The Zener Diode（齐纳二极管/稳压管）

Ordinary silicon diodes block any current through them when they are reverse biased, and are damaged when the reverse voltage is too high. Therefore, these diodes are never intentionally operated in the breakdown region.

Zener diodes, however, are different. They are specially designed to operate in the breakdown region without failure. For this reason, Zener diodes are sometimes referred to as breakdown diodes.

Zener diodes are the backbone of voltage regulators, and circuits that keep the load voltage almost constant despite large changes in line voltage and load resistance.

The following figures show the schematic symbols of a zener diode. In either symbol, the lines resemble a “Z“, which stands for “Zener“.

[!NOTE]

普通硅二极管在反向偏置时会阻止任何电流通过，当反向电压过高时会损坏。因此，这些二极管绝不会特意在击穿区工作。

然而，稳压二极管（后简称为稳压管）则有所不同。它们专门设计用于在击穿区域无故障运行。因此，稳压管有时被称为击穿二极管。

稳压管是稳压器和电路的支柱，尽管线路电压和负载电阻发生很大变化，但仍能保持负载电压几乎恒定。

下图为稳压管的原理图符号。在任何一个符号中，线条都类似于“Z”，代表“齐纳”。

Zener Diode Working（稳压管工作原理）

A zener diode can operate in any of three regions: forward, leakage, and breakdown. Let’s understand this through the I-V graph of a zener diode.

[!NOTE]

稳压管可以在三个区域中的任意一个区域工作：正向、反向和击穿。让我们通过稳压管的伏安特性曲线来理解这一点。

Forward Bias Region（正向偏置区）

When forward-biased, Zener diodes behave much the same as ordinary silicon diodes and start conducting at around 0.7V.

[!NOTE]

正向偏置时，稳压管的特性与普通硅二极管相似，都在 0.7V 左右开始导通。

Leakage Region（反向配置区）

The leakage region exists between zero current and breakdown.

In the leakage region, a small reverse current flows through the diode. This reverse current is caused by the thermally produced minority carriers.

[!NOTE]

反向配置区位于零电流和击穿区之间。

在反向配置区，稳压管中流过微小的反向电流。该反向电流是由热能产生的少数载流子引起的。

Breakdown Region（击穿区）

If you continue increasing the reverse voltage, you will eventually reach the so-called Zener voltage $V_Z$ of the diode.

At this point, a process called Avalanche Breakdown occurs in the semiconductor depletion layer and the diode starts conducting heavily in the reverse direction.

[!NOTE]

如果继续增加反向电压，最终将达到稳压管所谓的齐纳电压 $V_Z$。

此时，半导体耗尽层中会发生一种称为雪崩击穿的过程，并且稳压管开始在相反方向上导通大量电流。

You can see from the graph that the breakdown has a very sharp knee, followed by an almost vertical increase in current. Note that the voltage across the zener diode is almost constant and approximately equal to $V_Z$ over most of the breakdown region.

The graph also shows the maximum reverse current $I_Z$(Max). As long as the reverse current is less than $I_Z$(Max), the diode operates within its safe range. If the current exceeds $I_Z$​(Max), the diode will be destroyed.

[!NOTE]

从图中可以看出，击穿有一个非常陡峭的拐点，随后电流几乎垂直增加。请注意，稳压管两端的电压几乎恒定，在大部分击穿区域内约等于 $V_Z$。

该图还反应最大反向电流 $I_Z$(Max)。只要反向电流小于 $I_Z$(Max)，二极管就会在其安全范围内工作。如果电流超过 $I_Z$(Max)，稳压管就会损坏。

Zener Voltage Regulator（齐纳稳压器）

The Zener diode maintains a constant output voltage in the breakdown region, even though the current through it varies. This is an important feature of the zener diode, which can be used in voltage regulator applications. Therefore a zener diode is sometimes called a Voltage-regulator diode.

For example, the output of half-wave, full-wave or bridge rectifiers consists of ripples superimposed on a DC voltage. By connecting a simple zener diode across the output of the rectifier, we can obtain a more stable DC output voltage.

The following figure shows a simple zener voltage regulator (also known as a zener regulator).

