Electronic Principles and

Devices
Lab No. 06

Date: 24/2/2021

Submitted by: Muhammad Shaheer (19pwmct0706)

Lab Instructor: Engr. Wahad Ur Rahman

MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

UET PESHAWAR

Lab 06: To analyze the VI characteristic of P-N junction diode

Objectives:
 To study the detail theory of PN junction diode
 To study the Working principal and operation mechanism of PN junction diode
 To plot the VI characteristic of PN junction diode
 To find cut-in voltage for Silicon and Germanium P-N Junction diodes.
 To find static and dynamic resistances in both forward and reverse biased conditions.

Equipment:
 Oscilloscope
 Variable power supply
 Digital multimeter
 Circuit board
 Diode (Silicon)
 Diode (Germanium)
 Variable resisters
 Connecting wires

Theory:
In this lab, we will study and learn about PN junctions diodes. We will study the VI
characteristics of the diodes and plot a graph. At the end of the lab we will be able to find the
cut-in voltage for the diodes and also find the static and dynamic resistances in both forward and
reverse biased conditions.

PN Junction:
A PN junction is an interface or a boundary between two semiconductor material types,
namely the p-type and the n-type, inside a semiconductor. The p-side or the positive side of the
semiconductor has an excess of holes and the n-side or the negative side has an excess of
electrons. In a semiconductor, the p-n junction is created by the method of doping.

PN Junction Diodes:
A PN Junction Diode is one of the simplest semiconductor devices around, which has the
characteristic of passing current in only one direction only. A diode is a specialized electronic
component with two electrodes called the anode and the cathode as shown in Fig 6.1. A diode
does not behave linearly with respect to the applied voltage as the diode has an exponential
current-voltage ( I-V ) relationship and therefore we cannot described its operation by simply
using an equation such as Ohm’s law.

Formation of PN Junction Diodes:

 PN junction diodes are formed by joining n-type and p-type semiconductor materials, as
shown in Fig 6.2. Since the n-type region has a high electron concentration and the p-type a high
hole concentration, electrons diffuse from the n-type side to the p-type side. Similarly, holes flow
by diffusion from the p-type side to the n-type side. If the electrons and holes were not charged,
this diffusion process would continue until the concentration of electrons and holes on the two
sides were the same, as happens if two gasses come into contact with each other. However, in
a PN junction diode, when the electrons and holes move to the other side of the junction, they
leave behind exposed charges on dopant atom sites, which are fixed in the crystal lattice and are
unable to move. On the n-type side, positive ion cores are exposed. On the p-type side, negative
ion cores are exposed. An electric field forms between the positive ion cores in the n-type
material and negative ion cores in the p-type material. This region is called the "depletion
region" since the electric field quickly sweeps free carriers out, hence the region is depleted of
free carriers. A barrier potential is formed at the junction due to electric field.

Depletion Region:
The region near the junction where flow of charges carriers are decreased over a given time
and finally results in empty charge carriers or full of immobile charge carriers is called depletion
region as shown in Fig 6.2. The depletion region acts like a wall between p-type and n-type
semiconductor and prevents further flow of free electrons and holes.

Barrier Potential:
The potential difference required for the electrons to be passed across the electric field is
called the potential barrier. The barrier potential of a PN junction depends on the type of
material, amount of doping and temperature of the semiconductor. For silicon it is about 0.7V,
for germanium, it is about 0.3V.

Biasing a PN Junction Diode:

Biasing a diode means applying voltage to it so that charges inside it can be made to move
towards a particular direction. That is charges will be based towards one side only. There are
three biasing conditions for p-n junction diode and this is based on the voltage applied:
  Zero biased
 Forward biased
 Reverse biased

Zero Biased:
The PN Junction diode in which no external voltage is applied is called zero bias PN
junction diode as shown in Fig 6.3. Zero bias PN Junction diode is also called as unbiased p-n
junction diode.

