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WhatSMDSign in

SMD marking

ZVin SOT-23

Marking codes are not standardised, and the same code is reused by unrelated makers for unrelated parts. Below is every part in our tables printed with it, and any printed with a code that is easy to misread as it, from the manufacturers' own marking tables.

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 3 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

The only part printed ZV in this package in our tables

BSS84/DG

What it is
P-channel MOSFET
Maker
Nexperia
Package
SOT-23
Pins
3
Details
-50 V, -130 mA P-channel enhancement mode vertical DMOS transistor (DG selection)
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet

Is it dead?

Diode range, part lifted. Test drain to source first, then short gate to source and test again.

Working, it reads

Red probe on the drain, black on the source: about 0.4 to 0.9 V, the body diode. Open the other way. The gate reads open to both other pins, both ways.

Dead, it reads

  • Drain to source the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep, and still so after shorting gate to source: shorted. The classic failure.
  • The gate reads low to source or drain: gate shorted. Often all three pins end up shorted together.
  • No body diode at all: failed open.
On the board:
On the board the gate usually has a resistor to the source, so gate to source reads that resistor, which is not a fault. Lift a leg to be sure.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
The diode range can charge the gate enough to turn the part on, and then drain to source reads near 0 both ways on a good part. Short gate to source and test again before you condemn it.

A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

Datasheetfor BSS84/DG, opens in a new tab

Printed with a code easy to misread

These parts are printed with a character that is easy to misread as what you typed. The odd one out is marked on each.

  • PMBTA64printed 2VSOT-23PNP transistor, Nexperia

    Printed 2V on the part. Easy to misread as ZV. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    PNP transistor
    Maker
    Nexperia
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    PNP Darlington transistor
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Black probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the collector and about 1.1 to 1.4 V to the emitter, two junctions in series, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open. Built-in resistors can change these readings.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor PMBTA64, opens in a new tab
  • 1 more part has no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
    • SMBTA64printed 2VTransistor, Infineon

      Printed 2V on the part. Easy to misread as ZV. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

      What it is
      Transistor
      Maker
      Infineon
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      Not recorded
      Source
      From the manufacturer's datasheet

      Is it dead?

      Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

      Working, it reads

      From the base, one probe colour reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

      Dead, it reads

      • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
      • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
      • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
      • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
      On the board:
      On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
      Compare:
      If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
      Watch for:
      A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

      A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

      Datasheetfor SMBTA64, opens in a new tab

Open this in the search to correct a character or try another package.