Zener
/ˈziːnə
/(in full Zener diode)
noun Electronics
A form of semiconductor diode in which at a critical reverse voltage a large reverse current can flow.When a MOS channel is formed by forward biasing the gate, a Zener tunnel current evolves with a steep turn-on characteristic....
- It gets its juice from a Zener diode that conducts in the reverse direction when it reaches its breakdown voltage of 5.1 volts.
- The experimenter had not brought with him the ‘translations’ of the numeric codes into the different Zener symbols.
Origin
1950s: named after Clarence M. Zener (1905–93), American physicist.