Lab # 2a: Study of Normal and Zener Diode Characteristics

Objectives:

i) To study and plot the forward and reverse bias characteristics of a normal diode and to
determine the threshold voltage, static and dynamic resistance.
ii) To study and plot forward and reverse bias characteristics of a zener diode and to determine
the threshold and zener break-down voltage.

Overview:
A diode is a nonlinear circuit element. The symbol of a diode and a real commercial diode is
shown in Fig. 1. Generally there is a band marked at its cathode for its identification. There
exists another type of diode known as zener diode, which has a heavily doped PN junction.

D1
ANODE CATHODE
DIODE

Fig. 1
The theoretical equation for the diode current ID is
 V 
I D  I S exp ( D )  1
 nVT 
where VD is the diode voltage drop, IS is the saturation current, n is the emission coefficient, and
VT = kT/q (≈ 0.026V at T=300K) is the thermal voltage. The emission coefficient accounts for
recombinations of electrons and holes in the depletion region, which tend to decrease the
current. For discrete diodes, it has the value n is 2.
The I~V characteristic of an ideal diode is shown in Fig. 2-a. Under forward biased condition
of a real PN junction diode, the P-side is connected to the positive and N-side is connected to
the negative terminal of the power supply. This reduces the potential barrier. As a result current
flows from P to N-type in forward direction. When the applied voltage is more than the barrier
potential, the resistance is small (ideally 0) and the current increases rapidly. This point is called
the Knee-point or turn-on voltage or threshold voltage (Fig. 2-b). This voltage is about 0.3 volts
for Ge diodes and 0.7 volts for Si diodes.

1
 Under reverse biased condition, the P-side of the junction diode is connected to the
negative and N-side is connected to the positive terminal of the power supply. This increases
the potential barrier due to which no current should flow ideally. But in practice, the minority
carriers can travel down the potential barrier to give very small current. This is called as the
reverse saturation current. This current is about 2-20 μA for Ge diodes and 2-20 nA for Si
diodes (the values might differ for diodes of different makes).
However, if the reverse bias is made too high, the current through the PN junction
increases abruptly. The voltage at which this phenomenon occurs is known as the break-down
or reverse voltage and the mechanism involved depends on the construction of the diode. In
conventional diodes with a lightly doped junction, application of higher reverse voltage leads
to large number of carriers produced by collision of thermally generated electrons and the
phenomenon is called avalanche breakdown. When the reverse bias exceeds this breakdown
voltage, a conventional diode is subject to high current. Unless this current is limited by
external circuitry, the diode will be permanently damaged. If the junction is heavily doped with
narrow depletion layers, break-down occurs when the reverse voltage is strong enough to
rupture the covalent bonds generating large number of electron-hole pairs. This phenomenon is
called zener breakdown.

KNEE VOLTAGE

Fig. 2 (a) Fig. 2 (b)

Zener diode:

It is a reverse biased heavily doped PN junction diode generally operated in zener

breakdown region. Zener voltage is the reverse voltage above which there is a controlled

2
breakdown which does not damage the diode. The voltage drop across the diode remains
constant at zener voltage no matter how high the reverse bias voltage is. The forward
characteristic of a zener diode is similar to a normal diode. The symbol of a zener diode is
shown in Figure 3.

Fig. 3
Static and Dynamic Resistance:
At a given operating point, the static
and dynamic resistance of a diode can be
determined from its characteristics as shown
in Fig. 4. The static or dc resistance, RD, of
the diode at the operating point (the point
where the load line intersects the diode
characteristics), Q, is simply the quotient of
the corresponding levels of VD and ID. The dc
resistance levels at the knee and below will be
greater than the resistance levels obtained for
the vertical rise section of the characteristics. Fig. 4

RD = VD/ID

The diode circuits generally operate with varying inputs, which will move the instantaneous
operating point up and down a region of the characteristics and defines a specific change in
current and voltage. Dynamic or ac Resistance, rd, is defined as the quotient of this change in
voltage and change in current around the dc operating point.
rd = ∆VD/ ∆ID

Components/Equipments:

