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DEPARTMENT OF AVIONICS ENGINEERING

SUBJECT : Electronics Devices and Circuits Lab

SUBJECT CODE : 208159
LAB NO : 02

TITLE : Diode Testing with DMM

VI Characteristics of Semiconductor
Diode

SUBMITTED TO : Ms. Anila Ali Ahmed

SEMESTER : 4th
SECTION : B

Marks Obtained
Group Member 1 Group Member 2 Group Member 3
NAME MAHNOOR IFRAH GOHAR DUA NASEEM
KHAN
REGISTRATION # 220701002 220701058 220701014
LAB REPORT 02 02 02
PERFORMANCE
TOTAL MARKS

DEADLINE: 8th March 2024

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 8th March 2024

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General Safety rules:

Execution of lab experiments is more important than performing accurate experiments
and constructing neat circuits. The first step towards safety is to know the lab itself which
means you must know where the fire extinguishers, electric main safety breaker are and
where the emergency exits. You should also be aware of all the equipment present in the
lab. Following are some rules which you must follow to avoid any unfortunate event.
 Do not wear rings, watches, bracelets, necklaces, and other metal objects in the
lab.
 Make sure your hands are dry
 Make sure your shoes are dry
 Always power down the electrical equipment, disconnect the power cords and
wait for a few seconds before touching the exposed wires
 Make sure all the experimental setup is disconnected from the power supply
before turning it on
 Even if your circuit is of 5 volts, do not consider it less dangerous
 Do not forget to turn off all the equipment after the experiment
 Always get instructions on how to use the new equipment
 Be careful with the soldering iron station, it can cause serious burns and fire
 While using the soldering iron, place it in the special iron stand, not on the table

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Title: To study the VI characteristics of a Silicon Diode

Objectives:
After completing this exercise, the students will be able to,

1. To test a Diode with a DMM

2. Understant the working of diode in forward bias and reverse bias mode.
3. Draw the characteristics curve (VI) for both modes.
4. Observe the difference in characteristics of the ideal and the real diode.

Equipment Required:

1. Digital Multimeter
2. Bread Board
3. Diode (1N4007)
4. Resistors 1k
5. 0 - 30 V dc power supply

Theory/Background:

Diode Testing:
Diodes are one of the basic and important components of electronic circuits. In
electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electric component that conducts electric current in
only one direction. The term usually refers to a semiconductor diode, the most common
type today, which is a crystal of semiconductor connected to two electrical terminals.
Today most diodes are made of silicon, but other semiconductors such as germanium are
sometimes used.

To avoid getting undesirable results, it is advisable to test all the basic components for
their normal working or operation before assembling the components in a circuit.

If we do not perform any tests before assembly and if the output is not as expected, then
it is very difficult to identify the source of problem and we have to test all the individual
components which is very difficult after the assembly.

To check if a diode is working fine, first we need to identify the anode and the cathode.
For a silicon diode the black wide area is the anode, where as the terminal marked with a
grey line is the cathode of the diode.

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The diode testing can be carried out in two ways.

 Diode Mode
 Ohmmeter mode (Resistance Mode)
 In the first method the diode is put in forward bias and the voltage drop across the
diode is measured.
 In the second method the forward and reverse bias resistances of diode are
measured. For a good diode the forward bias resistance should be few hundreds to
few kilo ohms. The reverse bias resistance should be very high and is shown as
OL by the multimeter.

Diode Mode Testing Procedure

1. Identify the anode and cathode terminals of the diode.
2. Keep the Digital Multimeter (DMM) in diode checking mode by rotating the
central knob to the position where the diode symbol is indicated. In this mode, the
multimeter is capable to supply a current of approximately 2mA between the test
leads.
3. Connect the red probe of the multimeter to the anode and black probe to the
cathode. This means the diode is forward-biased.
4. Observe the reading on multimeter’s display. If the displayed voltage value is in
between 0.6 to 0.7 (for a Silicon Diode), then the diode is healthy and perfect. For
Germanium Diodes, this value is in between 0.25 to 0.3.
5. Now, reverse the terminals of the meter i.e., connect the red probe to cathode and
black to anode. This is the reverse biased condition of the diode where no current
flows through it. Hence, the meter should read OL or 1 (which is equivalent to
open circuit) if the diode is healthy.
If the meter shows irrelevant values to the above two conditions, then the diode is
defective. The defect in the diode can be either open or short.

Open diode means the diode behaves as an open switch in both reverse and forward
biased conditions. So, no current flows through the diode in either bias condition.
Therefore, the meter will indicate OL (or 1) in both reverse and forward-biased
conditions.

Shorted diode means diode behaves as a closed switch, so the current flows through it
irrespective of the bias and the voltage drop across the diode will be between 0V to 0.4V.
Therefore, the multimeter will indicate zero voltage value, but in some cases it will
display a very little voltage as the voltage drop across the diode.

Ohmmeter (Resistance) Mode Testing Procedure

Similar to the Diode Test method, the Resistance Mode is also a simple method to check
the diode whether it is good, short or open.

