Typical application for Zener diodes is as

• A. voltage regulators
• B. half-wave rectifiers
• C. full-wave rectifiers
• D. switching regulators

Answer: (A)

Zener diodes are used as voltage regulators because their reverse-biased breakdown voltage remains nearly constant over a wide range of current. In a simple regulator circuit, the Zener is connected in parallel with the load and a resistor from the supply limits current. When the input or load current fluctuates, the Zener conducts more or less to keep the voltage across the load close to the Zener voltage. This makes them ideal for providing a stable reference and a basic, low-cost voltage regulator for low-power applications. They aren’t used as rectifiers for converting AC to DC, and more advanced or higher-power regulation is achieved with other regulator technologies like switching regulators.