[!NOTE]

即使通过稳压管的电流发生变化，也能在击穿区域保持恒定的输出电压。这是稳压管的一个重要特性，可应用于电压调节器。因此，齐纳二极管有时被称为稳压二极管。（翻译了一句废话。。。）

例如，半波、全波或桥式整流器的输出包含了叠加在直流电压上的纹波。通过在整流器的输出端连接一个简单的稳压管，我们可以获得更稳定的直流输出电压。

下图为一个简单的齐纳稳压器（也称为齐纳调节器）。

To operate the zener diode in its breakdown condition, the zener diode is reverse biased by connecting its cathode to the positive terminal of the input supply.

A series (current-limiting) resistor $R_S$ is connected in series with the zener diode so that the current flowing through the diode is less than its maximum current rating. Otherwise, the zener diode will burn out, like any device because of too much power dissipation.

The voltage source $V_S$ is connected across the combination. Also, to keep the diode in its breakdown condition, the source voltage $V_S$ must be greater than the zener breakdown voltage $V_Z$.

The stabilized output voltage $V_{out}$​ is taken from across the zener diode.

[!NOTE]

为了使稳压管在击穿条件下工作，通过将稳压管的阴极连接到输入电源的正极端子来对稳压管进行反向偏置。

串联（限流）电阻 $R_S$ 与稳压管串联，以便流过二极管的电流小于其最大额定电流。否则，稳压管会像任何设备一样因功耗过大而烧坏。

电压源 $V_S$ 连接在该组合上。此外，为了使稳压管保持在击穿状态，源电压 $V_S$ 必须大于齐纳击穿电压 $V_Z$。

稳定的输出电压 $V_{out}$ 取自稳压管的两端。

Breakdown Operation（击穿动作）

To test whether the zener diode is operating in the breakdown region, we need to calculate how much Thevenin voltage the diode is facing.

Thevenin voltage is the voltage that exists when the zener diode is disconnected from the circuit.

[!NOTE]

要测试稳压管是否工作在击穿区，我们需要计算稳压管产生的等效电压¹。

等效电压是稳压管与电路断开时存在的电压。

Because of the voltage divider, we can write:

[!NOTE]

根据分压原理，可得：

$$V_{TH}=\frac{R_L}{(R_S+R_L)}{V}_S$$

When this voltage exceeds the zener voltage, breakdown occurs.

[!NOTE]

当该电压超过齐纳电压时，就会发生击穿。

Series Current（串联电流）

The voltage across the series resistor equals the difference between the source voltage and the zener voltage. Therefore, according to the Ohm’s law, the current through the series resistor is:

[!NOTE]

串联电阻两端的电压等于电源电压与齐纳电压之差。因此，根据欧姆定律，流过串联电阻的电流为：

$$I_S=\frac{V_S-V_Z}{R_S}$$

The series current remains the same whether or not there is a load resistor. Meaning, even if you disconnect the load resistor, the current through the series resistor will be equal to the voltage across the resistor divided by the resistance.

[!NOTE]

无论是否有负载电阻，串联电流都保持不变。也就是说，即使断开负载电阻，流过串联电阻的电流也等于电阻两端的电压除以电阻。

Load Voltage and Load Current（负载电压和负载电流）

Because the load resistor is in parallel with the zener diode, the load voltage is the same as the Zener voltage.

[!NOTE]

由于负载电阻与稳压管并联，因此负载电压与齐纳电压相同。

$$V_L=V_Z$$

Using the Ohm’s law, we can calculate the load current:

[!NOTE]

利用欧姆定律，我们可以计算出负载电流：

$$\begin{gathered} I_L=\frac{V_L}{R_L} \\ {I}_L=\frac{V_Z}{R_L} \end{gathered}$$

Zener Current（齐纳电流）

The zener diode and the load resistor are in parallel. The total current is equal to the sum of their currents, which is the same as the current through the series resistor.

[!NOTE]

稳压管与负载电阻并联，总电流等于二者电流之和，与流过串联电阻的电流相同。

$$I_S=I_Z+I_L$$

This tells us that, the zener current equals the series current minus the load current.

