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Reference.org
Avalanche breakdown
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<p>Avalanche breakdown (or the avalanche effect) is a phenomenon that can occur in both <a href="/facts/Insulator_(electricity)/SfSXkrh5">insulating</a> and <a href="/facts/Semiconductor/zFf3mGTE">semiconducting</a> materials. It is a form of electric current multiplication that can allow very large currents within materials which are otherwise good insulators. It is a type of <a href="/facts/Electron_avalanche/c0wpjzyB">electron avalanche</a>. The avalanche process occurs when carriers in the transition region are accelerated by the electric field to energies sufficient to create mobile or free <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electron</a>-<a href="/facts/Electron_hole/YymdTv9d">hole</a> pairs via collisions with bound electrons. </p>