Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology
Course Number: EEE-274
Course Title: Electronic Devices and Circuits Laboratory
Experiment No : 1
Experiment Name : Study of Diode characteristics
Submitted by
Name: Snehashish Sarker Shimul
Roll: 2118031
Date of Submission : 10 December, 2023
Objective:
The main objective of this experiment is to the basics voltage current characteristics of a Diode
And to simulate this circuit in Computer Simulation Software Proteus.
THEORY
A p-n junction diode is a two-terminal device that acts as an one-way conductor. When a
diode is forward biased as shown in Fig. 1(a), current ID flows through the diode and
current is given by
ID = Is[eVa/nVt - 1];
where, n is the ideality factor and 1 n 2. IS is the reverse-saturation current and
VT =kT/q is the thermal voltage. VT is about 0.026V at room temperature.
Fig - (a)
When it is reverse biased as shown in Fig. 1(b), ID = -IS (for see eqn. (2)). As it is
generally in pA (pico-amp) range, in many applications this current is neglected and diode
is considered open.
ID = Is[e-Vr/Vt - 1] = IS for |V| >>VT
The material for p-n junction diode is silicon semiconductor. Semiconductors are a group of
materials having electrical conductivity intermediate between metals and insulators.
Metals: Al (aluminum), Cu(copper),Au(gold). Insulators:
Ceramic, Wood , rubber.
Semiconductor: Si (silicon), Ge (germanium), GaAs (gallium-arsenide).
P-type Silicon:
When an intrinsic silicon semiconductor is doped with Al impurities, it becomes p-type. At
thermal equilibrium,
po=NA and no = ni2/NA
where, po is the hole concentration , no is the electron concentration , NA is the doping density
of impurities(acceptor atoms), ni is the intrinsic concentration. ni = 1.5x1010cm-3 for Si at room
temperature .
N-type silicon:
When an intrinsic silicon semiconductor is doped with P(phosphorous) impurities it becomes
n-type . At thermal equilibrium, no=ND and Po= ni2/ND. Here, ND is the doping density of
impurities (donor atoms).
In semiconductors both holes and electrons contribute to current .
Vin is the cut-in voltage. Its value is usually 0.5V. At this voltage, diode is forward biased but
even then I is very small and it is usually neglected. When diode is reverse biased and V< VK,
diode drives into breakdown and a large current will flow. The current can be limited by using
resistor in diode circuit. If the slope (dI/dV) is very steep, the breakdown mechanism is called
Zener breakdown. Zener diode can be used in regulator circuit.
Small Signal
Consider the circuit shown in Fig. 1(c). For ac voltage Vd <10 mV, we can write
id = [ID/nVT] * vd = vd/rd
where, rd = nVT/ID is the diode small-signal (dynamic) resistance and ID is the dc current. Dc
resistance is given by rD = VD/ID where VD is the dc voltage across the diode .
Fig-1(c)
Result:
Diode Characteristics
R = 1k - ohm, Diode = 1N4003
Fig: Diode Circuit
Fig: Voltage Drop Across Diode(Vout)
Fig: Current Across Diode
Discussion:
Here we can see the Diode Characteristics. Here when the Input Voltage is negative then The
diode is in reverse bias. So the circuit is an open circuit at that moment and so that the Vout is
equal to the Input Voltage as we can see in the Graph. For current Characteristics, Here When
The Input Voltage is negative the Diode is in reverse bias. So no current is flowing across the
diode. That is why the Current is 0 at this moment. But when the Input Voltage is Positive then
the diode is active in forward bias. Then we can see there is a huge amount of current flowing
through the diode.