Forward Biased:
When the p-type is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the n-type to the
negative terminal then the PN junction is said to be forward-biased as shown in Fig 6.4.
When the PN junction is forward biased, the built-in electric field (barrier potential) at the PN
junction and the applied electric field are in opposite directions. When both the electric fields add
up, the resultant electric field has a magnitude lesser than the built-in electric field. This results
in a less resistive and thinner depletion region. The depletion region’s resistance becomes
negligible when the applied voltage is large. In silicon, at the voltage of 0.7V, the resistance of
the depletion region becomes completely negligible and the current flows across it unimpeded. In
germanium, at the voltage of 0.3V, the resistance of the depletion region becomes completely
negligible and the current flows across it unimpeded.

Reverse Biased:
When the p-type is connected to the negative terminal of the battery and the n-type is
connected to the positive side then the p-n junction is said to be reverse biased as shown in Fig
6.5.
In this case, the built-in electric field and the applied electric field are in the same direction.
When the two fields are added, the resultant electric field is in the same direction as the built-in
electric field creating a more resistive, thicker depletion region. The depletion region becomes
more resistive and thicker if the applied voltage becomes larger. Thus no current flows through
the diode. However if we go on increasing the applied voltage, there will be a rapid increase in
current at a point. This effect is called “avalanche effect” or “avalanche breakdown”. When a

sufficient amount of electrical force is applied to a reverse biased diode, the solid structure of
atoms breaks down and consequently more number of free electrons are generated. This huge
number of free electron movement leads to sudden rapid increase in current.

VI Characteristic of PN Junction Diode:

VI characteristics of PN junction diode is a curve between the voltage and current through the
circuit. Voltage is taken along the x-axis while the current is taken along the y-axis.

Forward Biased V-I characteristic of PN Junction Diode:

With increase of the source voltage Vs from zero value, initially diode current is zero.
From Vs=0 to cut-in voltage, the forward current is very small .cut-in voltage is also known
as threshold voltage or turn-on voltage as shown in Fig 6.6. Beyond cut-in voltage, the diode
current rises rapidly and diode said to conduct. For silicon diode, the cut-in voltage is around 0.7.
When diode conducts, there is a forward voltage drop of the order of 0.8 to 1V.
Reverse Biased V-I characteristic of P-N Junction Diode:
A small reverse current leakage current, of the order of microamperes or milliamperes flow.
The leakage current is almost independent of the reverse voltage until this voltage reach
breakdown voltage at this reverse breakdown, voltage remains almost constant but reverse
current becomes quite high limited only by the external circuit resistance. A large reverse break
down voltage associated with high reverse current, leads to excessive power loss that may be
destroy the diode as shown in Fig 6.7.
The below graph is the VI characteristics curve of the PN junction diode. In forward biased PN
junction diode, VF represents the forward voltage whereas IF represents the forward current.
In reverse biased p-n junction diode, VR represents the reverse voltage whereas IR represents the
reverse current.

Static resistance or DC resistance:

When forward biased voltage is applied to a diode that is connected to a DC circuit, a DC or
direct current flows through the diode. Direct current or electric current is nothing but the flow of
charge carriers (free electrons or holes) through a conductor. In DC circuit, the charge carriers
flow steadily in single direction or forward direction.
The resistance offered by a p-n junction diode when it is connected to a DC circuit is called static
resistance. Static resistance is also defined as the ratio of DC voltage applied across diode to the
DC current or direct current flowing through the diode. The resistance offered by the PN junction
diode under forward biased condition is denoted as Rf.

Dynamic resistance or AC resistance:

The dynamic resistance is the resistance offered by the p-n junction diode when AC voltage is
applied.
When forward biased voltage is applied to a diode that is connected to AC circuit, an AC or
alternating current flows though the diode. In AC circuit, charge carriers or electric current does
not flow in single direction. It flows in both forward and reverse direction. Dynamic resistance is
also defined as the ratio of change in voltage to the change in current. It is denoted as rf.

Cut-in Voltage:
The forward voltage at which the current through the junction starts increasing rapidly, is called
the knee voltage or cut-in voltage.

Experimentations:
Silicon Diode:
A silicon diode is a PN junction diode, which has a barrier potential of 0.7V.

