Hi all,

I'm trying to power some MOSFET drivers (which can be powered from up to
18V) with a battery pack(s) whose voltage may be anywhere from 16-24V. I
can opt for the "correct"(?) design and just use a linear regulator, but
I don't want to add a whole regulator just for the MOSFET driver. Is it
considered acceptable engineering practice to use a Zener diode in
series with the power supply rail, reverse biased, to act as a 10V (for
example) drop to power the IC? That way, the IC supply voltage will be
from 6-16V, which is acceptable. It seems I'd also need something like a
10k resistor to GND in parallel with the IC to maintain a high enough
current through the Zener to keep it in the intended reverse voltage range.

SPICE simulation says it's okay, but I have a feeling there's something
I don't know...

--=20
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