Experiment 2 : Diode V-I characteristics

Name : Arun Kumar Singh

Roll No. : 10002034
Group No. : 3
Group member : Adit Bhardwaj(10002004)
Date : 11/8/2011


EXPERIMENT -2
AIM: A.To obtain the V-I characteristics of a diode.
B. To obtain the V-I characteristics of a LED.
C. To observe the voltage across a LED and a
resistor connected in series when a saw tooth voltage
signal is applied.
EQUIPMENTS USED: Ge- diode, transistor, 5v DC source,
multimeter,port,68k resistor,LED,1k resistor,bread
board,function generator and digital storage
oscilloscope(DSO).
PROCEDURE:
(1) V-I characteristics of a diode
1. At the starting connect the elements as shown in the
following circuit diagram:-






2. We now make the voltage zero in voltmeter by
rotating the nob of the port.
3. Next rotate the nob so as to increase the voltage in
voltmeter by .020 volt and note the corresponding
current.
4.Plot the graph between V & I to obtain V-I
characteristics of the diode.
(2) V-I characteristics of a LED
1. Connect the components as shown in the circuit
diagram.






2. Next vary the voltage through variable voltage source .
3. Note the voltage across LED and resistor.
4.Current through the circuit and LED =i=Vr/r
where Vr = voltage across resistor and r= resistance of
resistor.
5. Plot V-I characteristic of LED.
(3) Wave form across LED and resistor
1. Connect the elements as shown in the circuit diagram.







2. Supply a sawtooth wave of peak voltage 2v and
frequency 100Hz.
3. Now observe the voltage wave form across LED and
resistor by using DSO.
OBSERVATION :
(1) V-I characteristics of a diode
It was observed that as we increase the voltage the
current was almost zero till voltage reached 60mV .
On further increasing the voltage current increased
slowly till voltage reached 0.4 V.
After then the current increased abruptly even with a
small change in voltage.
Explanation : Initially the current is 0 as the voltage
across it is less than its cut-in voltage . As we increase the
voltage the current slowly start increasing. And after a
point the current increase abruptly when the external
voltage is greater than the cut-in voltage and for a small
increase in voltage the current increases abruptly.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 0.5 1
Series1
V-I characteristics of GE-diode
Scale:-
on x-axis voltage 1 unit = .5
volt
on y-axis current 1 unit =1mA
(2) V-I characteristics of a LED
It was observed that as we increase the voltage the
intensity of the light was almost zero.
On further increasing the voltage light increased slowly
till voltage reached. After then the light increased even
with a small change in voltage.
Explanation : Initially the current is 0 as the voltage
across LED is less than its cut-in voltage . As we increase
the voltage the light intensity slowly start increasing. And
after a point the light increase fully when the external
voltage is greater than the cut-in voltage and for a small
increase in voltage the current and hence increases
abruptly.
(3) Wave form across LED and resistor
When an saw-tooth wave is passed through the circuit a
part of the voltage is used to over the cut-in voltage and
hence a part of signal wave appears across the
diode(LED) and the remaining part appears at resistor.
Explanation : This is because when the signal voltage
excide the cut-in voltage the current start flowing
through the diode freely and hence no more voltage is
dropped across the diode. Now if voltage is increase
even more it only appears across the resistor.





RESULT :
(1) The cut-in voltage of the diode from the graph is .4V.
(2) The cut-in voltage of the LED is
(3) The wave form observed across the LED and resistor
are as follows.