Electrical Devices 1 Experiment 1 Semiconductor Diode Monique Hepburn 1001296 September 2013

Objectives
1. To test the working condition of a diode 2. To investigate the I-V characteristics of the silicon and germanium diode 3. To investigate the temperature effect of the silicon diode

Pre-lab Assignment / Theory

A Diode is a semiconductor device that is use primarily to allow current to flow in one general direction defined by the arrow in the symbol and act like an open circuit to any attempt to establish current in the opposite direction. Forward bias refers to the state of the diode when it acts like a closed switch and allows current to flow in only one direction. If a diode is forward bias with a high enough voltage it acts like a resistor in series with a voltage source. Reverse bias refers to the state of a diode when it acts like an open switch and prevents the flow of current in the opposite direction in which it was forward bias. For reverse biasing it acts simply as a resistor.

The semiconductor diode is created by joining an n type material to a p- type material. The n type material has an excess of negative charges and the p type consists of positive charges which are called holes. When leads are connected to each material three options become available. There may be no bias, forward bias or reverse bias. The external voltage across the two terminals of the device attracts a response. This is what biasing means. The threshold voltage is the minimum voltage required to turn on the transistor or the diode. The relative change of a physical property when the temperature is changed by one kelvin is known as the temperature coefficient. VT = Where k is boltsman constant: 1.38 x 10-23 J/K T is temperature in Kelvins Q is charge of an electron : 1.6 x 10 -19 C

Equipment
Digital Multimeter (DMM) DC Power Supply (Variable)
1k Resistor 1 Silicon Diode 1 Germanium Diode

Results
Test Silicon FORWARD 0.547 V REVERSE ~ Test for silicon and germanium diode Germanium 0.300 V ~

VR1 (V) VD (V) ID (mA)

0.1 0.426 0.101

0.2 0.484 .202

0.3 0.470 0.303

0.4 0.483 0.404

0.5 0.492 0.505

0.6 0.499 0.606

0.7 0.506 0.706

0.8 0.312 0.807

0.9 0.519 0.908

VR1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (V) VD (V) 0.523 0.55 0.58 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.63 0.64 .65 ID 1.01 2.02 3.03 4.04 5.05 6.06 7.07 8.07 9.08 10.0 (mA) Increasing the supply voltage across the resistor reads 0.1V and measuring the voltage. Also calculating the diode current.

Rmeasured = 0.991 ohms ID = VR/Rmeasured

ID VT Germanium: 0.295V VT Silicon: 0.522V The curves display a threshold voltage of 0.295 volts and 0.522 volts for silicon and germanium respectively. Both diodes behave similarly after they have achieved their respective threshold values. They are off till they reach the threshold value and then increase exponentially. There is a small change in their voltage value as current increases. Temperature Effect Effect of voltage across diode with an increase in temperature (Volts) 0.52 V 0.51 V V0.49 V 0.48 V 0.48 V 0.48 V Effect of voltage across resistor with an increase in temperature (Volts) 1.06 V 1.06 V 1.06 V 1.06 V 1.06 V 1.07 V

ID = VR / R1 When the diode is heated the value of the voltage across it decreases. Rdiode = VD / ID When the resistor is heated the value of the voltage across does not change. In the forward direction the voltage drop goes down with increasing temperature, hence, having a negative temperature coefficient.

Analysis of Results
The silicon diode will starts to conduct current in the forward bias as will the germanium. The difference between both diodes I that the silicon diode is expected to allow conduction at around 0.7 volts and the germanium allows current to flow through it at around 0.3 volts. The graphical results illustrate this trait. The silicon diode issued to the experimenter were faulty and had a value of 0.5 Volts. This was the initiating voltage to allow for current flow through this diode instead of the expected 0.7 volts. In the reverse bias region neither of these diodes will conduct electricity. Voltage drop across Si is 0.7V. Since the germanium has an operational tolerance starting at 0.3V it will allow current to flow through the entire circuit. So the voltage drop across silicon will be 0.7 volts and that for germanium will be 0.3 volts.

VT =
I = IS[ loge
=

It can be seen from the equations that temperature is dependent on the diode voltage only and has nothing to do with the resistor.

The total voltage drop across the diodes would then be 0.3V + 0.7V = 1.0V Voltage drop across resistor is: 12V 1V = 11V Current in circuit 11V/1000 ohms = 0.011 Amperes

References
Giancoli. D.C, (2000).Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics 4th edition. Pearson Education Inc, Prentice Hall.

Robert Boylestead, Louis Nashelsky(2005 updated ). Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory seventh edition.