1. Identify the terminals of the diode i.e., anode and cathode.

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2. Keep the Digital multimeter (DMM) in resistance or ohmmeter mode by rotating

the central knob or selector to the place where ohm symbol or resistor values are
indicated. Keep the selector in low resistance (may be 1K ohm) mode for
forward-bias and keep it in high resistance mode (100K ohm) for the reverse bias
testing procedure.
3. Connect the red probe to the anode and black probe to the cathode. This means
diode is forward-biased. When the diode is forward-biased, the resistance of the
diode is so small.

If the meter displays a moderately low value on the meter display i.e., a few tens of ohms,
then the diode is not good. But if the resistance reading is few hundred ohms to few kilo
ohms, then the diode is good and working properly.

4. Now reverse the terminals of the multimeter such that anode is connected to black
probe and cathode to red probe. So the diode is reverse biased.
5. If the meter shows a very high resistance value or OL on meter display, then the
diode is good and functions properly. Since in reverse biased condition diode
offers a very high resistance.

From the above it is clear that for proper working of the diode, DMM should read some
low resistance in the forward-biased condition and a very high resistance or OL in
reverse-biased condition.

If the meter indicates a very high resistance or OL in both forward and reverse-biased
conditions, then the diode is said to be opened. In other hand, if the meter reads a very
low resistance in both directions, then the diode is said to be shorted.

PN Junction Diode:

A p-n junction is formed by combining p-type semiconductor material such as trivalent

impurities where holes are the majority carriers and n-type semiconductor material such
as pentavalent impurities where electrons are the majority carriers using a method such as
doping/ion implantation.

There are three biasing conditions on the p-n junction diode:

1. No Bias
2. Forward Bias
3. Reverse Bias

No Bias
Bias is basically the application of external voltage across the two terminals, when we
apply no external voltage, it is no bias.

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What happens is diffusion: the movement of majority charge carries from high
concentration to low concentration. The holes from p-side combine with the electrons
with n-side.
As the recombination takes place, immovable ions will surface out because of diffusion.
This will result in formation of depletion region.

Depletion Region: where no mobile charges, but only uncovered immobile ions.
Layer of immobile charges on the left and a layer of immobile charges on the right.
This is acting as a potential difference. Because of this potential difference there is an
electric field from right to left. This electric field resists the flow of charge carriers.

Drift Current: Minority charge carriers

Under steady state
Diffusion current=Drift current
Net current=0

Forward Bias:
The electrical symbol of a diode is shown as below:

 The conventional current would flow in the direction of arrow.

 The left side of the diode is called the anode (p-type semiconductor material)
 The right side of the diode is called the cathode (n-type semiconductor material)

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 If we apply the positive terminal of the battery to the anode and the negative
terminal of the battery to the cathode, the diode will conduct if the voltage across
it is equal to 0.7V (for silicon diode its typically between 0.6-0.7)
 Because the positive terminal of the battery repels the holes towards the depletion
region and the negative terminal of the battery repels the electrons towards the
depletion region.
 Recombination of of immovable ions with mobile charge carriers which results in
decrease in the width of depletion region.
 As v D increases, width of depletion region decreases until v D =0.7 where the
barrier potential is equal to zero, the flood of electrons will pass thorigh the
junction and the current will rise exponentially.

Reverse Bias:
 The negative terminal of the battery attracts the holes from p-side.
 The positive terminal of the battery attracts the electrons from the n-side.
 Resulting in increase in depletion region. And hence no current flows through the
diode in this mode of operation.

Procedure:
Diode V-I Characteristics

1. Using the IN4007, set up the circuit on your bread-board using the DC power
supply as the voltage source.
2. Initially vary the supply voltage in steps of 0.1V. After 1V vary the voltage in
steps of 1V and note down the corresponding readings of V f and I f .

Forward V-I Characteristics of Silicon Diode

Figure 1-4 Circuit diagram of forward bias

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If the external voltage applied on the silicon diode is less than 0.7 volts, the silicon diode
allows only a small electric current. However, this small electric current is considered as
negligible.

CALCULATION AND OBSERVATION:

DIODE = 1N5818 (SCHOTTKY DIODE)
RESISTANCE = 678 Ω = 0.678 KΩ
The diode we have taken is germanium diode because we have observed that after 0.3
volts the voltage across diode remains constant in forward biased circuit .Hence, we have
concluded that the diode we have given is germanium having a break down voltage of
0.3V.

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Supply Voltage Circuit Current ( Diode Voltage

(V s ) If) (V f )
(µA) (Volts)
0.1 49.2 0.1937
0.2 164.7 0.2067
0.3 266.4 0.2397
0.4 384.4 0.2505
0.5 466.3 0.2658
0.6 644.7 0.2789
0.7 889.6 0.2827
0.8 981.2 0.2935
0.9 1034 0.2968
1.0 1170 0.3015
2.0 2660 0.3370
3.0 4190 0.3513
4.0 5620 0.3657
5.0 7110 0.3765
6.0 8510 0.3840
7.0 9970 0.3915
8.0 11580 0.3976
9.0 13020 0.4029
10.0 14580 0.4072
11.0 16070 0.4114
12.0 17530 0.4153
13.0 19110 0.4191
14.0 20540 0.4221
15.0 22230 0.4252
16.0 23820 0.4281
TABLE 2.1-Forward Bias

Reverse V-I characteristics of silicon diode

Now connect the diode in reverse-bias mode and take the same readings as before.

