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EXPERIMENT 1
Aim: Study of Zener diode as a voltage regulator

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:

A zener diode is a special, heavily-doped type of p-n junction diode that are designed to operate
under reverse bias condition without suffering damage under varying amounts of reverse
current. They conduct electric current normally like other p-n junction diodes under forward
biased condition, however, they also allow electric current in the reverse direction if the applied
reverse voltage exceeds a specific reverse breakdown voltage, which is termed as the Zener
voltage (VZ ).

When the applied reverse voltage across a Zener diode exceeds its specified Zener voltage, it
undergoes Zener breakdown and hence starts conducting reverse current. In the breakdown
region, small variations in the applied voltage can cause large changes in current. Thus, it can
maintain an almost-constant output voltage for wide ranges of current across it, thus finding
use as a shunt voltage regulator.

Fig. 1: The circuit symbol for a Zener diode

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Fig. 2: I-V characteristics of a Zener diode

Zener diode as a voltage regulator

Fig. 3: Zener diode as a voltage regulator

Here, the Zener diode is operating in reverse bias, with the resistor 𝑅𝑆 connected in series with
it so as to limit the current flow through the diode within its specified limits. The input source
voltage 𝑉𝑆 is connected across the combination while the stabilised output voltage 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 is taken
from across the Zener diode. The load is connected in parallel with the Zener diode, so that the
voltage across it is the same as regulated voltage 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 , which is equal to the Zener voltage 𝑉𝑍 .
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This voltage regulation is effective for a minimum Zener current across the diode, which must
always stay above this value in the breakdown region. The upper limit on the current is
dependent on the power rating of the diode.

One of the disadvantages of Zener diode stabiliser circuits is that the diode can sometimes
generate electrical noise on top of the DC supply as it tries to stabilise the voltage.

Circuit:

V1 = input voltage which varies linearly from 0 V to 15 V

R1 = series resistance to limit current flow to resistance of 250 Ω

R2 = load resistance of 1000 Ω

The Zener diode D1 used in this experiment has a Zener voltage of 6.2 V

Observations:
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1st graph – graph of the unregulated input voltage from source V1

2nd graph – graph of voltage across the Zener diode D1 and load resistance R2 – we can
observe how the voltage is stabilised around the Zener voltage (6.2 V for this experiment)

Conclusion:

Hence, we have studied the usage of the Zener diode as a voltage regulator.
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EXPERIMENT 2
Aim: Study of common-emitter amplifier circuit

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:

An electrical or electronic amplifier is a circuit that uses an external power supply to generate
an output signal that is a larger replica of its input. They have vital applications in audio
systems, radio, TV, radar systems and high frequency transmissions.

Common emitter amplifier

The most common amplifier configuration for an NPN transistor is that of the Common Emitter
Amplifier circuit.

The common emitter amplifier is a three basic single-stage bipolar junction transistor and is
used as a voltage amplifier. The input of this amplifier is taken from the base terminal, the
output is collected from the collector terminal and the emitter terminal is common for both the
terminals.

Fig. 4: Basic construction of a CE amplifier

The input is connected in forward bias, while the output is connected in reverse bias. There is
an application of DC voltage in the input circuit for amplification. A small change in signal
voltage results in the change of emitter current, which is mainly due to the low resistance in
the input circuit.
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It is commonly followed with a buffer circuit such as a common-collector amplifier to reduce

the high output impedance. The common emitter amplifier finds use in audio and RF
applications.

Circuit:

V1 = input DC voltage supply of 50 V

V2 = output DC voltage supply of 5 V

R1 = 10 Ω resistor

R2 = 20 Ω resistor

Q1 = NPN transistor used as amplifier

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Observations:

The 1st graph represents current across the collector terminal

The 2nd graph represents current across the base terminal.
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As observed from the graph, beyond a certain threshold, the current across the output
(collector) increases rapidly for a gradual increase in input (base) until the current starts
saturating.

