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DIY Hobby projects, diagram, schematic

Electronic Circuits

DIY Hobby projects, diagram, schematic

Variable Zener Diode ~Super Zener~

electronicecircuits, December 6, 2009August 21, 2023
super zener diode variable zener diode

Variable Zener Diode – SUPER ZENER

This variable zener circuit is intended primarily to produce a stable reference voltage in battery operated equipment designed for minimum current consumption. Despite the fact that only 1mA flows through the zener the output voltage showed a fluctuation of less than 1mV for supply voltage variations of 10 to 30 volts.

super zener variable zener diode circuit using 741 op amp

PARTS LIST
R12.2kΩ
R2100kΩ
R3220kΩ
D15.6V 400mW zener
IC1741  op amp

The reference voltage from the zener diode apply to the non-inverting input of a 741 op-amp and the output voltage of the zener voltage multiply by using the op-amp gain.

Vo=Vz×(R2+R3)/R3

Vo=5.6V×(100KΩ+220KΩ)/220KΩ

Vo=5.6V×1.45=8.14V

 

Vo=OUTPUT VOLTAGE

Vz=ZENER VOLTAGE

 

This approach has two advantages. Firstly, a low temperature coefficient zener (5.6V) can use to provide any desired reference voltage simply by altering the op-amp gain. Secondly, since no since no significant current is ‘robbed’ from the zener by the op-amp input, the need only be fed by a small current. So that the resistance the of  zener does not affect the output voltage the zener current must be fairly constant. This achieve by feeding the zener via R1 from the output of the op-amp. The zener current is,

1mA=V0-Vz/R1

So R1 select to give a zener current of about 1mA. The reference voltage obtained from the op-amp output can supply currents of up to 15mA. One point to note when using  this circuit is that the supply voltage must be at least 2V greater than the output voltage of the circuit.

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Comments (7)

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    May 14, 2010 at 12:52 pm

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    May 17, 2010 at 11:10 am

    Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!

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    May 20, 2010 at 10:32 am

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    May 24, 2010 at 7:28 pm

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  5. mhdanas says:
    June 18, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    it’s nice explanation thank u 🙂

    Reply
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  7. backlink says:
    November 4, 2010 at 7:46 pm

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