Instruction Manual

and Experiment Guide

ELECTRONICS SYSTEM 1

4868.10

N.B.:

 Pictures, images and descriptions in this manual may not exactly correspond with the
actual items supplied.
 It is also important to note that the experiments in this manual are only suggestions.
They are not meant to indicate the limitation of the equipment which can be used in a
wide range of experiments, depending on the educational requirements of the teacher.

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The Electronics System 1 allows a rapid and clear assembly of electric and electronic circuits. With the help
of the kit you can observe and understand the semiconductor components and their characteristic curve. All
components of the kit are stored in a foam cushioned plastic storage case.

The System consists of:

 Board in shock resistant plastic, dim. 46 x 26 cm, with groups of 4 sockets arranged to form a
square, 40 mm pitch.

 Set of components mounted in plug-in housing and linked electrically with two or four plugs for 4 mm
sockets.
Dimensions:
 2 plug-in housing: 62 x 22 x 24h mm

 Dimensions of 4 plug-in housing: 62 x 62 x 24h mm

 Plug spacing: 40 mm.

The international graphic symbol of each component, its rated value, the wiring arrangement and the
connection points are printed on the upper side of the plug-in elements

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LIST OF EXPERIMENTS:

 The diode: the PN junction

 Diodes bridge rectifier
 LED diodes
 The PNP transistor
 The NPN transistor
 Practical difference between signal and power transistor
 The unijunction transistor UJT
 The silicon controlled rectifier SCR
 The TRIAC thyristor
 The light emitting LED diode
 The phototransistor
 Photoresistance
 The Zener diode
 PTC or positive temperature coefficient resistor
 NTC or negative temperature coefficient resistor
 The astable multivibrator

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

 Some examples of components assembly on the board

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 Index of related topics:

A
Astable multivibrator........................................................................................................................44

B
Bipolar transistor..................................................................................................................17; 20; 22

D
Diode.........................................................................................................................................7; 9; 11

F
Flip-flop circuit..................................................................................................................................44

I
Infrared LED...............................................................................................................................32; 44

L
Lamp............................................................................................................................................24; 26
LED diode...........................................................................................................20; 22; 34; 36; 38; 44

N
NPN transistor................................................................................................................17; 20; 24; 26

P
Photoresistance...................................................................................................................34; 36; 40
Phototransistor.................................................................................................................................32
PNP transistor..................................................................................................................................22
Potentiometer.............................................................................................................................24; 26
Power dissipation.............................................................................................................................15
Power transistor.........................................................................................................................24; 26

R
Rectifier.........................................................................................................................................9; 11
Reflection..........................................................................................................................................32
Resistor.......................................................................................................................................28; 30

S
SCR....................................................................................................................................................38

T
Temperature...............................................................................................................................28; 30
Thermistor...................................................................................................................................28; 30
Transistor..............................................................................................................................36; 38; 40
TRIAC................................................................................................................................................40

5
 Z
Zener diode.................................................................................................................................13; 15

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 Experiment 1
RELATED TOPICS:

 Diode

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a diode.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 cell holder with batteries

 lamp bulb
 lamp holder
 bridging plugs
 Si diode
 voltmeter

THEORY:

A diode is an electronic device that allows current to move through it just in one direction. More exactly, the
current is allowed to flow in one direction with far greater ease than in the other. Diodes are manufactured by
using semiconductors, although other diode technologies can be used.
If we place a diode in a simple battery-lamp, it will either allow or block current through the lamp, depending
on the polarity of the applied voltage. When the current is allowed to flow through the device, the diode is
said to be forward-biased. On the contrary, when the current is prevented to flow, then the diode is said to be
reverse-biased.

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In order to obtain a sustained current through the diode, a certain minimum voltage must be accomplished.
This is called forward voltage and for silicon diodes is nominally 0.7 volts. For germanium diodes, the forward
voltage is only 0.3 volts.
We can furthermore say that a diode behaves as a one-way valve. This behaviour can be verified by using a
voltmeter. In the circuit depicted the reader can easily verify that 0.7 volts can be measured across the diode
in the forward bias.
From a logic point of view it can be considered as a binary switch: it is closed (ON) when forward-biased and
open (OFF) when reverse-biased.
As a matter of fact a small amount of current flows through a reverse-biased diode (leakage current), but it
can be neglected in practical cases. But if the applied reverse-bias voltage becomes too great, the diode will
experience a potentially destructive condition called breakdown and the corresponding voltage is known as
Peak Inverse Voltage.

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 Experiment 2
RELATED TOPICS:

 Diode
 Rectifier

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a diode as a half-wave rectifier.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 bridging plugs
 Si diode
 power supply
 multimeter

THEORY:

The most famous application of the diode is the rectification, that is the conversion of an alternating current
(AC) to a direct current (DC). In order to explain this phenomenon an AC power supply is necessary. The
simplest rectifier is the half-wave rectifier: the diode allows only one half of an AC waveform to be transferred
to the load. As we can see in the picture below, the rectifier circuit allows to extract an output signal with non-
zero mean from an input signal with zero mean. For example, if we use a resistance R=100 and an input

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AC voltage whose amplitude is equal to 6V, we will read on the multimeter about 2.3-2.4V. As a matter of fact
we should read half the value of the maximum amplitude, i.e. 3V; however the inner resistance of the diode
gives rise to a voltage drop equal to the forward voltage 0.6-0.7V.

