Avalanche Breakdown and Snubber Circuits in Power Diodes

Power diodes are used in various electrical applications, such as rectifiers, inverters, and switching circuits, to convert AC to DC or DC to AC. A power diode is a two-terminal device that conducts current in one direction and blocks the current in the opposite direction. When a reverse voltage is applied to the power diode, it behaves as an open circuit until the reverse voltage exceeds a certain threshold value, known as the breakdown voltage. At the breakdown voltage, the power diode conducts heavily in the reverse direction, and high current flows through the diode.