EL – 124 Electronic Devices & Circuits

Experiment # 06

a) To measure and plot the forward and reverse characteristics of Zener diode
b) To construct and determine the characteristics of Zener diode as
Voltage Regulator Testing diodes by Using Multimeter

Maximum Marks Performance = 05 Viva = 05 Total = 10

Marks Obtained
Remarks (if any)

Experiment evaluated by

Instructor Name: Signature:

Copyright © Department of Electrical Engineering – Usman Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES:
a) To measure and plot the forward and reverse characteristics of Zener diode
b) To construct and determine the characteristics of Zener diode as Voltage Regulator

REQUIRED APPARATUS:
 Power supply
 Digital multi- meter (DMM)
 Controls: Resistors, Zener diodes

a) V-I CHARACTERISTICS CURVE OF ZENER DIODE:

A Zener diode is designed to operate in the reverse

breakdown region. It is heavily doped to reduce the
reverse breakdown voltage. This causes a very thin
depletion layer. As a result, a Zener diode has a
sharp breakdown voltage.
Forward bias:
When the positive terminal of the external battery is
connected to the anode and negative terminal is
connected to the cathode. When the applied voltage
is zero, no current flows through the Zener diode.
When the forward voltage is increased, the barrier is
reduced and the current starts flowing in thecircuit.

Reverse Bias:
When the negative terminal of the external battery is
connected to the anode and positive terminal is
connected to the cathode. Following actions take place
in the reverse bias condition. The diode current
increases rapidly and the reverse voltage VZ across
the diode remains almost constant.

PROCEDURE:
a) Connect the circuits shown in given figures and Turn ON the power supply.
b) The voltage across the diode is varied by varying the supplied voltages.
c) Note the reading measured in voltmeter and ammeter and tabulate for both forward
and reverse bias and plot the graph.
GRAPH:
Forward Bias: The graph
is drawn by taking forward
voltage along x-axis and
forward current along y-
axis.
Reverse Bias: The graph is
drawn by taking Reverse
voltage along x-axis and
Reverse current along y-axis
Copyright © Department of Electrical Engineering – Usman Institute of Technology
OBSERVATION AND CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

FORWARD REVERSE
Reverse Reverse Forward Forward
S. Refere
Voltage in Curre Voltage in Current
No nce volts (V) nt in volts (V) in (mA)
(mA)
1 2 0.34 3.52 2 0.00
2 4 0.38 7.68 4 0.00
3 6 0.42 11.9 5.05 2.02
4 8 0.44 16.1 5.10 6.17
5 10 0.4 20.3 5.13 10.4
6 12 0.50 24.5 5.16 14.5
7 14 0.52 28.7 5.169 18.8

b) V-I CHARACTERISTICS CURVE OF VOLTAGE REGULATOR:

A voltage regulator (Regulated power supply) may be defined as an electronic circuit, which
maintains an almost constant voltage across its output terminals irrespective of variations in the
load current or in the supply voltage. A Zener diode can readily be used as voltage regulator element
to maintain constant voltage at the output. When a Zener diode operates in Zener breakdown region
(under reverse bias condition), the voltage across it is constant for a large change in current
through it. Therefore as long as the input voltage is greater than the Zener voltage, it operates in
breakdown region and maintains constant voltage across the load resistor even there is a change in
input voltage or in load current. A series feedback voltage regulator employs feedback to hold the
voltage almost constant despite changes in line voltage and load current.

Copyright © Department of Electrical Engineering – Usman Institute of Technology

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

FORWAD BIAS:

REVERSE BIAS:
PROCEDURE:

1. Connections are made as shown in circuit diagram.

2. Here resistance of the load is constant. Input supply voltage is varied and corresponding total
current, load current, ammeter readings & output voltage, voltmeter readings are noted and
tabulated.

S.NO Vi(V) Ii(mA) IZ(mA) IL(mA) VL

1 2 1.36 0.00 1.36 1.36
2 4 2.72 0.00 2.72 2.72
3 6 4.08 0.00 4.08 4.08
4 8 6.31 1.27 5.01 5.01
5 10 10.4 5.35 5.09 5.09
6 12 14.6 9.49 5.13 5.13
7 14 18.8 13.7 5.16 5.16

RESULTS:
When Zener diode is connected to the circuit it requires about 5V to activate and
starting working.

Zener diode work more properly in reverse bias than it works in forward bias in
reverse bias it acts like open circuit and giver out more voltage.

Zener diode in forward bias works after 5V.

In this circuit when we give 2,4 and 6 volts to diode no change is shown and no
 current is dropped. But when we deposit 8 volts and higher, current starts dividing
on the node and some amount of current starts dropping on diode.
Conclusion
In this lab I concluded that to determine the characteristics of Zener diode as voltage
regulator

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

GRAPH:
 Open-Ended Questions: [Support your answer with Graph, formulae etc. if needed.]

