I'm trying to design a circuit for a relay similar to the following (except using SMT components):
When I went to Mouser to try to find a suitable SMT diode to use in place of the 1N4001, I noticed there are four main categories:
TVS Diodes (21,395)
Rectifiers (9,872)
Schottky Diodes & Rectifiers (8,259)
Zener Diodes (15,726)
I'm pretty sure Zener & Schottky diodes are not supposed to be used as flyback diodes, which leaves TVS Diodes
and Rectifiers
.
Looking on Wikipedia, a TVS diode is shown as:
I did a little searching online and it seems some designs use a Rectifier
like the 1N4001, while others use TVS diodes. I couldn't find a clear answer as to which is better.
Is there any advantage to using a TVS diode
over a Rectifier
diode for flyback applications such as a relay circuit?