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 Experiment 3
RELATED TOPICS:

 Diode
 Rectifier

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a diode as a full-wave rectifier.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 4 Si diodes
 power supply
 multimeter

THEORY:

In some applications half-wave rectification has a high inefficiency, due to the large harmonic content and to
the limitation of supplying power to the load once every half-cycle. If one needs to rectify AC power in order
to obtain the full use of both half-cycles of the sine wave, a more efficient circuit can be obtained by simply
doubling the half-wave rectifier. The resulting circuit is called full-wave rectifier: one diode works just during
the first half-wave, the other in the next half-wave, and so on. But this two-diode rectifier has a big
disadvantage: the necessity of a transformer with a centre-tapped secondary winding, that has generally high

11
size and cost, especially in high-power applications. Usually a four-diode bridge configuration is preferred. By
using a multimeter one can observe a higher mean value for the output voltage.

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 Experiment 4
RELATED TOPICS:

 Zener diode

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a Zener diode.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 Zener diode
 power supply
 resistance
 voltmeter

THEORY:

As we have seen in previous experiments, if we connect a diode and a resistor to a DC voltage source as to
forward-bias the diode current is limited by the voltage of the power supply, the series resistor an d the
diode’s voltage drop whose value is practically constant to 0.6-0.7 volts. Even if we change (increase or
decrease) the power supply voltage, just a very little variation can be observed in diode voltage. This
behaviour is due to the exponential relation between current and voltage in a diode. In other words, diodes
block their voltage to around 0.6-0.7 volts. If larger regulated voltages are required we could either use more
diodes in series or more elegantly use a typical property of diodes. In fact, the reverse breakdown voltage is
as constant as the forward voltage but much greater than it. If we increase the power supply voltage to the

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point where the diode could no longer withstand the impressed reverse-bias voltage (it breaks down) the
diode regulate its voltage at the breakdown point. But this process is usually destructive for a normal diode.
Technology has however introduced a special type of diode that can operate without failing completely in
breakdown region. It is called zener diode.
In forward-bias condition, zener diodes behave the same as normal diodes, with a forward voltage equal to
about 0.6-0.7 volts.
In reverse-bias condition, they do not conduct until the applied voltage reaches the so-called zener voltage,
when it begins to conduct current while it maintains the same voltage, until the thermal limits are exceeded.
Practical zener diodes allow zener voltages ranging from a few volts to hundreds of volts.
Take care to properly orientate the zener diode so as it is in reverse-bias mode.
Let us take a look to the circuit depicted. We use a zener with a zener voltage equal to 6.2 volts. In reverse
bias mode, once the power supply voltage reaches that value, the voltage dropped across the zener diode
will remain at approximately 6.2 volts, as can be observed by using a DC power supply with a moving knob
and measured by means of a voltmeter.

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 Experiment 5
RELATED TOPICS:

 Zener diode
 Power dissipation

The purpose of the experiment is to discuss the problem of the power in a Zener diode.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 Zener diode
 power supply
 resistance

THEORY:

Being a semiconductor device, the zener diode is sensitive to temperature. In accordance with the Joule’s
law:
P  VI
a diode produces its own heat correspondingly to the its current and voltage. An excess of temperature could
destroy the zener diode. As a consequence one should pay attention to properly design the regulator circuit.
Let us study the dissipation problem from a mathematically point of view. We refer to the same circuit shown
earlier. Let us suppose the following values for electrical amounts:

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 VS  15V
R  1k
VZ  6.2V
where VS is the power supply voltage, R is the resistance and VZ is the zener voltage. If I is the circuit current
by simply applying the fundamental laws of electrical circuits, we get
VR =VS ­VZ =8.8V
V 8.8V
I= R = =8.8mA
I 1k

PR =VR I=77.44mW < 2W 
PZ =VZ I=54.56mW < 1W
that are the dissipated power on the resistor and the zener diode, respectively. From numerical value, we
can conclude that the zener diode we are using, with a power rating of 1W is adequate for the described
circuit.

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 Experiment 6
RELATED TOPICS:

 Bipolar transistor
 NPN transistor

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The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the practical function and application of a bipolar transistor.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 NPN transistor
 bridging plugs
 lamp holder
 lamp bulb
 power supply
 resistance R 100

THEORY:

A bipolar transistor is composed of a three-layer block of doped (extrinsic) semiconductor materials, either in
the PNP or NPN configuration, as shown in the picture. The word bipolar is just used to mean they are
manufactured by using two complementary semiconductor materials, P and N, and hence two types of
charge carriers, electrons and holes.
Transistors are characterized by three terminals, called base (B), emitter (E) and collector (C). PNP and NPN
transistors differ just for a complementary biasing they need to properly operate. A bipolar transistor works as
a current-controlled current regulator, that is it controls the amount of current flowing through it according to a
smaller control current. Let us focus on an NPN transistor (for a PNP transistor the behaviour can be argued
on the basis of the duality principle). The main controlled current goes from the collector to the emitter, whilst
the small controlling current goes from base to emitter.

