Experiment #1

PN - JUNCTION DIODE
Aim:

a) Determine Diode polarity .

b) To Plot V-I characteristics of PN junction diode both in

i) Forward Bias

ii) Reverse Bias

c) To calculate the Forward Static and dynamic resistance of the diode at particular
operating point.

Apparatus Required:
S.No Name of the Specifications Quantity
Equipment/
Component
1 Diode 1N4001 VR (max)=1000V 1
IR(max)=50mA
2 Resistor 1K Power rating=0.5w 1
Carbon type
3 Regulated power 0-30V,1A 1
Supply
4 Cathode Ray 20MHz 1
Oscilloscope
5 Voltmeter 0-1V, 0-10V 1
6 Ammeter 0-100mA, 0-30μA 1

Introduction:

Although the diode is a simple device, it forms the basis for an entire branch of
electronics. Transistors, integrated circuits, and microprocessors are all based on its
theory and technology. In today's world, semiconductors are found all around us. Cars,
telephones, consumer electronics, and more depend upon solid state devices for proper
operation.
PN Junction

Now, we are ready to build a diode. To do this, we need two blocks of material, one N
type and one P type.

Figure 1. N and P Material

Figure 2. Diode

The resulting block of material is a diode. At the instant the two blocks are fused, their
point of contact becomes the PN junction. Some of the electrons on the N side are
attracted to the P side, while at the same time, an equal number of hole
charges are attracted to the N side.

Figure 3. PN Junction Diode

As a result, the PN junction becomes electrically neutral. The barrier in

Figure 3 is greatly exaggerated. In some semiconductor devices, the
PN junction barrier may only be a few atoms thick. The PN junction is
an electrical condition, rather than a physical one. The junction has no
charge; it is depleted of charges. Thus, another name for it is the
depletion zone. Because of the existence of the depletion zone, there
is no static current flow from the N material to the P material.

The diode consists of two parts or elements, the N material and the P
material. Their proper names are cathode and anode. The cathode is
the N material and the anode is the P material. Electron current flow is
from the cathode to the anode. Figure 4 illustrates a PN junction diode.

Figure 4. The Diode

There are two types of bias in semiconductors, forward and reverse.

Forward bias will eliminate the depletion zone and cause a diode to
pass current. Reverse bias will increase the size of the depletion zone
and in turn, block current. Figure 6 and 7 illustrates forward and
reverse bias.

Figure 5. Bias

A diode is biased by placing a difference in potential across it. Figure 7

illustrates a forward biased diode. Because of the positive potential
applied to the anode and the negative potential applied to the cathode,
the depletion zone disappears. Current flows from the negative
terminal of the battery through the N region, across the non-existent
depletion zone, and through the P region to the positive terminal of the
battery. It
takes a specific value of voltage for a diode to begin conduction.
Approximately .3 volts across a germanium diode or .7 volts across a
silicon diode are necessary to provide forward bias and conduction. A
germanium diode requires a lower voltage due to its higher atomic
number, which makes it more unstable. Silicon is used far more
extensively than
Figure 6. Reversed Biased Diode Figure 7. Forward Biased Diode

Reverse bias is accomplished by applying a positive potential to the

cathode and a negative potential to the anode as shown in Figure 6.
The positive potential on the cathode will attract electrons from the
depletion zone. At the same time, the negative potential on the anode
will attract holes. The net result is that the depletion zone will increase
in size.
A forward biased diode will conduct, with only a small voltage drop
over it. The voltage drop for a forward
biased germanium diode is .3 volts, while .7 volts is normal for a silicon
diode. We can say that a forward biased conducting diode is almost a
short circuit. A reversed biased diode will not conduct. Therefore, it can
be considered an open circuit. We call a reversed biased diode cut off.
Cut off refers to the current flow through the diode being blocked, or
cut off.

From the forward characteristics at a given operating point we can

determine the
static resistance Rd and dynamic resistance rd of the diode. The static
resistance is
defined as ratio of the dc voltage to dc current. It is given by

R d= V / I

The dynamic resistance is the ratio of a small change in voltage to the

corresponding
change in current. It is given by

experimental procedure

rd =∆ V /∆ I

Determine diode polarity

R1 Connect the circuit

4.7kΩ
shown in figure 8
D1
1N4001

V1 U1
+ -
10 V
0.000 V

DC 10M Ohm
+ U2
0.000 A DC 1e -009Ohm
-
 Figure 8

• Switch on power supply.

• Set the power supply control to give 10V on the meter.
• Record the current measurement in the first row table (1)
• Now switch off the power supply and reverse the 1N4001
diode to give the circuit of figure 9

R1

4.7kΩ

D1
1N4001

V1
+
U1
-
Figure 9
• Switch
10 V
0.000 V

DC 10MOhm
+

-
0.000 A
U2
DC 1e-009Ohm on the
power
supply
and readjust the voltage to 10V
• Read the new value of diode current record it in the second
row of your table table (1)

circuit current
Figure(8)
Figure(9)
table (1)

Questions

1\ which side of a diode should be connected to the positive voltage supply to make
it conduct current ?
2 \ when the diode was connected the opposite way round was the current ?
a) Slightly smaller
b) Much smaller
c) Too small to measure
The characteristics of Forward Reverse biased Diode