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EXPERIMENT 5
ZENER DIODE IN BASIC APPLICATIONS (SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENT)
I. OBJECTIVES
- To analyze Zener diode circuits using PSPICE software.
- Simulate voltage regulation behavior using Zener diode and test it experimentally.
II (a) Zener diode
A diode which is different from the conventional semiconductor diode is the Zener diode. The Zener
diode's forward-biased characteristic is the same as that of a conventional diode. But, the reverse bias
characteristic is the same as an ordinary diode up to a specific value known as the Zener voltage. An
attempt to increase the reverse bias voltage beyond the Zener voltage results only in an increase in the
reverse current and the diode voltage tends to remain constant ( see Fig.1).

V
Z
R
l
V
in
+
-
R
V
out
+
-
s V
Z
s
R
R
R +
V
Z
V
in
V
out
l
l
a) b)

Fig. 1: Zener diode application. a) Circuit. b) Ideal transfer characteristic.

The I-V characteristic of a Zener Diode is shown in Fig. 2. In the forward bias region, it is very similar
to an ordinary diode (p-n junction). In the reverse bias region, there is Zener breakdown which limits
the voltage to Vz. The operating region shown in Fig. 2 is where voltage regulation is effective. In
other words, the output would be limited to Vz even if input exceeds it. At any point in the operating
range, an incremental resistance r
z
can be defined as follows.
r
z
= V/I (1)
Here V and I are voltage and current change in the operating region respectively. The value of r
z

can readily be obtained from the slope in the operating region. Another quantity of interest is line
regulation which essentially tells us as to how effective the regulator is, in limiting the output voltage
to Vz and eliminating the ripple or noise. It is defined as follows.
Line Regulation = Vo/Vin (2)
Here, Vo and Vin are fluctuation in output and input voltage respectively. Please see figure 4. One
can measure these two quantities and then determine line regulation. A theoretical analysis gives the
following expression for line regulation.
Line Regulation =
S z
z
R r
r

(3)
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Here r
z
is defined in equation (1) and R
S
is shown in Fig.1. If there is load attached to the output then r
Z

should be replaced by

. Here R
L
is the load.

III. ZENER REGULATOR

1. Using PSPICE Capture draw the circuit in Fig. 3. While drawing this figure use the part
D1N750 for the Zener diode from the EVAL section of the library.
2. Set the value of the voltage source Vin to 10Vdc. Create a new simulation profile DC.
3. Set the Simulation Settings as follows: Analysis Type to Bias Point. Run the simulation.
4. Press V and I icons Enable Bias Voltage/Current Display button K and N in figure 6 of page
14.
5. Record the results in the following table: Note that I
L
is the current through load R
L
and I
Z
is
the current through Zener diode.

L
R
O
V
L
I
Z
I
10K
1k
100
10


6. Comment on the above results and explain how the Zener diode regulated the voltage at the
output. What is the Zener breakdown voltage here? What is the smallest load for which this
circuit can work as a regulator?

IV Experimental work using Zener Diode (diode characteristics)
In this experiment we would use the following 3 components, 1K, 100, and a Zener Diode
(1N4732A). Assemble the circuit as shown below.
I
V
V
z0

Operating
range
Figure 2
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Change Vin and measure Iz and Vo. Please make sure that Iz doesnt exceed 50 mA. You may fill in
the table below. You dont need to go all the way to 11.5V if you see that Vo has become constant.
Reverse bias measurement and the determination of breakdown voltage (Vz).

Vin(V) 2 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5
Vo(V)
Iz(mA)

From this table determine breakdown voltage V
z0
. See figure 2. Draw I V curve in the reverse-bias
condition. From this curve determine V
z0
and r
z
.
V Voltage Regulation using Zener Diode-
The purpose of this exercise is to see how effective a Zener diode as a regulator is. Please assemble the
circuit as below.

For voltage supply, use the function generator. You need to provide VOFF so that the diode is in the
operating region as shown in Fig.2. You can use the option Voffset in the function generator (FG) to
get this value. In figure 4, VOFF is shown to be 9V which may be good for your purpose. The
sinusoidal part in Vin (100 mV) is supposed to be the noise that needs to be eliminated. Do the
following steps.

D1
1N4732A
R
100
Vo
RL 1k
Fig.3- Reverse Bias Configuration
Iz
Vin
D1
1N4732A
R
100
Vo
RL 1k
Fig. 4-Voltage
Regulation
Vin
FREQ = 1 KHz
VAMPL = 100 mV
VOFF = 9.0 V
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1 Measure Vin using the oscilloscope. Set channel 1 menu to DC setting. That would give Voffset.
2 Set channel 1 menu to AC setting. That would give VAMP. Adjust FG to get 100 mV. This value
is Vin.
3 Measure Vo using the oscilloscope. Set channel 1 menu to DC setting. That would give Vz.
4 Set channel 1 menu to AC setting and measure the AC part in Vo. This gives Vo.
5 Using Eq. (2) calculate line regulation.
6 Using the value of r
z
obtained earlier and using Eq. (3) calculate the line regulation.

VI Voltage clipping using Zener diode-
A Zener diode can also be used as a clipping device. Modify Vin of figure 4 so that VOFF=0. For
VAMP = 8, 9, 10V, observe Vo and Vin simultaneously (Using both channels) on the oscilloscope.
Explain the difference between Vin and Vo.
VII Questions-
1. Do you expect V
z0
to depend on the temperature of the surrounding?
2. Draw the model for Zener diode.
3. Why is it necessary to put resistor R in Fig. 4?
4. Assume that the Zener diode in Fig. 4 has r
z
= 20. Find the numerical value of load
regulation. For simplicity, ignore R
L
since it is much larger than r
z
.