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A transistor can be used as a sort of current-controlled switch (see picture (a)): a relatively small amount of
electrons injected from the base is able to control over a much larger flow of electrons through the collector.
Without a controlling base current, the transistor shuts off like an open switch (see picture (b)). In presence
of a controlling base current the transistor turns on like a closed switch and allows a proportional amount of
current through the collector (see picture (c)).
If the base is not connected and a current cannot flow (picture (b)), then the transistor is said to be cutoff. If
the base is connected and a current can flow (picture (c)) then a larger current can flow through the lamp that
will light up. In this condition of maximum current the transistor is said to be saturated. It can be observed
that a resistor (R=100) has been inserted in order to obtain a low base current giving rise to a higher
collector current.
It should be noted that the main advantage to use a transistor as a switch instead of a toggle switch consists
in the possibility of controlling a high current with a low current. This behaviour enables the transistor to be
not only a simple switch but a real amplifier: a low-power input signal allows us to control a high-power
output signal.

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 Experiment 7
RELATED TOPICS:

 Bipolar transistor
 LED diode
 NPN transistor

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the application of a NPN bipolar transistor as a current
amplifier.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 NPN transistor
 bridging plugs
 LED diode, red colour
 power supply
 two resistances R 100

THEORY:

As we have seen in a previous experiment a transistor works as a current amplifier. Another application
showing this phenomenon is the one depicted in the circuit above. The circuit is the same as in the previous

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experiment. In this case in order to highlight the effect of the current amplification a LED diode has been
used. A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that glows when forward-biased. Every diode is manufactured
with a PN (or NP) junction. Electrons flowing through such a junction experience transitions in energy level
and emit radiant energy. The wavelength of such a radiant energy depends on the crystal structure of the
semiconductor. Some semiconductor junctions are composed of special chemical compounds and emit the
radiant energy within the visible spectrum. This is why a LED tends to light when properly biased.
In our circuit a resistance R=100 has been inserted in order to limit the current flowing through it. Once the
NPN transistor has been properly connected, a current will flow through the LED and a red light will be
observable. This means that the small current injected through the base of the transistor has been amplified
in a (relatively) high current through the collector and the LED.

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 Experiment 8
RELATED TOPICS:

 Bipolar transistor
 LED diode
 PNP transistor

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the application of a PNP bipolar transistor as a current
amplifier.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 PNP transistor
 bridging plugs
 LED diode, red colour
 power supply
 two resistances R 100

THEORY:

We refer to the previous experiment, where a circuit using an NPN transistor as a current amplifier has been
shown. In this experiment we will see how a complementary PNP transistor should be connected in order to

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perform the same application. By comparing the two assembly schemes we can observe that one must just
switch around the batteries and swap the polarity of the LED diode. Once the circuit has been correctly
connected, the LED will light up, as in the previous experiment using an NPN transistor.

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 Experiment 9
RELATED TOPICS:

 Power transistor
 NPN transistor
 Lamp
 Potentiometer

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a NPN power transistor.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 NPN power transistor

 bridging plugs
 lamp holder
 lamp bulb E10, 12 V
 potentiometer 1 k
 power supply
 resistor R 10 k

THEORY:

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In the previous experiments we have seen how a transistor works as a current amplifier. In other words, we
have observed how a transistor generates an output voltage that is larger than the input voltage by simply
controlling the collector-emitter current by means of the base current. The presence of a collector resistor
avoids the possibility of having too much high power on the transistor. The independent behaviour of the
power allows us to consider the transistor as a signal transistor.
When on the contrary we want to drive a low resistance load such as a lamp, we must carefully consider the
power that the transistor can dissipate. Let us consider the circuit depicted above: a transistor drives on its
collector a 12 volts lamp. Until the base-emitter voltage reaches the threshold value (typically around 0.6-0.7
volts), the transistor will not conduct and all the voltage applied is at its ends, as one can verify with a
voltmeter. The lamp will remain turned off. The power dissipated by the transistor can be obtained by simply
multiply the voltage between emitter and collector by the current flowing through it. Since in this condition we
have a very weak current, the transistor will dissipate a very low power. The transistor is in the cutoff state.
When the base-emitter voltage has reached the threshold value, the transistor will conduct. The lamp is now
completely turned on and all the supplied voltage is now at the ends of the lamp. At the ends of the transistor
on the contrary the voltage is very low, while the current is that flowing through the lamp. The transistor is
said to be saturated. If we calculate the power for the real parameters we will obtain an intermediate value
for the power. This value could be dangerous for most part of signal transistors.
We must note that there is a range of values of the base-emitter voltage such as the applied voltage will be
divided between the transistor and the lamp. We are in the so called active region and the power could reach
very high values. This is the region where the transistor works as a power amplifier.
It should be noted that the value of the base-emitter voltage can be properly adjusted by fixing the 12 volts
value on the power supply and the regulating the potentiometer resistance of the voltage partitor until the
correct value has been reached.

