To measure a zener diode’s breakdown voltage, you need a dc voltage source whose voltage exceeds that of the zener voltage. In Figure 1, resistor R SER provides voltage drop between V IN and V ZEN. In ...

Many embedded systems require a stable, low-noise DC reference. This reference can be a stable current or voltage source. These references are used in many ways. Some typical uses are listed as ...

My recent columns discussed the physics and applications of discrete-zener-diode references, and the conclusion they reached is that discrete zener diodes make poor references because of tolerance ...

There are times when you need to bias a low-current load and simply didn’t want to add another voltage regulator, or where you need a reasonable level of voltage accuracy, so a simple voltage divider ...