(i) Junction diodes (Si,Ge), (ii) Zener diode, (iii) A current limiting Resistor (1kΩ), (iv) D.C.
Power supply, (iv) 2 multimeters and (vi) Breadboard, (vii) Connecting wires

3
Circuit Diagram:
V V

A A

Forward Biasing Reverse Biasing

Procedure:
Before you proceed, identify the p and n-side of the diode in order to connect properly
in forward and reverse bias mode.
(i) Forward and reverse bias characteristics of a normal diode:
Forward Bias characteristics:
1. Assemble the circuit on your breadboard as shown in Fig 1(a). Connect to the 0-30V dc
power supply.
2. Switch on the power supply. Slowly increase the supply voltage in steps of 0.1 Volt using
the fine adjustment knob and note down the corresponding readings of diode current. When
you find the change in current is larger (which means you have already crossed the
threshold point!), increase the supply voltage in steps of 0.5 to note down current.
3. Using multimeters in appropriate modes, measure voltage drop across the diode and the
current in the circuit. Switch off the supply after taking sufficient readings.
4. Plot the I~V characteristics and estimate the threshold voltage.
5. Choose two operating points below and above the threshold point and determine the static
and dynamic resistance at each of the points.
Reverse Bias characteristics:
1. Assemble the circuit on your breadboard as shown in Fig 1(b). Connect to the 0-30V dc
power supply.
2. Switch on the supply. Increase the supply voltage in steps of 0.5 Volt to note down the
diode current.
3. Use multimeters for voltage and current measurements. Keep in mind that magnitude of
current flowing in the circuit will be very small, so choose current range properly. Switch
off the supply after taking sufficient readings.
4. Plot the I~V characteristics on the same graph sheet and estimate the reverse saturation
current.
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 (ii) Forward and reverse bias characteristics of a zener diode:
Forward Bias characteristics:
1. Assemble the circuit on your breadboard as shown in Fig 1(a). Use a zener diode this time
in your circuit and repeat steps 2-4 of forward bias characteristics of normal diode.
Reverse Bias characteristics:
1. Assemble the circuit on your breadboard with the zener diode, as shown in Fig 1(b). Keep
in mind that initially the magnitude of current flowing in the circuit will be very small.
2. Switch on the power supply. Increase the supply voltage in steps of 0.5 Volt and note down
the corresponding readings of diode current. When you find the change in current is larger
(which means you have already crossed the break-down point!), using the fine adjustment
knob increase the supply voltage in steps of 0.1 to note down diode current.
3. Plot the I~V characteristics on the same graph sheet and estimate the threshold and break-
down voltages.

Observation:
Code Number of Diode: (i) normal diode: _______ (Si)
_______ (Ge)
(ii) Zener Diode: _______

Table (i) For normal Diode (Si)

Obs. Forward Biasing Reverse biasing
No. Voltage Voltage, VD Current, ID Voltage Voltage, VD Current, ID
Applied (V) (V) (mA) Applied (V) (V) (μA)
1
..
..

(ii) For normal Diode (Ge)

Same as Table (i)

(iii) For zener Diode:

Obs. Forward Biasing Reverse biasing

No. Voltage Voltage, VD Current, ID Voltage Voltage, VD Current, ID
Applied (V) (V) (mA) Applied (V) (V) (μA)
1
..
..

5
Graphs:
Plot I~V characteristics for both the diodes and estimate the required parameters.

Discussions/Results:
i) Describe the behavior of the I~V curve for each diode.
ii) Threshold voltage for normal diode is ______V (What type of a diode it is, Si/Ge?)
Static resistance = ------, Dynamic resistance = ------ at operating point Q.
iii) Threshold voltage for Zener diode = --------
Zener Break-down voltage = -------

Precautions:
____________________________________________________________________________

6
LAB#2b: HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT WITHOUT AND WITH FILTER

Objectives:

1. To construct a half-wave rectifier circuit and analyze its output.

2. To analyze the rectifier output using a capacitor in shunt as a filter.

Overview:

The process of converting an alternating current into direct current is known as rectification.
The unidirectional conduction property of semiconductor diodes (junction diodes) is used for
rectification. Rectifiers are of two types: (a) Half wave rectifier and (b) Full wave rectifier. In a half-
wave rectifier circuit (Fig. 1), during the positive half-cycle of the input, the diode is forward biased
and conducts. Current flows through the load and a voltage is developed across it. During the negative
half-cycle, it is reverse bias and does not conduct. Therefore, in the negative half cycle of the supply,
no current flows in the load resistor as no voltage appears across it. Thus the dc voltage across the load
is sinusoidal for the first half cycle only and a pure a.c. input signal is converted into a unidirectional
pulsating output signal.

