DIODE

CHARACTERISTICS

by
Ima Student

June 6, 2000

ETR 148-91B

Instructor
Al Koon, Associate Professor
PURPOSE

The purpose of this lab is to verify the effects of forward and reverse biasing a
silicon, germanium and zener diodes. Additionally, various means of obtaining
characteristics curves for each of these diodes will be demonstrated.

THEORY

Diodes are active devices constructed to allow current to flow in one direction.
The diode consists of N-type and P-type materials (see diagram shown below).
Each of these materials originally consisted of pure silicon doped to obtain the
type of characteristic desired. Doping is the process of adding impurities to the
pure semiconductor material. N-type material is formed when the impurities with
five electrons in the outer most shell (pentavalent) are added to the pure
semiconductor material. Pentavalent materials are elements such as antimony,
arsenic, and phosphorus. The same procedure is then performed for the P-type
material using an atom containing only three electrons in its outer shell (trivalent).
Trivalent materials are elements such as boron, gallium, and indium. A diode is
formed when a piece of pure material is doped half as N-type and half as P-type
material. It is not constructed by fusing the N and P type materials together. The
N-type material is called the cathode and the P-type material is called the anode.
A junction, called the depletion region, is formed where the two materials meet.
Some of the free electrons begin diffusing across the junction and fill the holes in
the P-type material. When this occurs the atom that the electron joined becomes
a negative ion. When an electron leaves N-type material, it leaves a hole
creating a positive ion. Eventually the diffusion of the free electrons and holes in
the junction of the two materials will decrease to a point where it will stop. The
area of positive and negative ions created around the junction is called the
depletion layer. The free electrons in the N-type material are blocked from
diffusing to the P-type material by the negative ions in the P material.
Holes from the P material are blocked by the positive ions in the N material. For
charge carriers to flow through the layer, a small voltage potential of
approximately 0.7V (silicon) or .3V (germanium)is required to break it down. This
is called the barrier potential.

There are two types of biasing that can be applied to a diode. For a diode to be
forward biased, a power supply is connected with the positive terminal to the P-
type material (anode) and the negative terminal to the N-type material (cathode).
As the potential across the diode approaches the barrier, the diode begins
conducting.

For a diode to be reversed biased, the power supply leads are set up with the
negative terminal attached to the P-type material and the positive terminal
attached to the N-type material. With this configuration, the electrons in the N-
type material and the holes in the P-type material are drawn away from the
depletion layer increasing the width of the layer. Even though the majority
current has stopped flowing, minority current is still flowing due to thermal
energy. Minority current is also called saturation current and can only be
increased by an increase in temperature. There is also a second minute current
that flows through the resistive paths created by surface impurities. This type of
current is called surface-leakage current. The sum of saturation current and the
surface-leakage current is called the reverse current. A diode, such as the
silicon diode, will conduct in the reverse bias direction with a significant amount
of voltage applied. At the point of conduction, the diode breaks down resulting in
the diode being damaged. The value of voltage at which the diode breaks down
is called the breakdown voltage. Other types of diodes, such as zener diodes,
function in the reverse bias region. The effect of a zener diode breaking down in
the reverse region allows it to be used as a voltage regulator.

The graph of a silicon diode shows the response curve including the forward and
reverse bias regions (See Figure 1 next page). The graph of the silicon diode
shows the point in the forward bias region where the barrier potential is exceeded
and the diode begins conduction. The voltage at which the diode begins
conducting is called the knee voltage. In the reverse bias region, the point at
which the diode begins breaking down is also shown. The voltage level at the
moment of breakdown is called the breakdown voltage as mentioned previously.
 ID(mA)
Forward
30
Bias Region
20

10
Knee Voltage
60 40 20
VD(Volts) VD(Volts)
.5 1 1.5
10
Breakdown
Voltage 20

30

Reverse Bias
Region ID(uA)

FIGURE 1

PROCEDURE

See Appendix A.

No errors were encountered in following the procedure.

RESULTS

RESISTANCE
DIODE FORWARD SCALE REVERSE SCALE
SILICON 833Ω 2KΩ Open 20MΩ
GERMANIUM 303Ω 2KΩ 310KΩ 2000KΩ
5.1V ZENER 994Ω 2KΩ Open 20MΩ

TABLE 1
FORWARD BIASED DIODES
SILICON GERMANIUM 5.1V ZENER
VD ID ID ID
.1 0A 18.5uA 0A
.2 0.2uA 245uA 0A
.3 1.4uA 1.9mA 0.1uA
.4 10.4Ua 10.6mA 0.2uA
.5 85Ua 39.4mA 1.6uA
.6 708uA 111.3mA 35uA
.7 6.9mA 1.13mA
.8 30.5mA 41.7mA

TABLE 2
REVERSE BIASED DIODES
SILICON GERMANIUM
VD ID ID
2V 0.2uA 3.3uA
4V 0.4uA 5.4uA
6V 0.6uA 8.1uA
8V 0.8uA 11.3uA
10V 1uA 12.8uA
12V 1.2uA 16.0uA
14V 1.5uA 19.2uA
16V 1.6uA 22.3uA
18V 1.9uA 26.2uA
TABLE 3
REVERSE BIASED ZENER
5.1V ZENER
VD ID
1V 0.2uA
2V 0.4uA
3V 0.6uA
4V 0.8uA
4.9V 1.4uA
5.0V 560uA
5.1V 2.8mA
5.2V 30mA
 Diode Curves From Tables
Germanium
Silicon
ID

30mA
Zener

20mA

10mA

VD

20V 10V .5V 1V

Silicon

20uA

Germanium

40uA

Zener

60uA
 Diode Curves From Curve Tracer
Germanium
Silicon
ID

30mA
Zener

20mA

10mA

VD

20V 10V .5V 1V

Silicon

20uA

Germanium

40uA

Zener

60uA
CONCLUSIONS

The forward and reverse bias characteristics of a silicon, germanium and 5.1V
zener diode were verified. The extremely high resistance in the reverse
direction, open or nearly open, and the low resistance in the forward direction,
less than 1KΩ, proves that current under normal operating conditions will only
flow in the forward bias direction.

For the silicon and zener diode, the barrier potential was reached at .65V and
.67V, respectively. For the germanium diode, the barrier potential was reached
at .27V. The value of voltage at which the barrier is overcome is called the knee
voltage.

The voltage necessary to cause breakdown of the diode was not possible to
reach with the lab power supply and was not practical due to probable damage
to the diode. If the power supply was capable of causing breakdown, the diode
would begin conducting heavily in the negative region until the diode burned up
or disintegrated. The readings that were taken proved that current is restricted
from flowing in the reverse bias region.

The reverse bias dynamic characteristic of the zener diode was verified. The
significant difference between the zener diode and the silicon or germanium
diodes is that the zener diode functions in the reverse bias region. As the
voltage applied to the zener reaches the rated value of the zener, in this lab 5.1V,
the voltage levels off at the rated value and current begins flowing at a higher
rate. This result makes the zener diode an effective voltage regulator.

Each diode was then tested in the forward and reverse bias directions using the
curve tracer. The results of these tests verified the results of the measured
values of forward and reverse bias using the voltmeter and ammeter.
PSpice
 Diode Characteristic Curve
V1 1 0 0 ;diode voltage
VX 2 3 0 ;Dummy source, used to measure current
D1 1 2 D1N4148;Diode anode first cathode second
R1 3 0 330 ;resistor used to limit current
.LIB ;get diode from library
.DC V1 -20 .8 .1;Step diode voltage from -20 to .8 volts in .1 volt
;increments
.PROBE ;run probe when through
.END
Appendix A