zener diode?

[tennisdude]

hey guys,

im building a phase 90, and couldn't find the 1n5230 zener diode that they asked for so i bought instead a 1n4732a, which is also a 4.7 zener diode.

first off, is this going to work?

also, what exactly is a zener diode, and what does 4.7 stand for? the voltage required to drive the diode?

john

[PenPen]

Zeners operate with a 'normal' forward voltage IIRC, ie similar to silicon at less that 1V. Where they differ is that they successfully break down in the reverse direction, ie the direction a normal diode will try to block until it burns up. A zener can safely operate backwards, at the voltage rating you see listed in its specs. You have a zener that conducts in the reverse at 4.7V. You can get them in all different reverse breakdown specs.

Least thats my understanding of how they work at a basic level. I'm sure someone else can go into more detail, but thats should be enough to understand how to use them.

[Joe]

You can probably use a 10K resistor in place of it.

[tennisdude]

thanks for the responses penpen and joe. however,  still dont know whether my diode will work or not  any insight?

[PenPen]

I'd go out on a limb and say yes, it should work just fine. The reverse junction voltage rating is the same, so it should operate the same.

[tennisdude]

thanks man