| abstract |
A Zener diode having a low dynamic impedance and a low leakage current which comprises a first layer of a single crystalline semiconductor of silicon doped with a P-type or N-type impurity and a second layer formed by gas-phase epitaxial growth of silicon and doped with an impurity of the opposite type. In the Zener diode, the impurity concentrations of the first and second layers are 1 X 1017 to 4 X 1019 atoms/cm.3 and 1 X 1019 to 1 X 1021 atoms/cm.3, respectively, and there is an impurity concentration gradient of from 2 X 1021 to 7 X 1023 atoms/cm.4 across the PN junction. |