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 Experiment 10
RELATED TOPICS:

 Power transistor
 PNP transistor
 Lamp
 Potentiometer

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a PNP power transistor.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 PNP power transistor

 bridging plugs
 lamp holder
 lamp bulb E10, 12 V
 potentiometer 1 k
 power supply
 resistor R 10 k

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THEORY:

As in the case of the signal transistors shown in previous experiments it is sometimes useful for various
reasons to use a PNP power transistor instead of a NPN one. The circuit will be modified as above. Pay
attention to correctly connect the power supply in order to properly polarize the device. This is why the power
supply must be connected in the opposite direction rather than with an NPN transistor. As one can note, with
respect to the previous experiment using a NPN transistor, we have swapped the resistor for the
potentiometer, and vice versa. All considerations expressed above are valid also in this case.
Let us indeed consider the circuit depicted above: a transistor drives on its collector a 12 volts lamp. Until the
emitter-base voltage reaches the threshold value (typically around 0.6-0.7 volts), the transistor will not
conduct and all the voltage applied is at its ends, as one can verify with a voltmeter. The lamp will remain
turned off. The power dissipated by the transistor can be obtained by simply multiplying the voltage between
emitter and collector by the current flowing through it. Since in this condition we have a very weak current,
the transistor will dissipate a very low power. The transistor is in the cutoff state.
When the base-emitter voltage has reached the threshold value, the transistor will conduct. The lamp is now
completely turned on and all the supplied voltage is now at the ends of the lamp. At the ends of the transistor
on the contrary the voltage is very low, while the current is that flowing through the lamp. The transistor is
said to be saturated. If we calculate the power for the real parameters we will obtain an intermediate value
for the power. This value could be dangerous for the most part of signal transistors.
We must note that there is a range of values of the emitter- base voltage such as the applied voltage will be
divided between the transistor and the lamp. We are in the so called active region and the power could reach
very high values. This is the region where the transistor works as a power amplifier.
It should be noted that the value of the base-emitter voltage can be properly adjusted by fixing the 12 volts
value on the power supply and the regulating the potentiometer resistance of the voltage partitor until the
correct value has been reached.
It should be noted that in both experiments we deal with a typical transistor configuration, known as
common-emitter. In order to provide a quick comparison between the two kinds of transistor, both common-
emitter configurations have been recalled below.

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 Experiment 11
RELATED TOPICS:

 Thermistor
 Resistor
 Temperature

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the application of a NTC thermistor.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 NTC resistor
 power supply
 ammeter

THEORY:

A thermistor is a temperature-dependent resistor. There are two types of thermistors according to the sign of
their temperature coefficients. A Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) thermistor is a resistor with a

28
positive temperature coefficient. When the temperature rises the resistance of the PTC increases. A
Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) thermistor is a resistor with a negative temperature coefficient.
When the temperature rises the resistance of the NTC decreases.
A thermistor can be used for example for measuring and controlling the temperature of a liquid or a gas. NTC
thermistors is usually manufactured from the metal oxides of transition metals (manganese, cobalt, copper
and nickel), and can operate over a range of -200°C to +1000°C. PTC thermistors are manufactured from
barium titanium and are usually chosen when a strong change in resistance is required at a specific
temperature. As temperature sensing they can operate at temperatures ranging from 60°C to 180°C. As solid
state fuse to protect against excess current levels they can operate at currents ranging from several mA to
several A.
In the circuit depicted above we can study the behaviour of a NTC thermistor by using either a flame or ice
cubes. In the first case we can observe that when we bring a flame near to the NTC resistor, the temperature
rises and then the NTC resistance decreases and as a consequence the current flowing through it tends to
increase rapidly, as one can verify by inserting an ammeter in series to the resistor. Conversely, when ice
cubes are brought near to the NTC resistor, a decrease in temperature can be observed, then the NTC
resistance increases and as a consequence the current flowing through it tends rapidly to decrease, as one
can verify by inserting an ammeter in series to the resistor.

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 Experiment 12
RELATED TOPICS:

 Thermistor
 Resistor
 Temperature

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the application of a PTC thermistor.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 PTC resistor
 power supply
 ammeter

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THEORY:

As we have seen in the previous experiment, a thermistor is a temperature-dependent resistor. In this

experiment we will deal with a PTC resistor, which has a complementary behavior with respect to the NTC
resistor (as a matter of fact they strongly differ from a structural point of view).
In the circuit depicted above we can study the behaviour of a PTC thermistor by using either a flame or ice
cubes. In the first case we can observe that when we bring a flame near the PTC resistor, the temperature
rises and then the PTC resistance increases and as a consequence the current flowing through it tends to
decrease rapidly, as one can verify by inserting an ammeter in series to the resistor. Conversely, when ice
cubes are brought near the PTC resistor, an increase in temperature can be observed, then the PTC
resistance decreases and as a consequence the current flowing through it tends to increase rapidly, as one
can verify by inserting an ammeter in series to the resistor.

31
 Experiment 13
RELATED TOPICS:

 Phototransistor
 Infrared LED
 Reflection

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the application of an infrared LED and a phototransistor.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 infrared LED
 phototransistor
 one resistor 100 
 one resistor 10 k
 power supply
 ammeter
 voltmeter

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THEORY:

Phototransistor are solid state light detectors possessing internal gain. This is why they are more sensitive
than photodiodes of comparably sized area. These devices can be used to provide either an analog or a
digital output signal. They can be used for visible and near-IR photodetection with several light sources as
infrared LED or lasers, but also flame source or sunlight. From an electrical point of view they have the same
general characteristics as typical signal transistors, except that incident light replaces base driving current.
Infrared LEDs are solid state light sources emitting light in the near-IR part of the spectrum, usually used with
phototransistors.
In the circuit above described, we can measure how the light influences the value of the voltage between
collector and emitter of the phototransistor, as can be detected with a voltmeter. In particular, an interesting
experience could be accomplished if we use a mirror put above the infrared LED and the phototransistor.
The reflection produced by the mirror increases the voltage between base and emitter and as a
consequence the voltage between collector and emitter decreases. The opposite effect can be obtained by
substituting the mirror with a black cloth. Thus, an increase in the collector-emitter voltage can be easily
verified.