Fig.1: Half-wave rectifier circuit

Since the diode conducts only in one half-cycle (0-π), it can be verified that the d.c. component in the
output is Vmax/π, where Vmax is the peak value of the voltage. Thus,

1
 Vmax
Vdc   0.318Vmax

Vdc 2
The current flowing through the resistor, I dc  and power consumed by the load, P  I dc R .
R
Ripple factor:
As the voltage across the load resistor is only present during the positive half of the cycle, the
resultant voltage is "ON" and "OFF" during every cycle resulting in a low average dc value. This
variation on the rectified waveform is called "Ripple" and is an undesirable feature. The ripple factor is
a measure of purity of the d.c. output of a rectifier and is defined as
2
V 2
Vrms  Vdc2 2
V rms  0.5 
r  ac  2
 2
1     1  1.21
Vdc output
Vdc Vdc  0.318 

In case of a half-wave rectifier Vrms = Vmax/2 = 0.5Vmax. (How?)

Rectification Efficiency:
Rectification efficiency, η, is a measure of the percentage of total a.c. power input converted to
useful d.c. power output.
  d .c . power delivered to load a .c . power at input
 Vdc I dc Vac I ac
I dc2 R 0.318Vmax 2 0.405
  
0.5Vmax 2  1  rd   r 
2
I ac ( rd  R )
1  d 
 R  R
Here rd is the forward resistance of diode. Under the assumption of no diode loss (rd<<), the
rectification efficiency in case of a half-wave rectifier is approximately 40.5%.
Filters:
The output of a rectifier gives a pulsating d.c. signal (Fig.1) because of presence of some a.c.
components whose frequency is equal to that of the a.c. supply frequency. Very often when rectifying
an alternating voltage we wish to produce a "steady" direct voltage free from any voltage variations or
ripple. Filter circuits are used to smoothen the output. Various filter circuits are available such as shunt
capacitor, series inductor, choke input LC filter and π-filter etc. Here we will use a simple shunt
capacitor filter circuit (Fig. 2). Since a capacitor is open to d.c. and offers low impedance path to a.c.
current, putting a capacitor across the output will make the d.c. component to pass through the load
resulting in small ripple voltage.

2
 Smoothing
Capacitor

C Charges C Disharges

(With capacitor)

Fig.2: Half-wave rectifier circuit with capacitor filter

The working of the capacitor can be understood in the following manner. When the rectifier
output voltage is increasing, the capacitor charges to the peak voltage Vm. Just past the positive peak
the rectifier output voltage tries to fall. As the source voltage decreases below Vm , the capacitor will
try to send the current back to diode making it reverse biased. Thus the diode separates/disconnects the
source from the load and hence the capacitor will discharge through the load until the source voltage
becomes more than the capacitor voltage. The diode again starts conducting and the capacitor is again
charged to the peak value Vm and the process continues. Although in the output waveform the
discharging of capacitor is shown as a straight line for simplicity, the decay is actually the normal
exponential decay of any capacitor discharging through a load resistor. The extent to which the
capacitor voltage drops depends on the capacitance and the amount of current drawn by the load; these
two factors effectively form the RC time constant for voltage decay. A proper combination of large
capacitance and small load resistance can give out a steady output.

Circuit components/Equipments:

(i) A step-down transformer, (ii) A junction diode, (iii) 3 Load resistors, (iv) 3 Electrolytic
Capacitors, (v) Oscilloscope, (vi) Multimeters, (vii) Connecting wires, (viii) Breadboard.

