AIR UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

EXPERIMENT NO 7

Lab Title: SPECIAL PURPOSE DIODES

Student Name: Reg. No:

Objective:

LAB ASSESSMENT:
Attributes Excellent Good Average Satisfacto Unsatisfacto
(5) (4) (3) ry (2) ry (1)

Ability to Conduct
Experiment

Ability to assimilate
the results

Effective use of lab

equipment and
follows the lab safety
rules

Total Marks: Obtained Marks:

LAB REPORT ASSESSMENT:

Attributes Excellent Good Average Satisfacto Unsatisfacto
(5) (4) (3) ry (2) ry (1)

Data presentation

Experimental results

Conclusion

Total Marks: Obtained Marks: Date: Signature:

 LABORATORY
EXPERIMENT
NO. 7

SPECIAL PURPOSE DIODES

OBJECTIVE
1. To become familiar with the function and operation of Light-Emitting Diode (LED).
2. To observe the behavior and working of Zener Diode.

DISCUSSION
There are few diodes which are designed to serve some special purposes. There are many of such kinds
like Transient voltage suppression diodes, Gold doped diodes, Super barrier diodes, Point contact diodes,
Peltier diodes etc. But other than these, there are few prominent diodes like Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
and Zener Diode, which have got many applications.

Light-Emitting Diode (LED):

Light-emitting diode (LED) is a widely used standard source of light in electrical equipment. It has a wide
range of applications ranging from your mobile phone to large advertising billboards. They mostly find
applications in devices that show the time and display different types of data.
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows
through it. When current passes through an LED, the electrons recombine with holes emitting light in the
process. LEDs allow the current to flow in the forward direction and blocks the current in the reverse
direction.
Light-emitting diodes are heavily doped p-n junctions. Based on the semiconductor material used and the
amount of doping, an LED will emit a coloured light at a particular spectral wavelength when forward
biased. An LED is encapsulated with a transparent cover so that emitted light can come out.
LED Symbol:
The LED symbol is the standard symbol for a diode, with the addition of two small arrows denoting the
emission of light.

Simple LED Circuit:

The figure below shows a simple LED circuit.
The circuit consists of an LED, a voltage supply and a resistor to regulate the current and voltage.

When the diode is forward biased, the minority electrons are sent from p → n while the minority
holes are sent from n → p. At the junction boundary, the concentration of minority carriers increases.
The excess minority carriers at the junction recombine with the majority charges carriers.

The energy is released in the form of photons on recombination. In standard diodes, the energy is released
in the form of heat. But in light-emitting diodes, the energy is released in the form of photons. We call this
phenomenon electroluminescence. Electroluminescence is an optical phenomenon, and electrical
phenomenon where a material emits light in response to an electric current passed through it. As the
forward voltage increases, the intensity of the light increases and reaches a maximum.
The colour of an LED is determined by the material used in the semiconducting element. The two primary
materials used in LEDs are aluminium gallium indium phosphide alloys and indium gallium nitride alloys.
Aluminium alloys are used to obtain red, orange and yellow light, and indium alloys are used to get green,
blue and white light. Slight changes in the composition of these alloys change the colour of the emitted
light.
Uses of LED:
LEDs find applications in various fields, including optical communication, alarm and security systems,
remote-controlled operations, robotics, etc. Below are a few standards LED uses:

∙ Used for TV back-lighting

 ∙ Used in displays

∙ Used in Automotives

∙ LEDs used in the dimming of lights

Types of LED:
Below is the list of different types of LED that are designed using semiconductors:

∙ High-Power LEDs

∙ Flash LED

∙ Bi and Tri-Colour

∙ Red Green Blue LEDs

∙ Alphanumeric LED

∙ Lighting LED

Advantages of LED in electronic displays:

The followings are the major advantages of the LED in an electronics displays.

∙ The LED are smaller in sizes, and they can be stacked together to form numeric and alphanumeric
display in the high-density matrix.

∙ The intensity of the light output of the LED depends on the current flows through it. The intensity of
their light can be controlled smoothly.

∙ The LED are available which emits light in the different colours like red, yellow, green and amber.

∙ The on and off time or switching time of the LED is less than of 1 nanoseconds. Because of this, the
LED are used for the dynamic operation.

∙ The LEDs are very economical and giving the high degree of reliability because they are
manufactured with the same technology as that of the transistor.

∙ The LED are operated over a wide range of temperature say 0° – 70°. Also, it is very durable and
can withstand shock and variation.

∙ The LED have a high efficiency, but they require moderate power for operation. Typically, the
voltage of 1.2V and the current of 20mA is required for full brightness. Therefore, it is used in a
place where less power are available.
Zener Diode:
The Zener diode is like a general-purpose signal diode. When biased in the forward direction it behaves
just like a normal signal diode, but when a reverse voltage is applied to it, the voltage remains constant for
a wide range of currents.
Avalanche Breakdown:
There is a limit for the reverse voltage. Reverse voltage can increase until the diode breakdown voltage
reaches. This point is called Avalanche Breakdown region. At this stage maximum current will flow
through the zener diode. This breakdown point is referred as “Zener voltage”.
The Zener Diode is used in its "reverse bias". From the I-V Characteristics curve, we can study that the
zener diode has a region in its reverse bias characteristics of almost a constant negative voltage regardless
of the value of the current flowing through the diode and remains nearly constant even with large changes
in current as long as the zener diode current remains between the breakdown current I Z (min) and the
maximum current rating IZ (max).
This ability to control itself can be used to great effect to regulate or stabilize a voltage source against
supply or load variations. The fact that the voltage across the diode in the breakdown region is almost
constant turns out to be an important application of the zener diode as a voltage regulator.