33
 Experiment 14
RELATED TOPICS:

 Photoresistance
 LED

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the application of an LDR photoresistance.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 LED, green colour
 Photoresistance LDR

THEORY:

Light Dependent Resistors (LDR), as the name suggests, are resistors whose resistance depends on the
light that shines on its surface. This device is very useful as light detector in practical light/dark sensor
circuits. The resistance of an LDR can reach very high values, even as high as 1 M  in the dark. But when it

34
is illuminated by an external light, its resistance drops dramatically, as low as 1 k, allowing a higher current
to pass through it. This simple behaviour can quickly be verified by the circuit depicted above. Let us divide
the experiment into three parts. First, let us observe what happens when the battery is switched on: the LED
will light up, showing that a current is passing through the LDR due to the presence of a environmental light.
Secondly, let us cover with a black sheet the light sensor of the LDR: now, no current will flow through the
resistance and the LED won’t light up. Finally, let us turn on a torch and bring it near the LDR: the resistance
will fall, allowing a big current to pass through it and the LED to brightly light up.

35
 Experiment 15
RELATED TOPICS:

 Photoresistance
 LED
 Transistor

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate a more complex application of an LDR photoresistance.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 resistors (see Electricity kit 1)
 LED, green colour
 Photoresistance LDR
 Signal transistor NPN

36
THEORY:

As we have seen in the previous experiment, Light Dependent Resistors (LDR) are resistors whose
resistance depends on the light that shines on its surface. A typical application is as a light/dark sensor
circuit. Let us consider the circuit depicted above. When the light level is low, the resistance of the LDR is
high. Hence the current flowing into it won’t be sufficient to activate the NPN transistor. As a consequence
the LED will not light up. The reader can verify this by turning down the light in the room or putting a black
cloth over the LDR.
On the contrary, when a light shines onto the LDR, its resistance rapidly falls down and a current can flow
through the base of the NPN transistor, and the LED will light up.
It should be noted that a resistor (say preset resistor) can be put as indicated in the circuit in order to
increase or decrease the resistance value. Try to use different values of the resistor and verify if the
correspondent circuit can be made more or less sensitive to the light.
With respect to the previous experiment, the circuit shown above can be useful for regulating the sensitivity
of a practical light/dark sensor. For example, one could insert a relay instead of the LED: it will switch on
when the external light joins a sufficient value to allow a current to activate the transistor.
Finally, we want to observe that by simply swapping the preset resistor and the LDR, a complementary circuit
that activates when it is dark can be obtained.

37
 Experiment 16
RELATED TOPICS:

 SCR
 LED
 Transistor

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the electrical behaviour of a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR).

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 resistors
 LED, red colour
 Silicon Controlled Rectifier

THEORY:

38
The Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) belongs to a family of semiconductor known as thyristors, together
with other similar devices such as TRIAC and UJT, but this will be dealt with further experiments. Thyristors
are characterized by a typical switch behaviour and are formed by the superposition of four p-n-p-n sandwich
layer. They are commonly used in switch and control power circuits, both with continuous and alternating
voltages.
An SCR is composed by three junctions: one PN, one NP and one PN as shown in picture (a). With respect
to the diode (with cathode and anode) it has a third electrode called gate. In picture (b) the electrical symbol
is shown.

If we apply a positive voltage to the cathode, the SCR does not allow the current to flow, whereas the diode
does. The reason is due to the central junction (NP junction) that is inversely polarized, this blocking the
current passage. But, if we apply on this junction a proper voltage by means of the gate, the current will
immediately flow (avalanche effect). Its electrical behaviour can be better studied if one imagines that the
SCR can be viewed as formed by two complementary transistors, as shown in picture (c). Until a positive
voltage to the anode is applied, both transistors are inactivated (no current through their bases). But, when a
positive voltage is applied to the gate, a base current will begin to flow through the NPN, thus activating also
the PNP transistor. This process will continue even if the gate voltage is removed.
With respect to a transistor, a SCR differs because its current does not follow a proportional law (with respect
to the base) but has a two-state behaviour: it flows or it doesn’t flow. Furthermore, while the transistor does
not conduct if the base current is removed, an SCR will continue to be on even without a gate current.
A simple circuit showing this typical behaviour is depicted in the picture above. Until the toggle has been
switched on, no current will flow through the device. But when the switch allows to apply a voltage to the
gate, the SCR begins to conduct and the LED will light on. Once the LED is on, it keeps its brightness unless
one turns down the external voltage. The reader can try to switch off the toggle: the diode will continue to
light on. The same effect could be obtained by substituting the LED and the 100  resistance with a 12 V
lamp.

39
 Experiment 17
RELATED TOPICS:

 TRIAC
 Photoresistance
 Transistor

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a TRIAC.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 connecting leads
 lamp holder
 lamp bulb, 12 V
 PNP signal transistor
 NPN signal transistor
 TRIAC
 photoresistance
 one resistor 100 

40
  one resistor 220 
 one resistor 470 
 one resistor 4.7 k
 one resistor 10 k
 power supply

THEORY:

The TRIAC is another electronic device belonging to the thyristors family. It has the fundamental
characteristics to allow the passage of a current in both directions and has for this reason a lot of
applications in controlling the power in alternating voltage circuits.
In figure (a) the electrical scheme of the TRIAC is shown. In figure (b) the equivalent electrical symbol has
been depicted. From an electric point of view it can be considered as composed of two diodes in antiparallel
configuration, as shown in figure (c). The anodes of the both SCR are now the main terminals (MT1 and
MT2, respectively) of the TRIAC. The gates of the SCRs are connected together to give the gate of the
TRIAC.