Procedure for Forward Biased:

1. Make a circuit by placing a diode (1N4007), a ground and a variable voltage source.
2. Connect the positive terminal with p-type of the diode and the negative terminal with the
n-type of the diode.
3. Place a multimeter and connect it across the two ends of diode to measure the voltage.
4. Place another multimeter and connect it in series with the circuit to measure the current.
5. For each division of voltages, note the corresponding current & voltage across the diode.
The final result is given in table.

Es(V) Ef(V) If
0 0 0
0.1 2.5mV 2.5uA
0.2 12.7mV 12.7uA
0.3 41.5mV 41.5uA
0.4 92.5mV 92.2uA
0.5 158.6mV 158uA
0.6 234mV 234mA
0.7 0.3V 315.8uA
0.8 .4V 400.9uA
1 .57V 578.2uA
2 1.5V 1.5mA
4 3.4V 3.4mA
6 5.4V 5.4mA
10 9.4V 9.4mA

Cut-in Voltage:
From table we see that the cut-in voltage for silicon diode is 1V.

Procedure for Reverse Biased:

1. Make a circuit by placing a diode (1N4007), a ground and a variable voltage source.
2. Connect the positive terminal with n-type of the diode and the negative terminal with the
p-type of the diode.
3. Place a multimeter and connect it across the two ends of diode to measure the voltage.
4. Place another multimeter and connect it in series with the circuit to measure the current.
5. For each division of voltages, note the corresponding current & voltage across the diode.
The final result is given in table.
Es(V) Ef(V) If
0 0 0
0.1 0 0
0.2 0 0
0.3 0 0
0.4 0 0
0.5 0 0
0.6 0 0
0.7 0 0
0.8 0 0
1 0 0
2 0 0
4 0 0
6 0 0
10 0 0

Results:
The cut-in voltage of ‘Si’ is 1V
The Static forward resistance of ‘Si’ Diode is 0.001 Ohm
The Dynamic forward resistance of ‘Si’ Diode is

Germanium Diode:
A germanium diode is a PN junction diode, which has a barrier potential of 0.3V.

Procedure for Forward Biased:

1. Make a circuit by placing a diode (1N4002), a ground and a variable voltage source.
2. Connect the positive terminal with p-type of the diode and the negative terminal with the
n-type of the diode.
3. Place a multimeter and connect it across the two ends of diode to measure the voltage.
4. Place another multimeter and connect it in series with the circuit to measure the current.
5. For each division of voltages, note the corresponding current & voltage across the diode.
The final result is given in table.
Es(V) Ef(V) If
0 0 0
0.1 2.5mV 2.5uA
0.2 12.75mV 12.75
0.3 41.5mV 41.5uV
0.4 .1V 578.2uA
0.5 .2V .2mA
0.6 .35V .35 mA
0.7 .52V .52 mA
0.8 .6V .6 mA
1 0.76V 0.76 mA
2 1.67V 1.67 mA
4 3.7V 3.7 mA
6 5.68V 5.68 mA
10 9.8V 9.8 mA

Cut-in Voltage:
From table we see that the cut-in voltage for germanium diode is 0.3V.

Procedure for Reverse Biased:

1. Make a circuit by placing a diode (1N4002), a ground and a variable voltage source.
2. Connect the positive terminal with n-type of the diode and the negative terminal with the
p-type of the diode.
3. Place a multimeter and connect it across the two ends of diode to measure the voltage.
4. Place another multimeter and connect it in series with the circuit to measure the current.
5. For each division of voltages, note the corresponding current & voltage across the diode.
The final result is given in table.
Es(V) Ef(V) If
0 0 0
0.1 0 0
0.2 0 0
0.3 0 0
0.4 0 0
0.5 0 0
0.6 0 0
0.7 0 0
0.8 0 0
1 0 0
2 0 0
4 0 0
6 0 0
10 0 0

Results:
The cut-in voltage of ‘Ge’ is 0.3V
The Static forward resistance of ‘Ge’ Diode is
The Dynamic forward resistance of ‘Ge’ Diode is