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ZENER DIODE

A Zener diode is a type of diode that permits current in the forward direction like a
normal diode, but also in the reverse direction if the voltage is larger than the breakdown
voltage known as "Zener knee voltage" or "Zener voltage". The device was named after
Clarence Zener, who discovered this electrical property.

A conventional solid-state diode will not allow significant current if it is reverse-biased


below its reverse breakdown voltage. When the reverse bias breakdown voltage is
exceeded, a conventional diode is subject to high current due to avalanche breakdown.
Unless this current is limited by external circuitry, the diode will be permanently
damaged. In case of large forward bias (current in the direction of the arrow), the diode
exhibits a voltage drop due to its junction built-in voltage and internal resistance. The
amount of the voltage drop depends on the semiconductor material and the doping
concentrations.

A Zener diode exhibits almost the same properties, except the device is specially
designed so as to have a greatly reduced breakdown voltage, the so-called Zener voltage.
A Zener diode contains a heavily doped p-n junction allowing electrons to tunnel from
the valence band of the p-type material to the conduction band of the n-type material. In
the atomic scale, this tunneling corresponds to the transport of valence band electrons
into the empty conduction band states; as a result of the reduced barrier between these
bands and high electric fields that are induced due to the relatively high levels of dopings
on both sides. A reverse-biased Zener diode will exhibit a controlled breakdown and
allow the current to keep the voltage across the Zener diode at the Zener voltage. For
example, a diode with a Zener breakdown voltage of 3.2 V will exhibit a voltage drop of
3.2 V if reverse bias voltage applied across it is more than its Zener voltage. However,
the current is not unlimited, so the Zener diode is typically used to generate a reference
voltage for an amplifier stage, or as a voltage stabilizer for low-current applications.
The breakdown voltage can be controlled quite accurately in the doping process. While
tolerances within 0.05% are available, the most widely used tolerances are 5% and 10%.

Another mechanism that produces a similar effect is the avalanche effect as in the
avalanche diode. The two types of diode are in fact constructed the same way and both
effects are present in diodes of this type. In silicon diodes up to about 5.6 volts, the Zener
effect is the predominant effect and shows a marked negative temperature coefficient.
Above 5.6 volts, the avalanche effect becomes predominant and exhibits a positive
temperature coefficient.

TC depending on zener voltage

In a 5.6 V diode, the two effects occur together and their temperature coefficients neatly
cancel each other out, thus the 5.6 V diode is the component of choice in temperature-
critical applications.

Modern manufacturing techniques have produced devices with voltages lower than 5.6 V
with negligible temperature coefficients, but as higher voltage devices are encountered,
the temperature coefficient rises dramatically. A 75 V diode has 10 times the coefficient
of a 12 V diode.

All such diodes, regardless of breakdown voltage, are usually marketed under the
umbrella term of "Zener diode".

Uses

Zener diode shown with typical packages. Reverse current − iZ is shown.


Zener diodes are widely used as voltage references and as shunt regulators to regulate the
voltage across small circuits. When connected in parallel with a variable voltage source
so that it is reverse biased, a Zener diode conducts when the voltage reaches the diode's
reverse breakdown voltage.

POT RESISTOR:

The humble potentiometer (or pot, as it is more commonly known) is a simple


electro-mechanical transducer. It converts rotary or linear motion from the
operator into a change of resistance, and this change is (or can be) used to
control anything from the volume of a hi-fi system to the direction of a huge
container ship.

The pot as we know it was originally known as a rheostat (or reostat in some
texts) - essentially a variable wirewound resistor. The array of different types is
now quite astonishing, and it can be very difficult for the beginner (in particular) to
work out which type is suitable for a given task. The fact that quite a few different
pot types can all be used for the same task makes the job that much harder -
freedom of choice is at best confusing when you don't know what the choices
actually are, or why you should make them. This article is not about to cover
every aspect of pots, but is an introduction to the subject. For anyone wanting to
know more, visit manufacturers' web sites, and have a look at the specifications
and available types.

The very first variable resistors were either a block of carbon (or some other
resistive material) with a sliding contact, or a box full of carbon granules, with a
threaded screw to compress the granules. More compression leads to lower
resistance, and vice versa. These are rare in modern equipment, so we shall
limit ourselves to the more common types :-)

Basic Pots

It is worthwhile to have a look at a few of the common pot types that are
available. Figure shows an array of conventional pots - both PCB and panel
mounting.

- Some Examples of Pots


Note that these are not to scale, although the relative sizes are passably close.
Apart from the different body shapes and sizes, there are also many "standard"
mounting hole and shaft sizes. Probably the most common of all is the one in the
centre of the picture. A panel mount, 25 millimetre (1") diameter pot. This uses a
10mm (3/8") mounting hole, and has a 6.35mm (1/4") shaft. These pots have
been with us almost unchanged for 40 years or more.

