KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY (KNUST), KUMASI

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
FACULTY OF COMPUTATIONAL AND
PHYSICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF
PHYSICS

EXPERIMENT TITLE:
DETERMINING THE I-V CHARATERISTIC OF A DIODE IN FORW

Name: GILBERT BLAH QUARSHIE

Index Number: 4280520
Date: 16/02/2023
Abstract
The aim of the experiment was to determine the behaviour of the p-n junction diode in the
forward bias mode. The experiment was conducted by forming a circuit out of a Voltmeter,
Ammeter, a Resistor, a D.C Power Supply Unit, a Programmable Power Supply and a Diode
such that, the programmable power supply was connected to the D.C Power Supply. The
resistor and the diode were then connected in series with the source (Programmable Power
Supply connected to D.C Power Supply), along with the Ammeter to complete the circuit.
The Voltmeter was then connected across the diode. The source (Vs) was then varied from
0.0V to 3.0V, with the diode voltage (Vd) and its current (Id) recorded at intervals of 0.1V
successively after which, an I-V characteristic graph was plotted. This experiment was
successful in correctly determining the behaviour of the p-n junction diode in forward bias
mode and it can be used as a basis for research into the p-n junction diode.
Introduction
Electronics is one of the most important branches of physics in this modern world, as it caters
for the working of certain essential appliances that we cannot do without. One of the most
basic components integrated in devices in today’s modern world is the p-n junction diode.

The P-N Junction diode is a device that permits current to flow in one direction. It has a wide
range of applications, some of which I cannot escape mention. For example, it can be used to
build logic gates which are essential in the functioning of phones, laptops, basically anything
that works with digital signals. Others use it as a rectifier in D.C power supply, or even in
voltage multipliers. Apart from these industrial applications, one can find a diode in a simple
television remote or game controller, mostly in the form of the light Emitting Diode (LED).

The P-N Junction diode is formed as a result of doping an extrinsic semiconductor to

generate two operating regions; A p-type region and an n-type region, hence the name, p-n
junction diode. The p-type region is characterized by its majority charge carriers, which are
holes, while the latter is characterized by its many electrons. These two regions facilitate
current flow in a p-n junction and also create an interesting phenomenon called Biasing.
Biasing a p-n junction simply means, to change the polarity of the power source connected to
the p-n junction in order to facilitate one of two operating modes; the forward bias and
reverse bias. In forward bias mode, current is permitted to flow, however, this is not the case
in reverse bias mode, hence giving it its unique quality.

The aim of the experiment is to determine the behaviour of the p-n junction in the forward
bias mode. The approach involves a resistor of unknown resistance, and some standard
measuring instruments. The expectation is to obtain an I-V characteristic diagram that
correctly depicts the behaviour of a p-n junction in forward bias mode.
Theory
The I- V characteristics of a diode can be obtained by plotting the current component (Id) on
the y – axis and the voltage (Vd) component on the x – axis. Since the diode is forward
biased in this experiment, it is expected that current would flow after the threshold voltage
has been exceeded. Threshold voltage is the minimum forward bias voltage above which
current increases within the diode.
Methodology
Apparatus: Voltmeter, Ammeter, a Resistor, a D.C Power Supply Unit, a Programmable
Power Supply and a Diode.

The experiment is conducted by forming a circuit out of the various components stated
above, such that, the programmable power supply is connected to the D.C Power Supply. The
resistor and the diode are connected in series with the source (Programmable Power Supply
connected to D.C Power Supply), along with the Ammeter to complete the circuit. The
Voltmeter is then connected across the diode. The source (Vs) is then varied from 0.0V to
3.0V, with the diode voltage (Vd) and its current (Id) recorded at intervals of 0.1V
successively. The values are then tabulated is shown in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Table of Voltage Current and Resistance

Vs/V Vd/V Id/mA Rd/kΩ
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
0.10 0.10 0.00 0.00
0.20 0.20 0.00 0.00
0.30 0.29 0.00 0.00
0.40 0.38 0.01 38.00
0.50 0.45 0.05 9.00
0.60 0.48 0.11 4.36
0.70 0.59 0.19 3.11
0.80 0.52 0.27 1.93
0.90 0.53 0.35 1.51
1.00 0.54 0.44 1.23
1.10 0.55 0.53 1.04
1.20 0.56 0.62 0.90
1.30 0.56 0.72 0.78
1.40 0.57 0.80 0.71
1.50 0.57 0.90 0.63
1.60 0.58 0.99 0.59
1.70 0.58 1.08 0.54
1.80 0.59 1.18 0.50
1.90 0.59 1.27 0.46
2.00 0.59 1.37 0.43
2.10 0.60 1.47 0.41
2.20 0.60 1.55 0.39
2.30 0.60 1.67 0.36
2.40 0.60 1.72 0.35
2.50 0.61 1.81 0.34
2.60 0.61 1.96 0.31
2.70 0.61 2.06 0.30
2.80 0.61 2.15 0.28
2.90 0.62 2.25 0.28
3.00 0.62 2.33 0.27
 I-V Characteristics of a Diode in Forward Bias Mode
2.50

2.00

1.50
Id/mA

1.00

0.50

0.00
0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70

Vd/V
Results and Discussion
After the experiment, the I-V characteristics (Graph 4.1) of the p-n junction in the forward
bias diode was successfully obtained.

The I-V characteristics is a graph of the current through the diode (Id) and the voltage across
the diode (Vd). By observing graph 4.1, one can notice that the resistance of the diode is
represented as a curve, hence it can be concluded that this device is not ohmic. This is
because it shows no linear relationship between the current flowing through the diode and the
voltage across the diode.

The nature of the resistance represented in the Graph 4.1 is due to how the diode was formed.
As mentioned in the introduction, the diode has two operating regions, that is the forward
bias mode and the reverse bias mode. For the diode to be in forward bias mode, it has to be
connected such that, the cathode (p-region) of the diode is connected to the positive terminal
of the D.C source, while the anode (n-region) is connected to the negative terminal. Since
connecting the diode to the source would establish a voltage across it, current would be
forced to flow out of it. The reason why current flows in forward bias mode is that, the barrier
potential, which is a result of having the p-type and n-type together in the diode, reduces as
the applied voltage increases. The barrier potential prevents charge carriers from flowing to
the adjacent region of the diode.

Since there exist the barrier potential, the applied voltage must be sufficient enough to enable
the charge carriers to flow to their adjacent region. Such voltage is known as the threshold
voltage. This is the voltage above which current begins to flow in the diode, and is depicted
in Graph 4.1 as the turning point of the curve. During the experiment, the source voltage was
increased from 0.0V to 3.0V. It is observed in table 4.1 that the voltage at which we start to
read current is 0.38V. However, at this same voltage, the highest resistance is recorded. This
is because when the threshold voltage has been exceeded, a small amount of charge carriers
begin to cross the barrier potential unto the adjacent region. However, as the source voltage
was increased further, a sharp decline in resistance was observed, causing an increase in
current flow. This is observed in graph 4.1 as the curve begins to take a linear form in the
direction of Id.
Conclusion
This experiment was successful in correctly determining the behaviour of the p-n junction
diode in forward bias mode, as observed in the I-V characteristic (graph 4.1), and it can be
used as a basis for research into the p-n junction diode, since we only manage to cover one
out of the many unique qualities of a p-n junction diode.