Activity No.

1
Diode Characteristics
CpE 222- Fundamental of Electronic Circuit

Name: Jeanbe A. Lomugdang Date: May 12, 2023

Year/Section: BSCpE 2A Ratings: ________

COURSE OUTCOME:
At the end of the activity the student shall be able to:
• study and verify the functionality of PN junction diode in forward bias.
• study and verify the functionality of PN junction diode in reverse bias
INSTRUMENTS AND COMPONENTS
Computer set
TinkerCad as simulator software

DISCUSSION:

Biasing of PN junction Diode:

Forward bias operation

The P-N junction supports uni-directional current flow. If positive terminal of the input
supply is connected to Positive side and negative terminal is connected the n side, then diode is
said to be forward biased condition. In this condition the height of the potential barrier at the
junction is lowered by an amount equal to given forward biasing voltage. Both the holes from
pside and electrons from n-side cross the junction simultaneously thereby decreasing the depleted
region. This constitutes a forward current (majority carrier movement – diffusion current).
Assuming current flowing through the diode to be very large, the diode can be approximated as
short, circuited switch. Diode offers a very small resistance called forward resistance (few ohms).
Reverse bias operation
If negative terminal of the input supply is connected to positive side and negative
terminal is connected to n-side then the diode is said to be reverse biased. In this condition an
amount equal to reverse biasing voltage increases the height of the potential barrier at the
junction. Both the holes on P-side and electrons on N-side tend to move away from the junction
there by increasing the depleted region. However, the process cannot continue indefinitely, thus a
small current called reverse saturation current continues to flow in the diode. This current is
negligible; the diode can be approximated as an open circuited switch it offers a very high
resistance called reverse resistance (few Kilo ohms).

Diode Current Equation

The volt-ampere characteristics of a diode explained by the following equations:

Where:
I = current flowing in the diode,
I0 = reverse saturation current
V = voltage applied to the diode,
VT = volt- equivalent of temperature = k T/q = T/ 11,600 = 26mV (@ room temp)
Ƞ=1 (for Ge) and 2 (for Si)
Procedure for Forward Bias Condition:
1. Connect the circuit as per the diagram below using tinker Cad.

2. Vary the applied voltage V in steps of 0.1V. Once the current starts increasing vary V in steps
of 0.02V up to 12V and note down the corresponding readings Vf and If
3. Note down the corresponding Ammeter readings If.
4. Tabulate different forward currents obtained for different forward voltages
5. Plot the characteristics and calculate the resistance levels.

Tabular column:
Forward bias Reverse bias
Vd (volts) Id ( mA) Vd (volts) Id ( µA)
0 0 0 0
0.544 1.46 1 0
0.565 3.24 2 0
0.569 3.83 4 0
0.573 4.43 5.10 0
0.581 6.02 6.7 0
0.583 6.62 7.9 0
0.592 9.21 8 0
0.596 10.7 10.7 0
0.597 11.4 12 0

Procedure for Reverse Bias Condition:

1. Connect the circuit as per the diagram in forward bias but reverse the diode using tinker
Cad.
2. Vary the applied voltage V in steps of 0.1V. Once the current starts increasing vary V in
steps of 0.02V up to 12V and note down the corresponding readings Vf and If
3. Note down the corresponding Ammeter readings If.
4. Tabulate different forward currents obtained for different forward voltages.
5. Plot the characteristics and calculate the resistance levels.
 Graph here

Forward Bias
12

10
Diode Current (mA)

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Diode Voltage (V)

Reverse Bias
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
Diode Current (mA)

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Diode Voltage (V)
OBSERVATION

PROBLEM:

1. Calculate static and dynamic resistance from graph for the given diode. For the Dynamic
resistance assume that the diode is a silicon diode.

FORWARD BIAS
Vd (volts) Id ( mA) STATIC rD (ohm) DYNAMIC RD(ohm)
0 0 undefined undefined
0.544 1.46 0.37260274 1000
0.565 3.24 0.174382716 1000
0.569 3.83 0.148563969 1000
0.573 4.43 0.129345372 1000
0.581 6.02 0.096511628 1000
0.583 6.62 0.088066465 1000
0.592 9.21 0.064277959 1000
0.596 10.7 0.055700935 1000
0.597 11.4 0.052368421 1000

REVERSE BIAS
Vd (volts) Id ( µA) STATIC rD (ohm) DYNAMIC RD(ohm)
0 0 undefined undefined
1 0 undefined undefined
2 0 undefined undefined
4 0 undefined undefined
5.10 0 undefined undefined
6.7 0 undefined undefined
7.9 0 undefined undefined
8 0 undefined undefined
10.7 0 undefined undefined
12 0 undefined undefined

FORMULA USED in Static and Dynamic Resistance for both Forward and Reverse Bias

r= Static Resistance
R= Dynamic Resistance
V= Volts
I= Current

r= V/ I R= ∆V/ ∆I
 2. Find the voltage of DC resistance of a germanium junction diode at 25oC with Io=25µA
and at an applied voltage of 0.2 V across diode.

I = current flowing in the diode,

I0 = reverse saturation current
V = voltage applied to the diode,
VT = volt- equivalent of temperature = k T/q = T/ 11,600 = 26mV (@ room temp)
Ƞ=1 (for Ge) and 2 (for Si)
R=Resistance

GIVEN:

I0= 25µA --> 0.025mA

V= 0.2 V --> 200mV
VT= 26mV
n= 1

SOLUTION:

I= Io ¿) R = V/ I
I = 0.025(e200 /1(26) −1) R = 200/ 54.76065
I = 54.76065 mA R = 3.65226 ꭥ

CONCLUSION:
In this lab, I have encountered the behaviour of Diode in both forward
and reverse bias. I have observed that in forward bias the diode allowed current to
flow easily with a voltage drop of around 0.6-0.7V. While in reverse bias the diode
blocked the current flow resulting to all zero resistance. The current that flows
through the diode in forward bias depends on the voltage applied. Also I have
learned that the dynamic resistance should be higher compared to the static
resistance. If ever the static is much higher than the the dynamic, it means that
there’s something wrong in your solution.