A power-law current–voltage relationship in a 3.6 V Zener diode

We present a simple experiment in which the current–voltage ((Formula presented) (Formula presented) – (Formula presented) (Formula presented)) characteristic of a 3.6 V Zener diode under reverse bias provides a clean realisation of a high-degree polynomial model. The measured (Formula presented) (Formula presented) – (Formula presented) (Formula presented) data are empirically described by the power-law relationship (Formula presented) (Formula presented), with a measured exponent of (Formula presented) (Formula presented). Because the system is inexpensive, robust, and yields an unusually clear example of high-order dependence, it is well suited for high-school and undergraduate laboratories that emphasise data acquisition, nonlinear fitting, and model assessment.