Circuit Diagram: (As shown in Figs. 1 and 2)

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Procedure:

i) Configure the half-wave rectifier circuit as shown in the circuit diagram. Note down all the
values of the components being used.
ii) Connect the primary side of the transformer to the a.c. Mains and secondary to the input of the
circuit.
iii) Measure the input a.c. voltage (Vac) and current (Iac) and the output a.c. (Vac), d.c. (Vdc) voltages
using multimeter for at least 3 values of load resistor (Be careful to choose proper settings of
multimeter for ac and dc measurement).
iv) Multiply the Vac at the input by √2 to get the peak value and calculate Vdc using the formula Vdc
= Vmax/ π. Compare this value with the measured Vdc at the output.
v) Feed the input and output (in DC coupling mode) to the two channels of oscilloscope. We will
use oscilloscope here only to trace the output waveform. Save the data for each measurement
using SAVE/LOAD or STORAGE button of the oscilloscope.
vi) Calculate the ripple factor and efficiency.
vii) Connect an electrolytic capacitor (with –ve terminal connected to ground) across the output for
each load resistor and measure the output a.c. and d.c. voltages once again and calculate the
ripple factor. Trace the input and output waveforms in oscilloscope and notice the change.
viii) Repeat the above measurement foe all values of capacitors and study the output.

Observations:
1. Code number of diode = ________
2. Input Voltage: Vac = _________ Volt

Table(I): Half wave rectifier w/o filter

Sl. No Load Input Output Voltage Ripple Efficiency η
R (kΩ) Current Vac Vdc Vmax/ π Factor (V2dc/R)/VacIac
Iac (mA) (Volt) (Volt) (Volt) r (%)
1
2
3

4
Table(II): Half wave rectifier with filter (C = ____ μF) (Make separate tables for each capacitor)

Sl. No Load Output Voltage Ripple Factor

R (kΩ) Vac (Volt) Vdc (Volt) r
1
2
3

(III) Input and output waveforms:

Waveforms without Filter:

R = ______ Input Output
(Paste data here)

Waveforms with Capacitor Filter: C = ______ μF

R = ______ Input Output
(Paste data here)

Discussions:

Precautions:

___________________________________________________________________________________

5
LAB#3a: FULL-WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT WITHOUT
AND WITH FILTER

Objectives:

1. To construct a full-wave bridge rectifier circuit and analyze its output.

2. To analyze the rectifier output using a capacitor in shunt as a filter.

Overview:

As you have seen already a half-wave rectifier circuit is unsuitable to applications

which need a "steady and smooth" dc supply voltage. One method to improve on this is
to use every half-cycle of the input voltage instead of every other half-cycle. The circuit
which allows us to do this is called a Full-wave Rectifier. Here, unidirectional current
flows in the output for both the cycles of input signal and rectifies it. The rectification can
be done either by a center tap full wave rectifier (using two diodes) or a full wave bridge
rectifier (using four diodes). In this experiment we will study a full wave bridge rectifier.

The Full-wave Bridge Rectifier

Another type of circuit that produces the same

output as a full-wave rectifier is that of the
Bridge Rectifier (Fig. 1). This type of single
phase rectifier uses 4 individual rectifying
diodes connected in a "bridged" configuration to
produce the desired output but does not require
a special centre tapped transformer, thereby reducing Fig. 1: Full-wave Bridge Rectifier

its size and cost. The single secondary winding is connected to one side of the diode
bridge network and the load to the other side as shown in figure. The 4 diodes labeled D1
to D4 are arranged in "series pairs" with only two diodes conducting current during each
half cycle. During the positive half cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D2 conduct in
series while diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load
as shown below (Fig. 2). During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4
conduct in series, but diodes D1 and D2 switch of as they are now reverse biased. The
current flowing through the load is the same direction as before.

Fig. 2: Working of Full-wave bridge rectifier

As the current flowing through the load is unidirectional, so the voltage developed across
the load is also unidirectional during both the half cycles. Thus, the average dc output
voltage across the load resistor is double that of a half-wave rectifier circuit, assuming no
losses.

