ECE 140 LAB ACTIVITY 3

VS(V) VF (V) I (mA)

DIODE
CHARACTERISTIC 0.4

CURVE 0.5

0.6

PARTS AND EQUIPMENT 0.7

Miltisim Software:
0.8
Variable dc power supply; VOM; DMM or two
DMMs. 0.9
Small-signal diode, type 1N914 or similar.
Resistor: 1kΩ. 1.0
Graph paper.
2
OBJECTIVE
4
To plot the I-versus-V characteristic curve for a
silicon diode. 6

PROCEDURE
8
Characteristic-Curve Data:
10
Construct the circuit of Fig.2-1 in your
Multisim software. Use the 2 Multimeters as a 15
voltmeter (V) across Diode and as ammeter (A), use
the DC_Interactive_Voltage as your source. 20

Table 2-1 Diode forward voltage and

current data.

Scale your graph paper to plot the data

points. Horizontally, scale from 0 V to 1. 0V, taking
up above three-fourths of the paper’s width, on its
right. Vertically scale from o to 20mA, taking up
about three-fourths of the paper height, on its top.
Figure 2-1
Carefully plot each data points (VF, I) from
Table 2-1. Join the data points with a smooth curve.
Compare your results to the characteristic curve as
Starting in the top row of Table 2-1, adjust
discussed in the lecture. In your own words, give a
VS to 0.4V. Measure the diode’s forward voltage VF
description of the forward behaviour of the silicon
and I and record them. For the second row, raise VS
diode.
to 0.5 V; repeat the VF and I measurements, and
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record. Continue through Table 2-1, measuring and
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recording VF and I data values for each given values
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of VS.
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Reverse Bias
VS (V) VDiode (V) VR(V) I (from
A tiny amount of reverse current flows VR/R)
through a reverse-biased diode. This reverse current
is typically a fraction of a microampere, so it ─5 µA
probably cannot be measured directly by any
─10 µA
ammeter that you have. However, if you install a 1-
MΩ current-limiting resistor in series with the ─15 µA
diode, as shown in Fig 2-2, you can find the reverse
current indirectly. This is done by measuring the ─20 µA
voltage VR1 across the 1-MΩ resistor with a very
high-resistance voltmeter (DMM). Then find the
resistor current by applying the Ohm’s Law. Table 2-2

𝑉 𝑉
IR1 = 1MΩ = 1 ×10
R1
Ω
R1
6 When the overall characteristic graph for
your diode is complete, compare it to the expected
diode performance from Text Section 2-3.
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Figure 2-2

Since the diode is in series with the resistor,

it must carry that very same value of current. In this
way you can indirect measurements of the diode’s
reverse current.
The reverse voltage across the diode, VDiode
in Table 2-2, is found from Kirchhoff’s voltage law:

VDiode = VS ─ VF
Perform the above procedure for each of the
Vs values given in Table 2-2. Plot the reverse data
points on the same graph paper containing your
forward characteristic curve. Do this by changing
the reverse voltage horizontal scale factor so that
the range from 0 to ─20V fits on the left one-fourth
of your paper. Refer to the Fig. 2-10 on page 28.

Do a similar change for the reverse current

scale factor in the vertical direction. Consult your
instructor for help on scaling this graph.