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LABORATORY

ANALOG ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS

1st EXPERIMENT: Diodes

TASK 1: Diode current-voltage characteristic


TASK 2: Zener diodes in power applications
TASK 3: Diodes in signal applications

NAME

MATRICULATION
NUMBER
DATE GROUP

EXPERIMENT Only One Two persons


the supervisor only

PARTICIPATION
To be filled out by

ATTESTATION □ Done □ 1. Rework □ 2. Rework

In case of rework, the paper with the remarks of the corrector must be submitted as well!
Otherwise it counts as failed.

Remark: The Experiment consists of THREE tasks.


All of them have to be prepared BEFORE you going to the lab.
Maximum numbers of students for one lab report is two.
Diodes

As you already discovered in the lectures, diodes do a useful trick for us. They allow
current to flow in one direction only. Diodes are like a one-way valve.

(Yes)   (No)

Diodes are a semiconductor, a PN-junction:


The P doped side is called anode, the other one
cathode.
German mnemonic: K
The little K, indicating the “Kathode”:

Systems Engineering students already dealt with the full-wave bridge rectifier in
“fundamentals of EE” (Electrical Engineering students will conduct this experiment in
an EE2 lab). The rectifier contained 4 diodes and allowed to convert an AC current
into a DC current:
This is the basic circuit.

…the current flow at one half wave.

…and the current flow at the other half wave


(when the polarity of the source voltage
changes)

One can see that the current direction in the


load (Rload) is always the same. It’s “rectified”.

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The in- and output looked like this (input: blue):

The capacitor (C) causes the output voltage to look more like a straight line. The
higher the capacitance is, the lower
the ripple is. (Recall the lab for “EE”).
The small difference between the
peak values of both curves (the input
and the output) emerges from the
voltage drop across the diodes. Until
now we looked at diodes as a perfect
“valve”.

The I/U curve of a perfect valve would


look like this (red).

In forward direction there is no voltage


drop across our valve, current can flow
unimpeded. In reverse direction there is
no current flowing through the valve. It
is an infinite resistance.

But the truth is: When a diode


conducts, it shows a characteristic
“diode drop”. Here's a typical
characteristic I/U curve:

You can see that it is not ideal. There is a


voltage drop of about 0.6 volt and in
reverse direction there is a current
flowing. Note the scale change! It is a
very small current. The 3rd difference from
a perfect “valve” or diode is the fact, that
one cannot apply infinite voltage in
reverse direction. The diode suddenly
conducts (and is destructed!). So we
usually stay away from those high
voltages in reverse direction.

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TASK: Diode current-voltage characteristic

Prepare:
What is the expected voltage drop of a silicon diode? ______

Task:
As a first experiment you will prove that diodes really act like valves. Set up circuit a
shown below.

U = 12V U = 12V
1N4007 1N4007

circuit a: forward direction circuit b: reverse direction

The light bulb should now be glowing. Measure the voltage drop across the diode:
UD,forward = ________

Change the orientation of the diode (circuit b) and measure the voltage drop again:
UD,reverse = ________

IF IR
R = 1 kΩ R = 1 kΩ

UF UR

circuit c: forward direction circuit d: reverse direction

You are going take some measurements in order to record the I/U curve of the diode.
First setup circuit c and take the readings specified in the table.

UF [V] 0 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

IF [mA]

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Now change for circuit d, notice that there is a change from voltage consistent
measurement to current consistent measurement. Again record the specified values.

UR [V] 0 5 10 15 20 25

IR [mA]

Complete graph 1 using the recordings.

Graph 1: I/U curve


IF [mA]

50

40

30

20

10

UR [V] UF [V]
20 15 10 5 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8
20

40
IR [mA]

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TASK 2: Zener diodes in power applications

Today we're going to use another type of diodes – the Zener, or in Germany just
called “Z-Diode”:

This is the symbol, you find very often in SPICE, or E-CAD Programs:

Forward
But you'll find these symbols, too: Biased
UZ

Reverse
Biased

The I/U curve of a Zener:


Compared to the “normal” diode's I/U curve, this looks very similar. In forward
direction there's even no difference.
But “reversed-biased” (voltage applied positive on the cathode, negative on the
anode); the breakdown voltage (the Zener voltage in this case) is much smaller.
Unlike from a normal diode, a Zener does not necessarily destruct if it “breaks down”.
In fact it is designed to do so. This effect is -among others- utilized to stabilise a
voltage:

If you put a Zener in a circuit like this,

the Zener is “back-


biased”. This circuit’s output voltage is pretty constant, despite variation on the input
and despite variation in loading.