The remainder show a few of the many variations available. The fluted shaft
types are commonly referred to as "metric", but will accept a standard 1/4" knob -
albeit with a little play (it is less than a perfect fit, but is acceptable if the grub
screw is tight enough). Metric pots are also available in 16mm round and 25mm
round formats.

Most rotary pots have 270 degrees of rotation from one extreme to the other. A
"single turn" pot is therefore really only a 3/4 turn device, despite the name.
There are some other rotary types with only 200 degrees or so, and some
specialty types may have less than that again.

The standard schematic symbol for a pot is shown to the right(although some

people insist on using zig-zag lines for resistors and pots

Power and Voltage Ratings

For most audio applications, these are of little on no consequence. In many


other applications however, exceeding the specified ratings could lead to the
destruction of the pot or yourself! Neither can be considered a good thing.

Power - A pot with a power rating of (say) 0.5W will have a maximum voltage
that can exist across the pot before the rating is exceeded. All power ratings are
with the entire resistance element in circuit, so maximum dissipation reduces as
the resistance is reduced (assuming series or "two terminal" rheostat wiring).
Let's look at the 0.5W pot, and 10k is a good value to start with for explanation.

If the maximum dissipation is 0.5W and the resistance is 10k, then the maximum
current that may flow through the entire resistance element is determined by ...

P = I² * R ... therefore
I = √P / R ... so I = 7mA
In fact, 7mA is the maximum current that can flow in any part of the resistance
element, so if the 10k pot were set to a resistance of 1k, current is still 7mA, and
maximum power is now only 50mW, and not the 500mW we had before.

Voltage - Two separate issues here. One is directly related (in part, at least) to
the power rating, and is important to ensure that the life of the pot is not
reduced. Knowing about the other might save your life.

Voltage across resistance element - The maximum voltage across the


example pot from above is 7mA * 10k, or 70V. This will rarely (if ever) be
achieved in an audio system, but is easy with many other designs. As the
resistance increases, so does the voltage - a 0.5W 1M pot will pass only 700uA
at maximum power rating, but the voltage needed to create this current is 700V.
Unless the pot is actually rated to withstand 700V across the resistance element
(rather unlikely), it will fail - maybe not today, or tomorrow, but it will fail
eventually. Special pots are made (custom jobs, of course) for high voltages,
and standard pots should never be used beyond their rating - assuming that you
can find out what the rating is, of course.

Dielectric Voltage - The dielectric (insulation of pot "guts" to the body) rating is
especially important if the pot is connected to mains operated, non-isolated
equipment. Wall mounted lamp dimmers and such are typical examples. This is
not commonly specified, but for safety, should be at least 2.5kV. A common way
to achieve this is to use a plastic shaft, with the body of the pot insulated from the
chassis, and inaccessible by the user (even if the knob falls off or is removed!)
This point cannot be stressed highly enough.

Most standard pots will safely withstand (maybe) 100V or so between the
resistance element and terminals, and the body and shaft. Miniature types will
usually be less than this. Never, ever, use a standard pot with a metal shaft to
control direct mains operated equipment.

Potentiometer Types

"But we already covered that, didn't we?" Not really - I merely glossed over the
basics. Now, we shall look at a few examples of pots you may come across.
Firstly, there is the resistive material and some typical characteristics ...

Material Manufacturing Method Common uses Power


(Typ)
Carbon Deposited as a carbon Most common material, especially for cheap 0.1 to
composition ink on an to average quality pots. Has a reasonable 0.5W
insulating (usually a phenolic life, and noise level is quite acceptable in
resin) body most cases. (DC should not be allowed to
flow through any pot used for audio control)
Cermet Ceramic/metal composite, High quality trimpots, and some conventional 0.25 to
using a metallic resistance panel mount types (not very common). Low 2W
element on a ceramic noise, and high stability. Relatively limited life (or
substrate (200 operations typical for trimpots) more)
Conductive Special impregnated plastic High quality (audiophile and professional) 0.25 to
Plastic material with well controlled pots, both rotary and linear (slide). Excellent 0.5W
resistance characteristics life, low noise and very good mechanical feel
Wire wound Insulating former, with High power and almost indefinite life. 5 to
resistance wire wound Resistance is "granular", with discrete small 50W
around it, and bound with steps rather than a completely smooth (or
adhesive to prevent transition from one resistance winding to the more)
movement next. Low noise, usually a rough mechanical
feel.

FULL WAVE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT:.

A full-wave rectifier circuit is a circuit that rectifies the entire cycle of the AC sine-wave. A
basic full-wave rectifier uses two diodes together with a transformer whose secondary winding is split
equally into two and has a common centre tapped connection, (C). Now each diode conducts in turn when
its Anode terminal is positive with respect to the centre point C as shown below.

