ELEC2104.

Electronic Devices and Circuits

Laboratory 1: Diodes

Objectives

The experiments in this laboratory exercise will provide an introduction to diodes as well as the lab equipment. You
will use the ELVIS II+ breadboarding system to build and test DC and AC diode circuits. You will use the
oscilloscope and function generator in LabView to analyze your circuits. While these laboratory instructions
describe usage of the LabView soft instruments, please feel free to use the Tektronix scope and Rigol DG2041A
function generator.

Equipment/Components

ELVIS II+ breadboard

Tektronix MSO 2012 Oscilloscope
Rigol DG2041A Function Generator
1 k resistor
1N4733 zener diode
LED

Part I (25%) - VI Characteristics of Zener Diode

Turn on both the ELVIS base and the power to the breadboard.

Open the ELVIS instrument launcher via

Start > Programs > National Instruments > NI ELVISmx for NI ELVIS & NI myDAQ > NI ELVISmx Instrument
Launcher

Open the 2-wire current voltage analyzer soft front panel and carefully measure the forward characteristics of the
1N4733 diode, as follows:

1. Connect the anode to the DUT+ terminal (pin 29 on the lower left terminal strip) and connect the cathode to
the DUT- terminal. Set the start voltage to 0 volt and stop voltage to .80 volts, set the increment to .01
volts, and use the low gain setting, as shown in the next figure. Set the current axis to logarithmic scale.
 2. Click RUN. Note that you can click the LOG icon to save the measured data. In your lab notebook,
estimate the voltage difference points of 10x current difference in the linear region. In other words, work
out the slope of the linear part as indicated in the graph below. What does this slope represent for the
diode?

slope

Repeat the above procedure and sweep from -5V to 0V with a 0.05V increment. Use a linear scale for both axes, as
the logarithmic scale will not display negative values. What is the reverse breakdown voltage of the zener diode?
Does breakdown occur abruptly? You can use LOG to save your results as an ascii text file. Include the plot in your
lab notebook.

Part II (25%) - VI Characteristics of LED

Replace the 1N4733 diode with an LED and perform a DC sweep from 0V to 2V with a 0.05V increment. The
longer terminal of the LED should be the anode. What is the turn-on voltage for this device?

Again, you can use LOG to save your results to a text file, which can then be used in Matlab or Excel to make
additional plots.

Part III (25%) - Half-wave Rectifier

Now, a circuit will be constructed that demonstrates a simple application of a diode, the half-wave rectifier.
Connect the ELVIS function generator (pin 33 on lower left terminal strip) to one of the analog inputs on the top left
terminal strip. Because the analog inputs are differential and the ELVIS function generator is internally grounded,
the negative analog input must be tied to ground, pin 49 or pin 53 on the lower left terminal strip.

Adjust the FGEN to sine, 2 V peak (4 V peak-to-peak), 1 kHz. Make sure that the signal route on the function
generator is set to Prototyping board, as shown. Likewise, make sure that the scope input is set to use the one of
the analog inputs and not the BNC jack on the side of the ELVIS. The oscilloscope settings are shown.

Connect a series circuit as shown below. Use the 1N4733 diode, a 1k, 1/4 Watt resistor, and the FGEN on the
ELVIS.

AI 1+

AI 1-
Use the second oscilloscope channel to display and measure the voltage across the resistor. Be sure both AI-
terminals are connected to the function generator ground. You should observe a half-wave rectified voltage across
the resistor. Sketch your observation in your lab notebook. Is the output waveform following the input? Why?
Explain the flat parts on the output waveform.

Use the cursor to estimate the MAXIMUM value of the voltage. Explain this value, considering KVL and the
forward voltage drop you observed in Part I.

Increase the amplitude of the FGEN to its maximum value. Save a screenshot using OneNote (you can print later to
include in you lab notebook) and explain what you observe on the oscilloscope. It will help to measure the FGEN
output on the scope, and note that the peak negative output exceeds the Zener voltage of the diode.

Part IV (25%) - Voltage Regulation by Zener diode

Now reverse the diode so that the cathode is connected to the function generator, as shown below.

For the task in this part, you are required to use Rigol function generator as a signal source and Tektronix
oscilloscope to measure the voltages. Set the Rigal FGEN voltage to its maximum, and switch the FGEN to a square
wave. Use the Tektronix scope to measure the output voltage and compare with the one in the part III. Can you work
out the forward voltage drop and breakdown voltage of the diode from the output? Make a comparison with the one
measured in previous parts.

Measure the diode voltage by the scope. Observe and comments on the diode voltage at the peak negative and
positive voltages. Note: to measure the voltage across the diode correctly, you need two channels to measure input
and output voltages simultaneously and be sure the grounds of two channels have to be connected together. Subtract
the two signals to obtain the voltage across the diode. Sketch the waveform or save it on USB disk and print it out.

Assessment
This lab forms 1.5% of the UoS marks including the pre-lab questions you submit to the Blackboard. The
experimental parts will be assessed based on a logbook/lab quiz.