< the name of Clarence Melvin Zener (1905–93), U.S. physicist.
Meaning & use
Electronics.
I.
Compounds.
I.1.
1949–
Zener effectnoun
[Originally after Italianeffetto Zener (1948 in the paper referred to in quot. 1949).]
The reduction in electrical resistance across the p–n junction of a semiconductor diode under a reverse voltage that occurs as a result of the quantum tunnelling of valence electrons to the conduction band, allowing substantial current to flow in the reverse direction.
The Zener effect occurs at a well-defined voltage threshold. This is in contrast with the Avalanche effect, which takes place at a higher reverse voltage, with a less precipitous change in resistance.
1949
L'Effetto Zener nei Metalli (The Zener Effect in Metals).
Journal Acoustical Society of Amer.vol. 21 447/2
1957
Internal field emission, often called Zener effect because of the early theoretical contributions made to the subject by C. Zener,..is analogous to field emission from metals.
W. C. Dunlap, Introd. Semiconductors viii. 168
1962
Lower voltage units usually have negative temperature coefficients indicating the existence of Zener effect. In such devices the transition region is apparently too thin to allow appreciable carrier multiplication to take place and Zener breakdown occurs before the critical avalanche condition has been reached.
J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards, Physical Principles Junction Transistors iv. 69
2009
The rapid rise in current is due to the Zener effect.
The reduction in electrical resistance across the p–n junction of a semiconductor diode under a reverse voltage that occurs as a result of the quantum tunnelling of valence electrons to the conduction band, allowing substantial current to flow in the reverse direction; = Zener effectn. at sense I.1.
1952
Actually observed is 2.2 × 105 volts/cm, indicating that in other systems Zener breakdown may be more likely than heretofore believed.
J. Bragg et al. in Digest Lit. Dielectrics 1951vol. 15 iii. 38
1981
As Vz[sc. the Zener voltage] decreases to very low levels, such as −5V, another mechanism, called Zener breakdown, will contribute to the sharp change in the characteristic.
L. Nashelsky & R. L. Boylestad, Devices ii. 29
2010
Zener breakdown occurs only in very heavily doped junctions.
P. R. Gray et al., Anal. & Design Analog Integrated Circuits (ed. 5) i. 8
A type of semiconductor diode used for voltage regulation, in which, at a well-defined reverse voltage, the electrical resistance drops substantially, allowing a large current to flow in the reverse direction without a significant further increase in voltage.
A Zener diode has a p–n junction that is doped in such a way as to maximize the Zener effect.
1952
Zener diodes is the name applied to p-n junctions which exhibit such [sc. field-generated] currents.
Proceedings IREvol. 40 1311/1
1957
One of the simplest methods of obtaining such a [stable collector-voltage] supply is with the aid of a diode biased into breakdown in the reverse direction (so-called Zener diode).
R. F. Shea et al., Transistor Circuit Engineering iii. 62
1975
Stabilisation of the feedback input stages is achieved with a zener diode.
Gramophone August 384/3
1981
In the forward direction a Zener diode behaves like any other diode.
J. C. Sprott, Introduction to Modern Electronics vi. 136
2011
Zener diodes are used to regulate the output of power supply circuits.
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.
Vowels
iːfleece
ihappy
ɪkit
ɛdress
atrap, bath
ɑːstart, palm, bath
ɒlot
ɔːthought, force
ʌstrut
ʊfoot
uːgoose
əletter
əːnurse
ɪənear
ɛːsquare
ʊəcure
eɪface
ʌɪpride
aʊmouth
əʊgoat
ɔɪvoice
ãgratin
ɒ̃salon
ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.
Vowels
ifleece, happy
ɪkit
ɛdress
ætrap, bath
ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
ɑrstart
ɔcloth, thought
ɔrnorth, force
ʊfoot
ugoose
əstrut, comma
ərnurse, letter
ɪ(ə)rnear
ɛ(ə)rsquare
ʊ(ə)rcure
eɪface
aɪpride
aʊmouth
oʊgoat
ɔɪvoice
ɑ̃gratin
æ̃salon
ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
Consonants
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values
gguy
jjay
yyore
chchore
khloch
shshore
ththaw
dhthee
zhbeige
Vowels
atrap
ahpalm
airsquare
arstart
arrcarry (British only)
awthought
ayface
a(ng)gratin
edress
eefleece
eerdeer
errmerry
ikit
ighpride
irrmirror
olot (British only)
ohgoat
oogoose
oorcure
orforce
orrsorry (British only)
owmouth
oyvoice
o(ng)salon
ustrut
uhletter
urnurse
urrhurry
uufoot
Forms
Variant forms
Also with lower-case initial.
Originally published as part of the entry for Zener, n.¹