The circuit consists of two Half-wave rectifiers connected to a single load resistance with each diode taking
it in turn to supply current to the load. When point A is positive with respect to point B, diode D1 conducts in
the forward direction as indicated by the arrows. When point B is positive (in the negative half of the cycle)
with respect to point A, diode D2 conducts in the forward direction and the current flowing through resistor R
is in the same direction for both circuits. As the output voltage across the resistor R is the sum of the two
waveforms, this type of circuit is also known as a "bi-phase" circuit.

As the spaces between each half-wave developed by each diode is now being filled in by the other diode the
average DC output voltage across the load resistor is now double that of the single half-wave rectifier circuit
and is about 0.637Vmax of the peak voltage, assuming no losses.

The peak voltage of the output waveform is the same as before for the half-wave rectifier provided each half
of the transformer windings have the same rms voltage value. To obtain a different d.c. voltage output
different transformer ratios can be used, but one main disadvantage of this type of rectifier is that having a
larger transformer for a given power output with two separate windings makes this type of circuit costly
compared to a "Bridge Rectifier" circuit equivalent.

FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER:

The Bridge Rectifier


Another type of circuit that produces the same output as a full-wave rectifier is that of the Bridge Rectifier.
This type of single phase rectifier uses 4 individual rectifying diodes connected in a "bridged" configuration
to produce the desired output but does not require a special centre tapped transformer, thereby reducing its
size and cost. The single secondary winding is connected to one side of the diode bridge network and the
load to the other side as shown below.

The Diode Bridge Rectifier

The 4 diodes labelled D1 to D4 are arranged in "series pairs" with only two diodes conducting current during
each half cycle. During the positive half cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D2 conduct in series while
diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load as shown below.

The Positive Half-cycle

During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4 conduct in series, but diodes D1 and D2
switch of as they are now reverse biased. The current flowing through the load is the same direction as
before.

The Negative Half-cycle


As the current flowing through the load is unidirectional, so the voltage developed across the load is also
unidirectional the same as for the previous two diode full-wave rectifier, therefore the average DC voltage
across the load is 0.637Vmax and the ripple frequency is now twice the supply frequency (e.g. 100Hz for a
50Hz supply).

The Smoothing Capacitor

We saw in the previous section that the single phase half-wave rectifier produces an output wave every half
cycle and that it was not practical to use this type of circuit to produce a steady DC supply. The full-wave
bridge rectifier however, gives us a greater mean DC value (0.637 Vmax) with less superimposed ripple
while the output waveform is twice that of the frequency of the input supply frequency. We can therefore
increase its average DC output level even higher by connecting a suitable smoothing capacitor across the
output of the bridge circuit as shown below.

Full-wave Rectifier with Smoothing Capacitor

The smoothing capacitor converts the full-wave rippled output of the rectifier into a smooth DC output
voltage. Two important parameters to consider when choosing a suitable a capacitor are its Working
Voltage, which must be higher than the no-load output value of the rectifier and its Capacitance Value, which
determines the amount of ripple that will appear superimposed on top of the DC voltage. Too low a value
and the capacitor has little effect. As a general rule of thumb, we are looking to have a ripple voltage of less
than 100mV peak to peak.

The main advantages of a full-wave bridge rectifier is that it has a smaller AC ripple value for a given load
and a smaller reservoir or smoothing capacitor than an equivalent half-wave rectifier. Therefore, the
fundamental frequency of the ripple voltage is twice that of the AC supply frequency (100Hz) where for the
half-wave rectifier it is exactly equal to the supply frequency (50Hz). The amount of ripple voltage that is
superimposed on top of the DC supply voltage by the diodes can be virtually eliminated by adding a much
improved π-filter (pi-filter) to the output terminals of the bridge rectifier. This type of low-pass filter consists
of two smoothing capacitors, usually of the same value and a choke or inductance across them to introduce
a high impedance path to the alternating ripple component. Another more practical and cheaper alternative
is to use a 3-terminal voltage regulator IC, such as a LM7805 which can reduce the ripple by more than
70dB (Datasheet) while delivering over 1amp of output current.

DELTA-WYE TRANSFORMER:

A delta-wye (Δ-Y) transformer is an electrical device that converts three-phase electric


power without a neutral wire into 3-phase power with a neutral wire. It is generally built
from 3 independent transformers. The term Delta-Wye transformer is used in North
America, and Delta-Star system in Europe.

Delta Wye Transformer

In the United States, Delta-wye transformers are common in commercial, industrial, and
high-density residential locations, to supply three different types of power from one
power source:

• Three-phase power, for 480 V motors


• Single-phase leg-to-leg, for 208 V motors and high-current loads
• Split-phase leg-to-neutral, for 120 V lights and appliances

An older method of providing these three different forms of power from three-phase was
with the high-leg delta transformer, but these have fallen out of use due to complex
application rules and hazards

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