Breakdown Voltage
The breakdown voltage of a diode is the reverse-bias voltage at which current suddenly increases across it. When the reverse bias is raised, the current flowing through the PN junction also increases, leading to the formation of a voltage known as the breakdown voltage.
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In the V-I characteristic graph of a reverse-biased diode, you can see that after the breakdown voltage, the current rapidly increases in the negative direction. This results in a nearly constant voltage equal to the breakdown voltage across the diode.
When a PN junction diode is reverse-biased, a small current flows through it. This current is due to the movement of minority carriers across the diode and is called the saturation current.