Q1. How many types of special purpose diodes are there? How they are different from the
conventional diode? Also explain their applications?

SPECIAL PURPOSE DIODE:

There are few diodes which are designed to serve some special purposes. There are many of
such kinds like Transient voltage suppression diodes, Gold doped diodes, Super barrier
diodes, Point contact diodes, Peltier diodes etc. But other than these, there are few
prominent diodes, which have got many applications.

Zener Diode:
A Zener diode is a silicon semiconductor device that permits current to flow in either a
forward or reverse direction. The diode consists of a special, heavily doped p-n junction,
designed to conduct in the reverse direction when a certain specified voltage is reached.

Applications of Zener diode

This diode has many application such as

 Zener diodes are used for voltage regulation

 As reference elements
 Surge suppressors
 In switching applications
 In clipper circuits.

Varactor Diode
A junction diode has two potentials on both sides where the depletion region can act as a
dielectric. Hence there exists a capacitance. The Varactor diode is a special case diode that
is operated in reverse bias, where the junction capacitance is varied.
Applications of Varactor diode
This diode has many applications such as:

 It is used as a Voltage variable capacitor.

 It is used in variable LC tank circuit.
 Used as Automatic frequency control.
 Used as Frequency Modulator.
 Used as RF Phase shifter.
 Used as frequency multiplier in local oscillator circuits.

Tunnel diode
If the impurity concentration of a normal PN junction is highly increased, this Tunnel
diode is formed. When the impurity concentration in a diode increases, the width of
depletion region decreases, extending some extra force to the charge carriers to cross the
junction. When this concentration is further increased, due to less width of the depletion
region and the increased energy of the charge carriers, they penetrate through the potential
barrier, instead of climbing over it. This process is called tunneling hence it is called tunnel
diode.

Applications of Tunnel diode

There are many applications for tunnel diode such as:

 Used as a high-Speed Switching device

 Used as a memory storage device
 Used in Microwave oscillators
 Used in relaxation oscillators

Schottky Diode:
A Schottky diode is one type of electronic component, which is also known as a barrier
diode. It is widely used in different applications like a mixer, in radio frequency
applications, and as a rectifier in power applications. It's a low voltage diode.

Applications
There are many applications of Schottky diode such as:

 Used as a detector diode

 Used as a Power rectifier
 Used in RF mixer circuits
 Used in power circuits
 Used as clamping diodes

DIFFRENCE:
Conventional diodes conduct a large current when forward voltage above its threshold
voltage is supplied to the diode, but it is still a finite amount of current. Conventional
diodes, even though small, still have internal resistance.
In special purpose diode the n-type and p-type materials of a diode are heavily doped,
resulting in a very narrow depletion region. Therefore, the electric field existing within this
region is intense enough to pull electrons from their valence bands and create current at a
low reverse voltage

Q2. In the given research paper, which performance parameters of the voltage regulator are
discussed? Explain briefly.

The LDO (LINEAR DROPOUT) voltage regulator you choose must operate within a
range of required DC parameters to provide the required functionality for a
particular application. Following are five typical, basic DC parameters for you to
consider.

Input Voltage Range

The input voltage range determines the maximum and minimum allowable input supply for
the linear dropout voltage regulator. Input supplies that are higher than the maximum
allowable input can damage the linear dropout voltage regulator . The lowest input supply
must be higher than the linear dropout voltage regulator output voltage plus the dropout
voltage.

Output Voltage Range

The output voltage of an linear dropout voltage regulator may be fixed or programmable. If
the output voltage is programmable, it is important to know the maximum and minimum
limits of the output voltage programming range. The output voltage range specification
provides this information. It is also useful to know the output voltage step size.

Dropout Voltage
The dropout voltage is the differential voltage between the input and the output for which
the regulator output no longer maintains regulation against further reductions in input
voltage. Typically, the linear dropout voltage regulator dropout voltage is specified as the
input voltage level that causes the output voltage to drop 100 mV below it’s programmed,
regulated value. Since an linear dropout voltage regulator must provide the required
constant voltage as the battery discharges, a small dropout voltage is very important as the
smaller the dropout voltage, the greater the useful input voltage from the battery and
therefore the longer the run time.

Maximum Output Current

This parameter is the maximum output current that the linear dropout voltage regulator
can provide while still meeting the rest of the required parameters.

Output Voltage Accuracy

The output voltage accuracy describes the typical and worst-case deviation of the output
voltage with respect to the nominal linear dropout voltage regulator’s output voltage. The
overall output voltage accuracy also includes the effects of line regulation and load
regulation.