[Kevin Darrah] wanted to make a simple 3.3V regulator without using an integrated circuit ... breakdown voltage. Essentially, this transistor is being used as a poor-quality Zener diode.

This is determined by the changes in input voltage through the diode. The output circuit amounts to a Zener regulator that switches from one Zener voltage to the other on transition through the Zener ...

Voltage references are electronic circuits that produce constant output ... The most common types of two-terminal shunt reference are based on the Zener principle, in which the current in a ...