IC references are popular with circuit designers because they are accurate and exhibit low drift. Some of my future columns will cover the three types of IC references: buried zener, bandgap, and XFET ...

We always enjoy [w2aew’s] videos, and his latest on zener diodes is no exception. In it, he asserts that all Zener diodes are not created equal. Why? You’ll have to watch the video below to find out.

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 ...

[Kevin] doesn’t stock zener diodes anymore. Why? Because for everything he used to use zeners, he now uses TL431 bandgap voltage references. These look like zener diodes but have an extra terminal.