As can be inferred from the equivalent circuit, in a TRIAC the current can flow in both directions. Moreover,
the switching to the ON state can be obtained either with a positive or negative voltage applied to the gate.
As one can easily verify, there are four possible combinations of functions, depending on the respective
polarity of terminal and gate voltages. The choice depends on various performance factors. Usually, the most
common polarization is when the gate and the main terminal voltages have the same polarity.
TRIACs are ideal components for switching power control systems, especially for high power applications
such as those using heating elements. A classical circuit using TRIACs is the so-called lamp dimmer. In this
case a TRIAC is particularly useful because it can control the high current that is produced at the start up,
and moreover it can operate in both current directions.
In the circuit depicted above, the TRIAC is used to switch on a lamp when the night/day becomes dimmer is
coming. In fact, the LDR resistance allows to control the polarization of the TRIAC, by means of the proper
polarization network (here composed by two transistors, a NPN and a PNP). By applying a 12 V AC voltage
to a 12 V lamp, until the day light reaches a certain weak value, the light will remain turned off. But when the
darkness comes, for instance by covering the LDR with a black cloth, the current will flow through the PNP
and thus the TRIAC will conduct and finally the lamp will light up.

41
 Experiment 18
RELATED TOPICS:

 UJT

The purpose of the experiment is to illustrate the behaviour of a Unijunction Transistor (UJT).

ITEMS NEEDED:

 toggle switch
 bridging plugs
 connecting leads
 unijunction transistor UJT
 one capacitor 1000F
 one resistor 100 
 one resistor 10 k
 one LED diode

42
THEORY:

The Unijunction Transistor (UJT) is a switching device with three terminals but a single PN junction. This
particular configuration does not allow it to amplify signals. Nevertheless it can be used as an active
component in oscillator circuits. The UJT is composed by a silicon bar and has got electrical contacts at both
terminals, called Base 1 (B1) and Base 2 (B2). The third electrode is an aluminum terminal that creates a P
region, thus forming a PN junction. The third electrode is called emitter (E). The junction schema is shown in
figure (a), while the UJT circuit symbol is depicted in (b).

The UJT can be used as a pulse generator with the trigger or control signal applied to the emitter. This
control voltage is a fraction of the base-base voltage (V bb). The emitter terminal does not inject current into
the base region until its voltage reaches a certain value V P. Once that value has been reached, the base
region conducts and a positive pulse appears at the B1 terminal, whereas a negative pulse appears at B2. In
other words, an UJT incorporates a negative resistance region, a low emitter current and a high output pulse
current at terminals B1 and B2. These characteristics make the UJT the ideal candidate for pulse oscillator
circuits.
A typical application of the UJT is as relaxation oscillator. The related circuit is shown above. It can be used
with a 6 volts generator, even if higher voltages can be applied. The capacitor C can be charged by means of
the resistor R. When the voltage reaches the critical value V P, the UJT emitter begins to conduct, thus
uncharging the capacitor C. Then the capacitor C begins to recharge itself again, and the process will
continue endlessly. Three different signals can be picked up at the output: negative pulses on B2, positive
pulses on B1, and a sawtooth signal on the emitter, as one can test with a proper oscilloscope.
It should be noted that the resistance R 1 is here used to generate a voltage drop and thus a positive pulse. In
order to observe the voltage oscillations, a LED diode has been inserted. The reader can observe that it
alternatively lights up. An oscilloscope would allow to measure the oscillation frequency too.

43
 Experiment 19

RELATED TOPICS:

 LED diode
 Infrared LED
 Astable multivibrator
 Flip-flop circuit

The purpose of the experiment is to show how it’s possible to realize a symmetrical astable multivibrator
called also a flip-flop circuit. It should be noted that for a practical implementation of this experiment two
identical kits are required. The reader is suggested to merge components of two identical kits.

ITEMS NEEDED:

 Two NPN transistors

 bridging plugs and connecting leads
 LED diode, red colour
 LED diode, green colour (or red colour)
 Two power supply
 Two Si diodes
 Two resistances R 470
 Two resistances R 47k
 Two capacitors
 One toggle switch

44
THEORY:

An astable multivibrator is a two stage switching circuit in which the output of the first stage is connected to
the input of the second stage and vice versa. The outputs of both stages are complementary. This free
running multivibrator generates square wave without any external triggering pulse. The circuit has two stable
states and switches back and forth from one state to another, remaining in each state for a time depending
upon the discharging of the capacitive circuit.
The multivibrator is one form of relaxation oscillator, the frequency of which may be controlled by external
synchronizing pulses.
In our experiment we are using a transistor, as the amplifying device and also it works as a collector coupled
multivibrator.

