programmer wasnt working (very tight voltage requirements and I was using zeners with no knowlege of the internal resistance etc).
These videos are absolute gold dust. Thankyou for taking the time to make them.

[ForViewingOnly]

Thanks Dave, I always appreciate the fundamentals videos. They might never bring in the number of views that the mailbag or teardown videos do but they will be on YouTube for many many years to come (hopefully), helping out future newbies and also rusty oldies like me that need reminding.