Welcome to our site! EDAboard.com is an international Electronics Discussion Forum focused on EDA software, circuits, schematics, books, theory, papers, asic, pld, 8051, DSP, Network, RF, Analog Design, PCB, Service Manuals... and a whole lot more! To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.
Not intrinsically. Damage will come from overcurrent @
the high avalanche voltage (power density, thermal
rise sufficient to spike metallization into the junction or
simply open it, etc.). Drift will be a consequence of so
many "hot" carriers generated. Limit these and the
breakdown event can be survivable (see avalanche
rated MOSFETs and diodes for power conversion). But
a device / application never designed for survivability,
shouldn't be expected to tolerate it - you might be
able to put a box around it based on testing, but you
may then be "surprised by the outlier" on a performance
parameter that is defect sensitive but those defects
never exposed by unit level test.
Zener diodes make use of the avalanche breakdown to work. In zeners of more than 6v avalanche domminates over zener effect. The sharp I/V curve makes necessary to limit the current, otherwise the device is destroyed.
There are devices called avalanche diodes and avalanche phododiodes that take advantage of this effect.
As posted here in this thread you can clearly say one thing the ordinary diodes can be destroyed by this avalanche break down due to high heat dissipation (Refer the datasheet of the diode to ensure the safety range)
But some special purpose diodes utilises this feature to work with out being destroyed
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
