120 V Zener with tight ±2% tolerance
The 1N6026C is a 120 V Zener diode from Microchip Technology in a DO-35 axial-lead package, rated for 500 mW continuous power dissipation. The ±2% tolerance on the Zener voltage is tighter than the standard 5% or 10% grade, making it a better fit for voltage-reference circuits where the setpoint needs to stay within a narrow window — think clamping a 120 V rail or providing a stable bias for a high-voltage op-amp front end.
Through-hole DO-35 — hand-solderable and breadboard-ready
The DO-35 package (DO-204AH) is a through-hole axial-lead format that fits standard 0.1-inch pitch perfboard and breadboards. No special soldering equipment needed — a basic iron and some flux-core solder will do. The leads are tin-plated copper, compatible with leaded and lead-free solder processes. The 500 mW power limit at 25°C ambient means derating is needed above that — at 175°C the allowable dissipation drops to near zero, so keep the lead length short and consider a heatsink if the diode is running near its limit in a high-temp enclosure.
Low leakage and Zener impedance
Reverse leakage is specified at 100 nA maximum at 91 V reverse voltage — that is 76% of the nominal Zener voltage, so the leakage at the actual operating point (120 V) will be higher but still well below 1 µA for most applications. The maximum Zener impedance (Zzt) is 800 Ohms, which means the voltage regulation slope is about 0.8 V per mA of Zener current — a consideration if the diode is used as a shunt regulator rather than just a clamp. Forward voltage drop is 1.1 V maximum at 200 mA forward current — typical for a silicon diode of this size. The part is rated for continuous operation in the Zener region; no derating for pulse operation is specified, so repetitive peak currents should be kept within the 500 mW average power envelope.