The figure shows another example of the basic symmetrical astable multivibrator in which components in one
half of a cycle of the circuit are identical to their counterpart in the other half. Square wave output can be
obtained from the collector point of Q1 or Q2.
The charging equation for a capacitor is given by
-t
VC  VINIT + (VFIN - VINIT )(1 - e RC
) (1)
Hence
-t
VC  VFIN - (VFIN - VINIT )e RC (2)
where VC is the capacitor voltage, VINIT is the initial capacitor voltage, VFIN is the final capacitor voltage, t is
the time period of charging. R and C are the resistor and capacitor through which charging occurs.
The capacitor discharges from –VCC to VCC. Therefore VIN=(-VCC), VFIN=VCC, is VC nearly 0V.
Substituting this in equation (2)
-t
0  VCC + (-VCC - VCC )e RC (3)

Taking natural logarithm

-t
ln 0.5 
RC
t  0.693RC (4)
For a symmetrical astable multivibrator
R1  R2  R
C1  C2  C

45
Charging and discharging time periods are given by
t1  0.693R1C1
t2  0.693R2C2

With the help of a datalogger it’s possible to verify the total time period (by using a light sensor for example).

46
 APPENDIX
Basics of experimental error theory

We can say that everything we know about the physical world has an inherent uncertainty. In
particular, when we experimentally investigate something there is always an “experimental error”
and an “experimental precision”. Since one of the main features of experiments is their
reproducibility, it is very important to deal with this subject in order to be able to explain how good
our results are. This is possible with the so-called “experimental error theory”, a scientific approach
to this problem.

Let us consider the following example: find the density of a solid rubber cube.

o First trial (with very raw instruments). We can estimate that the mass of the cube is
nearly 50 g and the length of a side is nearly 6 cm. So the density would be:
M M
r  3  0,23148... . There are many questions: “Where can I stop with
V L
decimal digits to communicate my result?” “Is it better to have precision on the
mass measurement or on length measurement?” “How do we combine our
experimental error on the mass measurement with the experimental error on length
measurement?”
o Second trial (with more accurate instruments). By using an electronic balance and
a meter stick I find a mass of 60g and a side length of 5,4 cm. So the density would
be:
M M
r  3  0,381039475... . We still need to answer the questions put above but
V L
we also have to answer a new question: “What makes this trial better than the first
one?”
o Third trial (with much more accurate instruments to measure the side length). If
we improve the accuracy of the length measurement, for example by using a vernier
caliper, the problem becomes more involved. This is due to the fact that we do not
get the same result if we take more than one measure. Instead we have a set of
different measurements like (5,455 cm; 5,425 cm; 5,465 cm; …). Thus we are again
faced with the question: “Which one of the measurements (5,455 cm; 5,425 cm;
5,465 cm; …) do should I take?”

Therefore, the more we analyse the problem the more it gets involved. To search for a possible
solution we can start from the third trial and observe that, generally speaking, when we improve the
accuracy of an instrument we reach a point at which the experimental results are not fixed but are
scattered around a value as illustrated in this graph:

47
If the number of measurements N is greater then about 30, the distribution of the experimental data
is bell-shaped and has a value X for which there is a maximum and around which the data are
scattered in a nearly symmetrical way. It is also possible to distinguish a value that determines an
interval around X into which a significant percentage of the measurements are placed. We need to
answer the questions: “Is X the best estimate of our measurement?”, “How much can we rely on
this value?” and “What percentage of the measurements are in the interval X-s and X+s ?”

To express these questions mathematically, we could try a prototype function that fits our data and
that expresses the probability to get a particular measurement value:
1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

-3 -2 -1 1 2 3
this is the graphical representation of the function
2
f ( x)  e - x
If we want to centre the function around the value X we use the expression x-X in place of x, and if
we want to control the scattering of the measurements around X it’s possible to divide (x-X)2 by
2s 2.
The following figure shows f(x) with X=2 and s=1;1.5;2
1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

-2 2 4 6 8 10 -2 2 4 6 8 10 -2 2 4 6 8 10

Finally, if we want to control the area under the curve we have to multiply it by a normalization
factor As that would depend on s .
Therefore our prototype function is:

48
 -
x - X 2
f (x)  As  e 2s 2

where X is the value for which we have the maximum and s determines how the measurements are
scattered around X. This is called a “Gaussian function” or a “Normal function”, but the underlying
data represent a distribution (still called Gaussian) and not a function. It can be proved that the
Gaussian distribution is derivable from the binomial distribution assuming that the number of
measurements N à ¥ and s remains constant.

The physical meaning of all this is that we do not describe a measurement with a single number but
rather with a set of values each one with its own probability to appear as an experimental datum.
This probability is governed by the “Gaussian distribution”. There is an analogy with quantum
mechanics (for example with the wave packet of a particle) where the interpretation is that if we
make a measure of the position of the particle then the probability to obtain a particular value is
governed by the Gaussian function and is never a well defined fixed value.

Let us determine the value of As in . We must have a probability of 1 to get a measurement in the
range from -¥ to +¥ (that is, if we perform a measurement we are certain to get some kind of result
no matter how large or how small that result is):
+� 1
�
-�
f ( x )dx  1 � As 
2p �s

To give an interpretation of s we can ask what happens if we are only interested in the probability
of finding measurements in the range from X-s to X+s instead of the range from -¥ to +¥:
2
t
X +s 1 +1 -
�X -s
f ( x) dx 
2p �
�
-1
e 2
dt : 0.68

so s , also called then “standard deviation” (s 2 is called “variance”), is the amount of uncertainty we
have to allow for, in the most probable value X, if we want to claim a roughly 68% chance of
correctly predicting the result of any single measurement.

