Lab Report # 3

EXPERIMENT : TO STUDY THE IV CHARACTERISTICS OF DIODE

1. Introduction
Electronics is the branch of physics which deals with development of electron-emitting
devices, there use and control of electron flow in electrical circuits. Electronics also deals
with semiconductors, diode, rectifiers etc.
Diode:
A pn - junction diode is an electronic device formed from a p-type and an n-type substance
semiconductor. A semiconductor diode has the property of one way conduction i.e. it allows
electric current to flow in only one direction.
p-Type Substance:
If a trivalent element from the IIIrd group such as Gallium (Ga) or Indium (In) is added to
pure crystals of germanium (Ge) or silicone (Si), three electrons of impurity form covalent
bonds with three atoms of (Ge) or (Si), while there exist a vacancy for an electron in the
fourth bond. This vacant space is called Hole. This hole behaves like a positive charge and
can move in the structure of substance. Such a substance is called a p-type substance.

n-Type Substance:
If a pentavalent element from the Vth Group such as Antimony (Sb) is added to pure
geranium (Ge) or silicone (Si), then four electrons of (Sb) will form covalent bonds with four
(Ge) or (Si) atoms. The fifth electron of 'Sb' is free to move which makes (Ge) or (Si) a good
conductor. This type of material is called n-type substance.

Biasing:
The process of connecting a diode to the external battery is called biasing. When the diode is
connected to the battery then it is said to be biased. There are two types of biasing of diode.
(1) Forward Biased Diode:
When the diode is connected to external battery in such a way that p-type material is
connected to positive terminal of battery and the n-type material is connected to the negative
terminal of battery then the diode is said to be forward biased.

(2) Reverse Biased Diode:

When the diode is connected to external battery in such a way that p-type material is
connected to the negative terminal of the battery and the n-type material is connected to the
positive terminal of the battery then the diode is said to be reverse biased.

Depletion Region or Space Charge Region:

“The region near the junction which contains fixed ionic charges and no current carriers is
called the space charge region or depletion region”. This region contains no current carriers
but only fixed charges. These fixed charges tend to discourage and eventually prevent further
diffusion of holes and electrons.
Junction Potential or Potential Barrier:
“The potential difference developed across the space charge regions due to electrostatic field
existing because of opposite ionic charges, is called junction potential or potential barrier”.
Its value is 0.7 volt for silicon and 0.3 volt for germanium diodes.
The IV Characteristics under ideal conditions are given below:
IV Characteristics of Forward Biased Diode:
The characteristics of forward biased diode are given below:
(i) Forward current is very small until forward voltage increases beyond 0.7 volts i.e.
the potential barrier for silicon diode.
(ii) After 0.7 volts the forward current increases rapidly at a linear rate.
(iii) The diode may burn or damage if forward current continues to increase further. A
large change in current occurs only for a small change in voltage.
(iv) The resistance offered by the diode when it is forward biased is called forward
resistance ‘rf’ and it is defined as;
The ratio of the increase in forward voltage to increase in forward current i.e.
 Vf
rf  I
f

(v) The value of ‘rf’ is only a few ohm’s while it is conducting.

IV Characteristics of Reverse Biased Diode:

(i) Initially the reverse current is very small and it increases slightly with the increase
of reverse voltage VR.
(ii) The reverse current quickly rises to its saturation value Io due to production of
many electron-hole pairs by increasing the reverse bias.
(iii) With further increase in reverse voltage the reverse current remains almost
constant. Here the resistance offered by the diode is very high of the order of
several mega ohms.
(iv) Due to increase in reverse voltage, the minority charge carriers begin to multiply
due to which the reverse current begin to increase till a point is reached when the
junction breaks down and reverse current rises sharply. After breakdown the
reverse current will rise to very high which will damage the diode.
(v) While using a diode the reverse voltage across its plate should never exceed than
its break down value.
(vi) For normal operation the reverse current must be so small that for all practical
purposes it is considered to be zero.
(vii) The value of reverse voltage at which abrupt rise in reverse current takes place is
called “break down voltage”.

2. Experimental Section
Apparatus:
PN junction diode, resistance box, regulated power supply (0-30)V, voltmeter (0-1)V &

(0-30)V, ammeter (0-30)mA & (0-500)µA, connecting wires.

Circuit diagram:

Forward biased diode Reverse biased diode

Procedure:
 In case of forward biasing I varied the voltage across diode by adjusting the battery. I
started from 0 volts, then slowly move 0.1 volts, 0.2 volts and so on till 10 volts. I just noted
the readings of voltmeter and ammeter each time I adjusted the battery (in steps of 0.1 volts).
Finally after taking the readings, I just plotted a graph with voltmeter readings on X-axis and
corresponding Ammeter readings on Y axis. I joined all the dots in graph paper.
By reverse biasing, I mean, applying an external voltage which is opposite in direction
to forward bias. So here I connected positive terminal of battery to n-side of the diode and
negative terminal of the battery to p-side of the diode. This completes the reverse bias circuit
for pn junction diode. Now to study its characteristics (change in current with applied
voltage), I needed to repeat all those steps again. Connect voltmeter, ammeter, vary the
battery voltage, note the readings etc etc. Finally I got a graph.

Result :
Table for Forward Biasing:
# of Potential applied Current
obs. V (volts) I(mA)
1 0 0
2 0.5 2
3 0.75 5.25
4 1 10.75
5 1.25 13
6 1.5 17.5
7 1.75 21
8 2 25
9 2.25 30
10 2.5 32.75
11 2.75 36
12 3 40
13 3.25 43.25
14 3.50 48

These values are plotted in the graph given at the end.

3. Graph Explanation:
In case of forward biasing I have taken voltage V on the +ve x-axis and resulting current I
on +ve y-axis and in case of reverse biasing I took the reverse voltage on –ve x-axis and
reverse current on –ve y-axis.In forward biasing, initially almost no current flows through
the diode. Its reason is the potential barrier of the diode. This potential acts as a resistance in
the flow of current. After certain value of the voltage the current starts increasing rapidly
because in this condition the potential barrier has been removed and current easily can flow
through the diode.
In reverse biasing there is interesting thing to note is that, diode does not conduct with
change in applied voltage. The current remains constant at a negligibly small value (in the
range of micro amps) for a long range of change in applied voltage. When the voltage is
raised above a particular point, say 80 volts, the current suddenly shoots (increases
suddenly). This is called as “reverse current” and this particular value of applied voltage,
where reverse current through diode increases suddenly is known as “break down voltage“.

4. Conclusion:
From this experiment I learned the behaviour of diode under forward biased and reverse
biased condition.In forward biasing I learned that initially no current flows through the diode
due to potential barrier and when this potential barrier is removed than the current starts
increasing rapidly. In reverse biasing I observed that after particular value of reverse voltage
the increase in the value of current becomes abrupt. This value of current is called “reverse
current” and corresponding value of voltage is called “breakdown voltage”.