Conclusion:

Hence, we have studied the characteristics of the common emitter amplifier circuit.
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EXPERIMENT 3
Aim: Transient analysis of RC circuit

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:
Transient analysis is a method to study the behaviour of a system and its time-varying variables
when it is subjected to sudden disturbances or changes i.e., when it is in an “unsteady state”
and how it responds to these sudden inputs and the nature of the outputs from the system over
a specific time duration, known as the transient period.

Transient analysis is extremely useful for analysing a circuit’s initial behaviour due to a given
driving voltage in the time domain. It helps in ensuring that the circuit responds in the way it
was designed and intended to under a variety of voltage sources, and sustain itself under
fluctuations in currents or voltages which occur in short durations (i.e. transients) of time.

For RC circuit

Fig. 5: A simple RC circuit

The key factor in the introduction of voltage lag and hence a transient response in this circuit
is that the capacitor voltage cannot change instantaneously. Assuming the capacitor is
uncharged, the instant power is applied, the capacitor voltage must be zero. Therefore all of the
source voltage drops across the resistor. This creates the initial current, and this current starts
to charge the capacitor.

According to Kirchhoff's voltage law, as the capacitor voltage begins to increase, the resistor
voltage must decrease because the sum of the two must equal the fixed source voltage. This
means that the circulating current must also decrease. This, in turn, means that the rate of
capacitor voltage increase begins to slow. Thus as the capacitor voltage continues to increase,
less voltage is available for the resistor, causing further reductions in current, and a further
slowing of the rate of capacitor voltage change.

Eventually, the capacitor voltage will be nearly equal to the source voltage. This will result in
a very small potential across the resistor and an equally small current, slowing subsequent
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capacitor voltage increases to a near standstill. Theoretically, the capacitor voltage approaches
the source voltage but never quite equals it. Similarly, the current drops to near zero, but never
completely turns off. This is illustrated in Figure.

Circuit:

V1 = pulsating DC voltage source with maximum voltage 5 V and time period 0.2 s

R1 = 1000 Ω resistor

C1 = 10 μF capacitor
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Observations:

V(r) – voltage across resistor R1

V(c) – voltage across capacitor C1
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Thus, it can be observed from the graphs that there is a delay in voltage across capacitor when
there is a change in supply voltage.

Conclusion:

Hence, we have successfully performed transient analysis for a RC circuit.

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EXPERIMENT 4
Aim: Transient analysis of RL circuit

Apparatus used: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:

Transient analysis is a method to study the behaviour of a system and its time-varying variables
when it is subjected to sudden disturbances or changes i.e., when it is in an “unsteady state”
and how it responds to these sudden inputs and the nature of the outputs from the system over
a specific time duration, known as the transient period.

Transient analysis is extremely useful for analysing a circuit’s initial behaviour due to a given
driving voltage in the time domain. It helps in ensuring that the circuit responds in the way it
was designed and intended to under a variety of voltage sources, and sustain itself under
fluctuations in currents or voltages which occur in short durations (i.e. transients) of time.

For RL circuit

Fig. 6: A simple RL circuit

The key factor in the introduction of current lag and hence a transient response in this circuit
is that the inductor current cannot change instantaneously. When power is first applied, the
circulating current must remain at zero. Therefore no voltage drop is produced across the
resistor, and by KVL, the voltage across the inductor must equal the source, which establishes
the initial rate of change of current.

As the current starts to increase, the voltage drop across the resistor begins to increase. This
reduces the voltage available for the inductor, thus slowing the rate of change of current
Thus, in the RL circuit, the inductor's voltage curve echoes the RC circuit's current curve (or
resistor voltage curve), and the RL current curve echoes the RC circuit's capacitor voltage
curve. Hence in a way, the transient responses of RL circuits and RC circuits are almost mirror
images.
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Circuit for the experiment:

V1 = DC voltage source of 15 V
R1 = 1 Ω resistance
L1 = 0.1 F inductor

Initial current in inductor is 0 A

Observations:
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I(L1) is current across inductor

I(V1) is current voltage source

As seen from the graphs, there is a delay in current across the conductor as compared with the
resistor when there is a change in supply voltage.

