Electronic – Should a rectifier or TVS diode be used as a flyback diode

diodesflybackrelay

I'm trying to design a circuit for a relay similar to the following (except using SMT components):

enter image description here

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:

enter image description here

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?

Best Answer

Why the drama. Just use this: -

enter image description here

If you want a SMD version of the 1N400x series use the above and not a TVS. TVS diodes conduct in both directions and are not suitable for flyback diodes.