I just want to say without people like you sharing what you know is a gift thank you.

This is a great series. Thanks a million! Zeners are one of those things that I kinda thought I understood, but wondered if I really did. Now I really do.

thank you fro your time and teachings

Thank you for your time keep the vid's coming.

I'm loving this series! What you did with fitting the tangent line to the printout of the curve and calculating the slope is awesome! I tutor high school kids in math and science and I totally would point them to this video if they ask me what the point of learning this rise/run and tangent line business is anyway! It also got me thinking of an alternate world where Tek continued developing these great curve tracers and added a tangent line cursor feature so you could fit the line by tweaking some knobs and then read off the slope directly from the display (similar to the cursors features on some of the 2200 and 2400 series CRT scopes)

Actually, DV=R DI + I DR; but we usually model the device by DR=0. As current through the device varies (DI), the voltage across the device also varies. For a reasonably wide range of variations, DV = R DI or V = Vz + R (I - Iz)

The resistances in reverse conduction get lower with increasing reverse current, and the lower that impedance is, the "stiffer" the voltage reference is, so you use the data sheet values to make sure your circuit provides enough reverse current to make the reference "stiff" enough for your application. And if I use an op-amp or a transistor to buffer the output of the zener, that adds additional stiffness to the reference. Did I get that right? And you can’t go too far down the reverse current slope or you’ll blow up the zener. the horns of the dilemma.

That curve tracer is neat. I would love to see a comparison between a Zener diode and a MOV with similar threshold voltages on it. I know the differences between them, but seeing it on the curve tracer may provide a better understanding.

Ahhhhh, you've always been one of my KZfaq heroes! I cannot remember your possessing the Tek 576 though. New item on the bench? Anyway, nice treatise on zeners and will be a great reference for many. Thank you.

Thank you for your clear and detailed explanations. I like your use of the datasheets combined with practical applications and visualizations on the test equipment. Very thorough and very helpful! Waiting for parts 4 and 5.

love the vids

Sneaking in some calculus, very tricky of you!

You could read the ohms as the impedance the zener has at that current, if you try to draw extra current off it. e.g at ~1.9k ohm impedance, if you attached another 10k load to it, that would form a decent voltage divider and pull down the voltage. However at 19 ohms, a 10k ohm load would hardly make any difference to the source voltage; the 'voltage divider effect' would be tiny.

so cool!so good!

your videos are so cool

Good content, thank you. Can you also talk about the tunnel diode sometime? I understand it has a negative resistance, what are the applications of this component and what does a typical circuit look like?

Nice

cool

Are there any qualitative differences between parts listed as Zener diodes and parts listed as unidirectional TVS diodes?

some people catch a fish with electric ...................... Sir no crossbow