Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

THE NATIONAL ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY
Pablo Borbon Main II 
Alangilan Batangas City, 4200

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Electronics

ECE 427: Electronics Measurement and Instrumentation

Laboratory Activity No.2.1

Diode Characteristics

Submitted by:

Betaizar, Jay M.
Furto, Lemuel S.

Submitted To: Engr. Ivy Kristel Caones

September 2022
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this laboratory assignment is to investigate the behavior of diodes and to
introduce some practical circuits using diodes.
To determine experimentally the volt ampere characteristics of a junction diode and
rectification.

1. 1N4148 Diode

Figure 1: Basic diode circuit.

1. Measure the diode voltage VD as the power supply is varied from 0 to 10 volts
using the steps (.2, .4, .6, .8, 1, 2 , 3 ,6, 10). Put the measured values in a
table.

For each of the voltage steps above, determine the diode current ID by measuring the voltage
drop across the 1kΩ resistor. Since the value of the resistor is known, the current flowing
through the resistor can easily be calculated.
 Table 1: Measured Values of 𝑉𝐷 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝐷

Voltage Supply (Vs) Voltage of Diode (𝑉𝐷) Current of Diode (𝐼𝐷)

0 0V 0A

0.2 201.1867 mV 224.3699 nA

0.4 387. 1877 mV 13.2278 µ𝐴

0.6 486.0103 mV 114.1791 µ𝐴

0.8 525.8838 mV 277.3178 µ𝐴

1 548.4810 mV 456.7686 µ𝐴

2 600.2221 mV 1.4028 mA

3 625.1885 mV 2.3760 mA

6 662. 1098 mV 5.3385 mA

10 690.6785 mV 9.3094 mA

2. Plot the V-I characteristic for the diode. This plot will have the Diode Voltage on
the horizontal (x) axis and the Diode Current on the vertical (y) axis.
 3. Set the power supply to 10 Volts and then vary the supply voltage by 20%.
Record the diode voltages, VDmin and VDmax at both points.
Steps:
First we get the 20% of the supply voltage, then add it.

Table 2: Measured Value of 𝑉𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑥

𝑉𝐷𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑥

690.561 mV 700.478 mV

4. Set the supply voltage back to its nominal value. Add a 1k load across the diode.
Measure the drop in output voltage
Remember in the first case there is no load, and no load current. By adding the resistor you have
added a load to your diode circuit. You can easily determine the load current if you know the
voltage drop across the load resistor.
 Table 3: Measured 𝑉𝐷 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝐷 with 1k Load Across the Diode

Voltage Supply (Vs) Voltage of Diode (𝑉𝐷) Current of Diode (𝐼𝐷) Voltage of Resistor (𝑉𝑅)

0 0V 0A 0V

0.2 199.7946 mV 204.4310 nA 204.431 µ𝑉

0.4 386.8364 mV 12.9123 µ𝐴 12.9123 mV

0.6 485.6601 mV 114.2133 µ𝐴 114.2133 mV

0.8 525.5235 mV 277.3374 µ𝐴 277.3374 mV

1 548.2530 mV 451.6433 µ𝐴 451.6433 mV

2 600.0504 mV 1.3998 mA 1.3998 V

3 624.5896 mV 2.3753 mA 2.3753 V

6 662.9741 mV 5.3342 mA 5.3342 V

10 690.4112 mV 9.3095 mA 9.3095 V

Question:
1. What is the function of the resistor in this circuit ? How much current would have to flow
through the diode if there was no resistor between the diode and the voltage source?
ANSWER: The resistor's function in the circuit is to control the flow of current to the diode or
simply to prevent the diode from receiving a sudden high voltage. A resistor helps to reduce the
current at the load end, preventing diode damage. According to our experiment, if no resistor is
present, the diode will produce a very high circuit current due to its very low resistance,
potentially damaging the diode. Thus, if there is no resistor in the entire circuit, the current that
flows through the diode and voltage source is the same.

2. What can be said about the voltage drop across the two diode terminals. If there is
current flowing through the diode. What would you expect the voltage drop would be?
ANSWER: According to the findings of this experiment, the voltage of the diode, voltage across
the resistor, and current of the diode are all directly proportional to each other. In previous
experiments, we discovered that when the diode voltage is equal to or less than 0, there is no
voltage across the resistor and no current on the diode. In reverse bias, there is a voltage on the
resistor and a current on the diode if the diode voltage is greater than 0.

2. Half Wave Rectifier

Build the rectifier circuit shown below.

1. Use the function generator to set up the signal source (Vs). Use a sine wave at 100 Hz
with a peak amplitude of 2 Volts.

2. Use the transient analysis to display both the input and the output at the same time.
Screenshot these waveforms.

3. Use a DC operating point analysis to record the input and output voltages.
 4. Measure and record the input and output waveform as shown in the graph.
Table 4: Measured Input and Output

Input Output

1.9984 V 1.3977 V

CONCLUSION
This experiment investigates the fundamental characteristics of a diode. This was also
done to broaden our knowledge of the subject as well as their laboratory skills. The following
conclusions were drawn from the experiment. One of the fundamentals of electronics is the
diode test. When its resistance is smaller, it is forward-biased, and when its resistance is larger,
it is reverse-biased. The forward-biased voltage of a diode is its barrier potential, whereas the
reverse-biased voltage of a diode is infinite over the range, indicating that the diode is healthy.
This experiment demonstrated that the diode controls the current direction. Furthermore, we
discovered that as the voltage supply on the 1N4148 through Half Wave Rectifier increases, so
does the voltage and current on the diode. This experiment demonstrated that the diode voltage,
voltage across the resistor, and diode current are all directly proportional to one another.