The circuit works like a voltage divider, with one


dynamic resistor (the Zener). The resistance of
the Zener changes in a way to hold the voltage
drop across it constantly at the breakdown
voltage Uz.

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Here the steadiness of the output voltage depends on the input voltage and the
Zener-current.
First we will have a look at the effect of changing the Zener-current. This is our Zener
characteristic:

Forward
Biased
UZ

Reverse
Biased

If we combine this characteristic with the load line, we can estimate the operating
point:

U UZ
S
≈Uout
UR Uo
Soperating ut
point
US / RL

What happens, if we decrease the resistor can be seen here. The load line will be
uplifted and the operating point displaced. The output voltage falls below the Zener
voltage if the current is not high enough:

Uout

U UZ
Soperating
US / RL (smaller
point
now)

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In this task we will explore the effect of changing Zener current on the output voltage.

Prepare: Complete the diagram:


Where to you place the meters?

Build up a circuit with a Zener (3.3 V),


a 1k resistor and a 10k potentiometer:

The input voltage is 7 V.


Now vary the potentiometer from 0 to
10 k and note down the output
voltage.

What can u observe? Explain!


(to script!)

Pot. value
[Ω]

Zener
current [A]

UOUT [V]

If we change the input voltage, nearly the same effect occurs: The operating point will
be displaced; the output voltage becomes “unstabilized”:

Uout
US
U UZ (decreased UZ
S
≈Uout )
operating
UR Uo point
Soperating ut
point
US / RL US / RL (R stays
the same)

The next task is about this effect.

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Build up a circuit with a Zener (3.3 V and 10 V)
and a 1k resistor.

CH 1 CH 2
Vary the input voltage in a range 0 – 18 V and
note down the output voltage.

What can u observe? Draw the U/I curve and


explain in your own words!

UINP [V]

UOUT_3.3 [V]

UOUT_10 [V]

Now replace the voltage source by a function generator and apply a 100 Hz sine
of 2 Vpp and 7 V offset (3.3 V Zener). Scope the input and output and sketch them
into this diagram:

Vary the amplitude of the input voltage and note until which value the output stays
stable.

What happens, if you continue increasing the amplitude? Sketch this situation in the
second diagram and explain in your own words (to script!).

Reflect on the output of the full wave bridge rectifier. Do you see the similarity of its
output compared to our 100 Hz sine with offset? If we would combine the FBR with
this little Zener circuit, we would have a quite constant (regulated) DC voltage source.
An AC voltage would be converted into a stabilized DC voltage. But a practical
voltage source would never (hardly ever) use a naked Zener like the one we just
build up. It would always include a transistor or an op-amp. The Zener circuit would
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only be used as a reference voltage source. Linear voltage regulators like the 780X
series use just such a scheme. You will get to know these circuits in the upcoming
labs.

At least you should better understand those regulator circuits for having glimpsed the
Zener today.

TASK 3: Diodes in signal applications

In this next task we are going to leave the region of power applications of diodes and
enter the world of signals and signal conditioning using diodes. We start with this
simple set of commonly used diode circuits. What should the output look like, if we
apply a 20 Vpp sine on the input?

Prepare:

Draw / sketch the outputs. Think about the current drawn from the source. How does
the current flow look like? Draw your suggestion into the same sketch. And explain
your suggestions!
Build up these circuits and see if your suggestions were right (use a 1k resistor and
20Vpp).

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Analysis: Explain how and why those signal conditioning circuits work (to script!)

Signal conditioning, Part 2: This circuit is a rectified differentiator. We are going to


apply a 1 kHz square wave on the input (5 Vpp).

Prepare: How do you think the output looks like? Draw a sketch in the diagram and
explain!

1N4007
Input

Task: Build up the circuit and check out, if your suggestion is correct!

Does the description “rectified differentiator” make sense? Explain!

What does the 2.2 k load resistor do? Try removing it.

What is a possible application of this circuit?

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