FIGURE 1-5 Circuit diagram of reverse bias

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Note down the readings in following table.

Supply Voltage Circuit Current(I) Diode Voltage (Vr)
(Vs) In (µA) In (Volts)
10 -14260 -0.2548
15 -21600 -0.2707
20 -29470 -0.2796
25 -37610 -0.2862
30 -45940 -0.2919
TABLE 2.2. Reverse Bias

Now we can make a graph with current on the y-axis and the voltage on the x-axis. The
VI characteristics of a practical diode are shown as below.

Figure 1-4 (a)VI characteristics of real diode

Real and Ideal Diode Characteristics

We have also seen above that the diode is two terminal non-linear device whose I-V
characteristic are polarity dependent as depending upon the polarity of the applied
voltage, VD the diode is either Forward Biased, VD > 0 or Reverse Biased, VD < 0.
Either way we can model these current-voltage characteristics for both an ideal diode and
for a real diode.

Figure 1-4 (b)Comparison of real and ideal diode

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Questions for Lab report.

Question 01) Describe briefly the working of a p-n junction diode in
forwards and reverse bias operation.

P-n Junction Diode Operating with Both Forward and Reverse Bias:
A p-n junction diode functions differently in forward and reverse bias scenarios:

 Forward bias operation:

The operation of forward bias involves connecting the positive terminal of the
battery to the p-type material and the negative terminal to the n-type material.

Surface Movement: This biasing reduces the height and width of the barrier,
allowing current to pass through the diode, as holes from the p-type area and
electrons from the n-type region move towards the junction.
Voltage Requirement: For silicon, a voltage greater than 0.7 V and for
germanium, 0.3 V is needed to cross the potential barrier.
Knee Voltage: At a particular voltage, the diode's current flows through it more
quickly.
Depletion Layer: During forward bias, the thickness of the depletion layer
reduces, allowing current flow.

 Reverse Bias Operation:

Connection: In reverse bias, the positive terminal of the battery is connected to

the n-type material, and the negative terminal is connected to the p-type material.
Current Flow: Initially, a small reverse current flow due to minority carriers. As
voltage increases, electrons gain kinetic energy, which leads to breakdown.
Breakdown Voltage: A rapid increase in current flow occurs when electrons
have enough energy to knock out other electrons when they reach this voltage.
Depletion Layer: Reverse bias causes the depletion layer to spread, which
increases resistance and significantly reduces current flow.

In conclusion, reverse biasing raises resistance and prevents current flow, whereas
forward biasing lowers the barrier for charge carriers.

Question 02) Write down the summary of the experiment.

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Firstly, we have done forward biasing for the given diode and measure its voltage and
current values to check which type of diode it is. In our case it is germanium because its
Breakdown forward voltage is 0.2 - 0.3 or 0.2 – 0.4.
Then, we measured it for reverse biased circuit, by only reversing the voltage source.
Hence from experiment we have observed that in reverse biasing raises resistance and
prevents current flow, whereas forward biasing lowers the barrier for charge carriers.

Question 03) Plot the VI characteristics of the germanium diode 1N5818

using the readings taken in the lab performance.
30000

20000

10000

0
-0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
current (µA)

-10000

-20000

-30000

-40000

-50000

voltage (volts)

In the case of forward bias, the diode's current increases exponentially with increasing
forward voltage, as per the diode's equation.
When reverse bias is applied, reverse leakage current should initially be very low.
However, when reverse voltage rises, a sudden breakdown (avalanche breakdown in
other diodes, Zener breakdown in Zener diodes) may occur.
From the graph this VI characteristic of Germanium diode can be
observed for forward and reverse bias.

Question 04) Consider the following circuit, Find the current I through
the diode and hence power absorbed by the diode. Also check if the
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power supplied by the source is equal to the sum power consumed by

the rest of the components.

Calculations and measurements:

We have used the resistance of 2.7kΩ because 50 ohm resistor is burned while giving
a high voltage of 12V.
Vf = 0.3Volts for germanium
Diode = 1N5818 (Schottky diode)
−3
Current across the circuit = I = 4.411∗10 Ampere
Voltage across the resistor = VR = 11.79 Volts
Voltage across the diode = VD = 0.2267 Volts

Power absorbed by diode = Vf * I

= 0.3 * 4.411∗10−3
= 1.3233∗10−3 W

Power delivered to resistor = VR * I

= 11.79 * 4.411∗10−3
= 0.0525 W

Power supplied by the source =V*I

= 12 * 4.411∗10−3
= 0.0533 W

Hence, the power supplied by the source is equal to the sum power consumed by the
rest of the components.
Power supplied by the source = Power absorbed by diode and resistor
0.0533 = 0.0535 + 1.3233∗10−3
0.0533 = 0.052932
Hence, proved that the power supplied by the source is equal to the sum power consumed
by the rest of the components.

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Electronic Devices and Circuits Lab