To determine X, also called the “mean value”, we consider a set of N measurements x1, x2, …, xN.
The probability to get a single result between xi and xi+dx is:

 x - xi  2
1 -
Pi  �
e s2
2�

s 2p
so the probability to get all the results (viewed as independent events) is:
N

� x - x 
2
i

1 - i 1

P  P1 �P2 �... �PN a N �

2
e 2�s
s
Since we are speaking about the probability P to get all the results and we can suppose to have
already done our experiment with a set of real results what should be the value of P?

If we accept the maximum likelihood principle we can make an analogy with entropy and say that P
is proportional to the entropy obtained from our experiment. The value X must be a point of
maximum entropy. By the second principle of thermodynamics we have to maximize P, otherwise
d �N 2�
said X is the value of x that minimize the exponent: ��  x - xi  � 0 from which it results:
dx �i 1 �

49
 1 N
�xi
N i 1
X 

that is, the mean value X is the arithmetic mean and describes all the collected data since it is the
value for which the maximum entropy is obtained for our set of data.

� � x - xi  �
N
2

d �1 - 2�s 2 �
i 1

To determine s we can proceed in the same way ds � �

e � 0 from which:
sN
� �
�
� �
�
1 N
�  x - xi 
2
s
N i 1
But what should be use instead of x in equation ? If we use then equation is slightly self-referential
N 2
1 �1 �
because s 
N
�
i 1
� ( x1 + ... + xi + ... + xN ) - xi � and
�N �
the i-esim term appears two times. It is possible to
show that the correct value of the standard deviation is:

1 N
�  X - xi 
2
s
N - 1 i 1
Clearly s is not defined for N=1 (we are assuming N greater of nearly 30, otherwise there are better
distributions to consider).

Suppose now we have a function Q of several variables Q  f (a, b, c,...) and we want to know how
the experimental error on each variable contributes to Q.
We can say that by varying the variables, the quantity Q varies of:
�Q �Q �Q
DQ  Da + Db + Dc + ...
� a �b �c
and if we identify our uncertainty Dx with the standard deviation s x we can say that:
� Q �Q �Q
sQ  sa + sb + s c + ...
�a �b �c
the modulus is due to the fact that errors could cancel each other and we want to consider the
maximum error.
We could do better, obtaining a smaller value, if the variables are normal and independent, by
1 N
�  �- Qi  where Qi  f (ai , bi , ci ,...) is the i-esim value of Q by taking
2
starting from s Q 
N - 1 i 1
the i-esim value of each variable of our set of data, � f ( A, B, C ,...) is the mean value of Q by
taking the mean value of each variable of our set of data.
2 2 2
��Q �Q � �� Q� �� Q�
 �- Qi    DQi   � Dai + Dbi + ... �; � � Dai  + � � Dbi  + ...
2 2 2 2
Since (by
��ai �bi � �� ai � �� bi �
neglecting terms of higher order) we have:

2 2
��
Q� 1 N ��
Q� 1 N
�  i � � �  Dbi  + ...
2 2
sQ  � � D a +
��a �1
N4- 14 i21 4 43 �� b �1
N4- 14 i21 4 43
s a2 s b2

or

50
 2 2
�� Q� ��
Q�
s Q  � �s a2 + � �s b2 + ...
�� a� ��b�
which is better of since it’s always lower.
N
1
Suppose now that the function Q is just the arithmetic mean X 
N
�x
i 1
i . By applying equation
we get
2 2
��
X� ��
X�
s X  � �s x21 + � �s x22 + ...
��
x1 � ��
x2 �
�
X ��1 N
� 1
but
�

xi �xi �
�N
�x � and s
� N
i 1
i x1  s x2  ...  s and so

s
sX 
N
which is called “standard deviation of the mean”. Analogously to the “standard deviation”, it tells us
how good is the mean value X and we can assume it as the amount of uncertainty we have to allow
for if we want to claim a roughly 68% chance of correctly predicting the result of any other mean
value it is possible to obtain.
sQ
It is also useful to speak about relative error instead of absolute error s Q . The relative error can
Q
be expressed in percentage.

For example let us return to the problem of determine the density of a cube.
M
Now, the function Q is the density which is function of the mass M and the side length L: r  .
L3
60 g g
If M  60 g and L  54mm it’s easy to find that the mean value is r  3 3
10-4 3
 3,81 �
54 cm cm
By applying equation we have that the relative error is:
sr 1 � r 1 � r L3 1 L3 -3M 1 3
 sM + sL  s M + sL  sM + sL .
r r � M r � L M L 3
M L 4
M L
If we can suppose the precision of the mass measurement is s M  2 g and the precision of the
length measurement is s L  1mm we have:
s r 2 3� 1
 + ; 3,3% + 5, 6%  8,9%
r 60 54
(this says it is more important to make a careful length measurement than a careful mass
measurement).
By applying equation we get a better (lower) estimate of the density error:
sr sM 2 9� s L2 22 9 �12
 +  +  6, 5% .
r M2 L2 602 542
This means that if we take another measurement of density there’s a probability of nearly 68% that
g
the new value will lie between (3,8 �0, 2) � 10 -4 3 .
cm
It is important to note that since the standard deviation on density is 0,2 x 10-4 g/cm3 we can stop at
the first decimal digit 3,8 x 10-4.

51