Conclusion:

Hence, we have successfully performed transient analysis for a RL circuit.

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EXPERIMENT 5
Aim: Transient analysis of RLC circuit

Apparatus used: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:

Transient analysis is a method to study the behaviour of a system and its time-varying variables
when it is subjected to sudden disturbances or changes i.e., when it is in an “unsteady state” and
how it responds to these sudden inputs and the nature of the outputs from the system over a
specific time duration, known as the transient period.

Transient analysis is extremely useful for analysing a circuit’s initial behaviour due to a given
driving voltage in the time domain. It helps in ensuring that the circuit responds in the way it
was designed and intended to under a variety of voltage sources, and sustain itself under
fluctuations in currents or voltages which occur in short durations (i.e. transients) of time.

For RLC circuit

Fig. 7: A simple RLC series circuit

In an RLC circuit, both the capacitive and inductive loads introduce lag in voltage and current
respectively, giving rise to a transient response in the circuit. Current and voltage across
resistive loads are in phase with the driving voltage, hence they do not any induce any transient
responses.

When an RLC circuit is analysed by applying KVL across its circuit elements, we obtain a
second-order differential equation in terms of voltage of the respective elements, and whose
form resembles that of a the equation of a damped harmonic oscillator.
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Thus, we have the following types of responses for the RLC circuit:
𝑅 1
For damping rate 𝛼 = and natural frequency 𝜔𝑜 = ,
2𝐿 √𝐿𝐶

1. Critically damped system, when 𝛼 = 𝜔𝑜

2. Over damped system, when 𝛼 > 𝜔𝑜
3. Under damped system, when 𝛼 < 𝜔𝑜

Circuit for the experiment:

R1 = resistor of variable resistance

L1 = 1 mH
C2 = 1 μF
V1 = DC voltage source of 10 V

Initial inductor current = 0 A

Initial voltage across capacitor = 0 V
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Observations:

For critically damped system (R1 = 63.245 )

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For over damped system (R1 = 200 Ω),

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For under damped system (R1 = 10 Ω), we see an oscillatory response

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In all the graphs, V(n003) represents voltage across the capacitor, whereas I(L1) represents
current across the inductor.

Conclusion:

Hence, we have successfully performed transient analysis for a RLC circuit.

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EXPERIMENT 6

Aim: Study of inverting and non-inverting op amp (operational amplifier)

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:

An Operational Amplifier, or op-amp for short, is fundamentally a linear, voltage amplifying

device designed to be used with external feedback components such as resistors and capacitors
between its output and input terminals. These feedback components determine the resulting
function or “operation” of the amplifier and by virtue of the different feedback configurations
whether resistive, capacitive or both, the amplifier can perform a variety of different operations.
They are used extensively in signal conditioning, filtering or to perform mathematical
operations such as add, subtract, integration and differentiation.

Fig. 8: Circuit symbol for op amp

It has three terminals including two high impedance inputs. One of the inputs is called the
Inverting Input, marked with a negative or “minus” sign, ( – ). The other input is called the
Non-inverting Input, marked with a positive or “plus” sign ( + ).

The third terminal represents the operational amplifiers output port which can both sink and
source either a voltage or a current. In a linear operational amplifier, the output signal is the
amplification factor, defined as the amplifier’s gain (A) multiplied by the value of the input
signal.

Inverting and non-inverting op amp

An inverting op amp is an operational amplifier circuit with an output voltage that changes in
the opposite direction as the input voltage. In other words, it is out of phase by 180°. The
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input voltage signal is connected to negative (inverting) terminal while the positive (non-
inverting) terminal is grounded.