2Vmax
Vdc   0.637Vmax


Ripple factor:
As mentioned in the previous lab the ripple factor is a measure of purity of the
d.c. output of a rectifier and is defined as

2
V (output ) 2
V rms  Vdc2 2
V rms  0.707 
r  ac  2
 2
1     1  0.48
Vdc (output ) Vdc Vdc  0.637 

In case of a full-wave rectifier Vrms = Vmax/√2 = 0.707Vmax. The ripple frequency is now
twice the supply frequency (e.g. 100Hz for a 50Hz supply).
Rectification Efficiency:
Rectification efficiency, η, is given by
  d .c . power delivered to load a .c . power at input
 Vdc I dc Vac I ac
Vdc
2
RL 0.637Vmax 2 0.811
  
2
V s ( rd  R L )  rd   r 
0.707Vmax 2  1    1  d 
 RL   RL 
where rd is the forward resistance of diode. Under the assumption of no diode loss
(rd<<), the rectification efficiency in case of a full-wave rectifier is approximately 81.1%,
which is twice the value for a half-wave rectifier.

Filter:

Smoothing
Capacitor

C Charges C Disharges

(Output waveform
without capacitor)

(With capacitor)

Fig.3: Full-wave rectifier circuit with capacitor filter

The full-wave rectifier circuit with capacitor filter is shown in Fig. 3. The
smoothing capacitor converts the full-wave rippled output of the rectifier into a smooth
dc output voltage. The detailed description of its filtering action is already explained in
half-wave rectifier handout. Two important parameters to consider when choosing a
suitable a capacitor are its working voltage, which must be higher than the no-load output
value of the rectifier and its capacitance value, which determines the amount of ripple
that will appear superimposed on top of the dc voltage.

Apart from rectification efficiency, the main advantages of a full-wave bridge

rectifier is that it has a smaller ac ripple value for a given load and a smaller smoothing
capacitor than an equivalent half-wave rectifier. The amount of ripple voltage that is
superimposed on top of the dc supply voltage by the diodes can be virtually eliminated by
adding other improved filters such as a pi-filter.

Circuit components/Equipments:

(i) A step-down transformer, (ii) 4 junction diodes, (iii) 3 Load resistors, (iv)
Capacitor, (v) Oscilloscope, (vi) Multimeters, (vii) Connecting wires, (viii)
Breadboard.

Circuit Diagram: (As shown in Fig. 1 and 3)

Procedure:

i) Configure the full-wave rectifier circuit as shown in the circuit diagram. Note
down all the values of the components being used.
ii) Connect the primary side of the transformer to the a.c. Mains and secondary to the
input of the circuit.
iii) Measure the input a.c. voltage (Vac) and current (Iac) and the output a.c. (Vac) and
d.c. (Vdc) voltages using multimeter for at least 3 values of load resistor (Be
careful to choose proper settings of multimeter for ac and dc measurement).
iv) Feed the input and output to the oscilloscope (we will use oscilloscope here only
to trace the output waveform) and save the data for each measurement.
MEASURE THE INPUT AND OUTPUT VOLTAGES SEPARATELY.
v) Multiply the Vac at the input by √2 to get the peak value and calculate Vdc Using
the formula Vdc = 2Vmax/ π. Compare this value with the measured Vdc at the
output.
 vi) Calculate the ripple factor and efficiency.
vii) Connect the capacitor across the output for each load resistor. Measure the output
a.c. and d.c. voltages once again and calculate the ripple factor. Trace the input
and output waveforms in oscilloscope and notice the change. (If time permits you
could also use different values of capacitors and study the output)

Observations:
1. Code number of diode = ________
2. Input Voltage: Vac = _________ Volt

Table(I): Full-wave rectifier w/o filter

Sl. No Load Input Output Voltage Ripple Efficiency η

RL (kΩ) Current Vac Vdc 2Vmax/ π Factor (Vdc2/RL)/VacIac
Iac (mA) (Volt) (Volt) (Volt) r (%)
1
2
3

Table(II): Full-wave rectifier with filter (C = ____ μF)

Sl. No Load Output Voltage Ripple Factor

RL (kΩ) Vac (Volt) Vdc (Volt) r
1
2
3
(III) Input and output waveforms:

Waveforms without Filter:

RL = ______
Input Output
(Paste data here)

Waveforms with Capacitor Filter:

RL = ______
Input Output
(Paste data here)

Discussions:

Precautions:

________________________________________________________________________