[!NOTE]

这表明，齐纳电流等于串联电流减去负载电流。

$$I_Z=I_S-I_L$$

Common Zener Diode Voltages（常见稳压管电压）

Zener diodes are manufactured in standard voltage ratings listed in Table below. The table lists common voltages for 0.3W and 1.3W parts.

[!NOTE]

稳压管按照下表所列的标准电压额定值制造。该表列出了 0.3W 和 1.3W 部件的常用电压。

Common voltages for 0.3W
2.7V	3.0V	3.3V	3.6V	3.9V	4.3V	4.7V
5.1V	5.6V	6.2V	6.8V	7.5V	8.2V	9.1V
10V	11V	12V	13V	15V	16V	18V
20V	24V	27V	30V

Common voltages for 1.3W
4.7V	5.1V	5.6V	6.2V	6.8V	7.5V	8.2V
9.1V	10V	11V	12V	13V	15V	16V
18V	20V	22V	24V	27V	30V	33V
36V	39V	43V	47V	51V	56V	62V
68V	75V	100V	200V

[!NOTE]

The wattage corresponds to the power that the diode can dissipate without damage.

瓦数对应稳压管在不损坏的情况下可以消耗的功率。

Zener Applications（稳压管的应用）

So far we have seen how Zener diodes can be used to regulate a continuous DC source. Apart from that, Zener diodes are also used in different applications. Here are some of them.

[!NOTE]

到目前为止，我们已经了解了稳压管是如何用于调节连续直流电源的。除此之外，稳压管还用于不同的应用场合。以下是其中一些应用场合。

Preregulator（预调节器）

The basic idea behind Preregulator is to provide a well-regulated input to the zener regulator so that the final output is extremely well regulated.

Below is an example of a preregulator (the first zener diode) driving a zener regulator (the second zener diode).

[!NOTE]

预调节器的基本思想是为稳压器提供调节良好的输入，以便最终输出得到极好的调节。

以下是预调节器（第一个稳压管）驱动稳压器（第二个稳压管）的示例。

Waveshaping（波形整形）

In most applications, zener diodes remain in the breakdown region. But there are exceptions such as waveshaping circuits.

[!NOTE]

在大多数应用中，稳压管处于击穿区。但也有例外，例如波形整形电路。

In above waveshaping circuit, two zener diodes are connected back-to-back to generate a square wave. This circuit is also jokingly called “The poor man’s square wave generator“.

On the positive half-cycle, the upper diode Z1 conducts and the lower diode Z2 breaks down. Therefore, the output is clipped.

On the negative half-cycle, the action is reversed. The lower diode Z2 conducts, and the upper diode Z1 breaks down. In this way the output is approximately a square wave.

The clipping level equals the zener voltage (broken-down diode) plus 0.7V (forward-biased diode).

[!NOTE]

在上述波形整形电路中，两个稳压管对向连接以产生方波。该电路也被戏称为“穷人的方波发生器”。

在正半周，上二极管 Z1 导通，下二极管 Z2 击穿。因此，输出被削波。

在负半周，动作相反。下二极管 Z2 导通，上二极管 Z1 击穿。这样，输出近似为方波。

削波电平等于齐纳电压（击穿二极管）加上 0.7V（正向偏置二极管）。

Producing Nonstandard Output Voltages（产生非标准输出电压）

By combining zener diodes with ordinary silicon diodes, we can produce several nonstandard DC output voltages like this:

[!NOTE]

通过将稳压管与普通硅二极管组合，我们可以产生几个非标准直流输出电压，如下所示：

Driving a Relay（驱动继电器）

As you may know that connecting a 6V relay to a 12V system can cause damage to the relay. You need to drop some of the voltage. Below figure shows one way to accomplish this.

[!NOTE]

你可能知道，将 6V 继电器连接到 12V 系统可能会损坏继电器。你需要降低部分电压。下图完成了此操作的一种方法。

In this circuit, 5.6V zener diode is connected in series with the relay so that only 6.4V appears across the relay, which is within the tolerance of the relay’s voltage rating.

[!NOTE]

在此电路中，5.6V 稳压管与继电器串联，因此继电器两端仅出现 6.4V 电压，这在继电器额定电压的容差范围内。

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1. 直译应该是戴维南电压，也叫等效电压，详情可以参考《戴维南定理》。 ↩︎