Fig. 9: Inverting op amp circuit

Its voltage gain (AV ) is given by

Vout R2
AV = = −
Vin R1

A non-inverting op amp is an operational amplifier circuit with an output voltage that is in

phase with the input voltage. The input voltage signal is connected to positive (non-inverting)
terminal while the negative (inverting) terminal is grounded.

Fig. 10: Non-inverting op amp circuit

Its voltage gain (AV ) is given by

Vout R2
AV = =1+
Vin R1
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Circuit:

For inverting circuit

For non-inverting circuit

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Observations:

For inverting circuit

For non-inverting circuit

Conclusion: Thus we have studied the usage of operational amplifier in inverting and non-
inverting circuits.
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EXPERIMENT 7
Aim: Study of op amp (operational amplifier) in differentiator and integrator circuits

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Theory:

An Operational Amplifier, or op-amp for short, is fundamentally a linear, voltage amplifying

device designed to be used with external feedback components such as resistors and capacitors
between its output and input terminals. These feedback components determine the resulting
function or “operation” of the amplifier and by virtue of the different feedback configurations
whether resistive, capacitive or both, the amplifier can perform a variety of different operations.
They are used extensively in signal conditioning, filtering or to perform mathematical
operations such as add, subtract, integration and differentiation.

Fig. 11: Circuit symbol for op amp

It has three terminals including two high impedance inputs. One of the inputs is called the
Inverting Input, marked with a negative or “minus” sign, ( – ). The other input is called the
Non-inverting Input, marked with a positive or “plus” sign ( + ).

The third terminal represents the operational amplifiers output port which can both sink and
source either a voltage or a current. In a linear operational amplifier, the output signal is the
amplification factor, defined as the amplifier’s gain (A) multiplied by the value of the input
signal.
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Differentiator and Integrator

A differentiator is an electronic circuit that produces an output equal to the first derivative of
its input. An op-amp based differentiator produces an output, which is equal to the differential
of input voltage that is applied to its inverting terminal.

Fig.12: Differentiator circuit

Thus output voltage is given by

dVi
Vo = − RC
dt

An integrator is an electronic circuit that produces an output that is the integration of the applied
input. An op-amp based integrator produces an output, which is an integral of the input voltage
applied to its inverting terminal.

Fig. 13: Integrator circuit

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Thus output voltage is given by

1
Vo = − ∫ Vi dt
RC

Circuit:

For differentiator

For integrator
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Observations:

For differentiator

For integrator

Conclusions: Thus we have studied the usage of operational amplifier as a differentiator and
an integrator.
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EXPERIMENT 8

PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENT 1

Aim: For the circuit in Fig. 14,

(a) For the network of Fig. 2.113, determine the range of R L and IL that will result in being
VRL maintained at 10 V.

(b) Determine the maximum wattage rating of the diode.

Fig. 14

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Circuit:

The load resistance varies from 1 Ω to 1.25 kΩ with an increment of 1 Ω.

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Observations: By varying load resistance R2 and plotting the respective voltages, we obtain
the following in LTspice software -

Load voltage v/s Load resistance graph

Load voltage v/s Load current graph

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Power dissipated by Zener diode v/s Load current

Conclusion:

From the graphs, we can infer the following:

(a) For VRL to be maintained at 10 V, the range of R L is from 250 Ω to 1.25 kΩ, and for IL it is
from 8 mA to 40 mA

(b) The maximum wattage rating of the Zener diode i.e. maximum power dissipated by the
diode is about 320 mW.
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EXPERIMENT 9

PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENT 2
Aim: Determine the range of values of 𝑉𝑖 that will maintain the Zener diode of Fig. 15 in the
“on” state.

Fig. 15

Resources: LTspice circuit simulation software

Circuit:

The input voltage supply varies from 0 V to 50 V with an increment of 0.01 V

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Observation: Plotting the voltage across Zener diode against the input voltage, we get the
following –

Voltage across diode v/s input voltage

Conclusion: Thus, we can infer from the graph for a input voltage supply between 23.67 V to
36.87 V, the Zener diode is maintained at 20 V in the “on” state