Current Sources and Voltage References

Characteristics of the zener diode

The zener Diode and the TC zener Reference

375

which occurs at a particular current, I

ZTCO

, and intersects at a certain zener voltage.

Biasing the zener precisely at this point will provide the minimum voltage drift for the

required operating temperature range.

Once you know the value of the I

ZTCO

current, you should consider designing a 10-

mA adjustable, precision current source, using either discrete BJTs or DMOS parts,

to provide the necessary current. Although this may be helpful for creating a simple

low-drift voltage reference with a very light fixed load, it may be totally impractical for

references that ...