With a further increase in t, the AC voltage becomes negative, and the field in the avalanche region drops below its critical value. The electrons in the avalanche region are then injected into the drift zone which induces a current in the external circuit which has a phase opposite to that of the AC voltage. The AC field, therefore, absorbs energy from the drifting electrons as they are decelerated by the decreasing field. It is clear that an ideal phase shift between the diode current and the AC signal is achieved if the thickness of the drift zone is such that the bunch of electron is collected at the n+ – anode at the moment the AC voltage goes to zero. This condition is achieved by making the length of the drift region equal to the wavelength of the signal. This situation produces an additional phase shift of 90° between the AC voltage and the diode current.