I-V Curve of Diode

The forward bias region of a Zener diode is identical to that of a regular diode. The typical forward
voltage at room temperature with a current of around 1 mA is around 0.6 volts. In the reverse bias
condition the Zener diode is an open circuit and only a small leakage current is flowing as shown on the
exaggerated plot. As the breakdown voltage is approached, the current will begin to avalanche. The initial
transition from leakage to breakdown is soft but then the current rapidly increases as shown in the plot.
The voltage across the Zener diode in the breakdown region is very nearly constant with only a small
increase in voltage with increasing current. At some high current level, the power dissipation of the diode
becomes excessive and the part is destroyed. There is a minimum Zener current I z (min) that places the
operating point in the desired breakdown. There is a maximum Zener current I z (max) at which the power
dissipation drives the junction temperature to the maximum allowed. Beyond that current the diode can be
damaged.
Zener diodes are available from about 2.4 to 200 volts typically using the same sequence of values as used
for the 5% resistor series –2.4, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.6, 3.9, 4.3, 4.7, 5.1, 5.6, 6.2, 6.8, 7.5, 8.2, 9.1, 10, 11, 12, 13,
15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, etc. All Zener diodes have a power rating, P Z. From Watt’s law the maximum
current is IZ (MAX) = PZ / VZ. Zener diodes are typically available with power ratings of 0.25, 0.4, 0.5, 1,
2, 3, and 5 watts. However, other values are also available.
Zener Diode as Voltage Regulator:
The function of a regulator is to provide a constant output voltage to a load connected in parallel with it in
spite of the ripples in the supply voltage or the variation in the load current. The zener diode permits
current to flow in the forward direction as normal as well as allows it to flow in the reverse direction
when the voltage is above a certain value i.e. the breakdown voltage known as the Zener voltage. The
Zener diode is specially made to have a reverse voltage breakdown at a specific voltage. In breakdown the
voltage across the Zener diode is close to constant over a wide range of currents thus making it useful as a
shunt voltage regulator.

The resistor is selected so that when the input voltage is at V IN (min) and the load current is at I L (max) that
the current through the Zener diode is at least I z (min). Then for all other combinations of input voltage
and load current the Zener diode conducts the excess current thus maintaining a constant voltage across
the load. The Zener conducts the least current when the load current is the highest and it conducts the
most current when the load current is the lowest.

Basically there are two types of regulations such as:

(i) Line Regulation
(ii) Load Regulation

(i) Line Regulation:

In this type of regulation, series resistance and load resistance are fixed, only input voltage is changing.
Output voltage remains the same as long as the input voltage is maintained above a minimum value.

V
Δ

Percentage of line regulation can be calculated by = *100 o

V
Δ IN

Where V0 is the output voltage and VIN is the input voltage. ΔV0 is the change in output voltage for a
particular change in input voltage ΔVIN.
(ii) Load Regulation:

In this type of regulation, input voltage is fixed and the load resistance is varying. Output voltage remains
same, as long as the load resistance is maintained above a minimum value.
 ⎢
⎣⎡ −NL

*100 ⎥
Percentage of load regulation can be calculated by = ⎦⎤
VV
NL FL
V

Where VNL is the null load resistor voltage (i.e. remove the load resistance and measure the voltage across
the Zener Diode) and VFL is the full load resistor voltage.
LAB TASK 1

∙ Make the connections as shown in figure below by taking R=1kΩ.

∙ Supply input voltage from the DC power supply and vary the voltage from 1V to 12V. ∙
Measure the VD, ID, level of brightness and record the values in the table.

RESULTS
LAB TASK 2
∙ Make the connections as shown in figure below by taking R=1kΩ.

∙ Supply input voltage from the DC power supply and vary the voltage from 1V to 12V. ∙
Measure the VD, ID, level of brightness and record the values in the table.

RESULTS
LAB TASK 3
Line Regulation:

∙ Make the connections as shown in figure below.

∙ Supply input voltage from the power supply and vary the voltage from 1V to 20V. ∙ Measure the
output voltage Vout, voltage across resistor VR1, current through diode IZ (mA) and record the values
in the table.
RESULTS
Vin(V) Vout(V) VR1(V) IZ (mA) PZ=VoutIZ Is the
Output
Regulated?
LAB TASK 4
Load Regulation:
∙ Make the connections as shown in figure.

∙ Supply a fixed input voltage of 12V from the DC power supply and vary the load. ∙ Measure the
output voltage Vout, current through diode Iz (mA) and current through the load IR2 (mA).
∙ Record the values in table.

RESULTS
R2 (Ω) Vout (V) IR2 (mA) IZ (mA) Is the Output
Regulated?

1kΩ
 10kΩ

100kΩ

CONCLUSION
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