EEE222 BASIC ELECTRONICS
LAB NO.1 – Diodes
AIM: Study of Diode Characteristics
A diode is a pn junction semiconductor device that acts as a zero resistance conductor when
forward biased and as an insulator with infinite resistance when reverse biased. Diodes can be
used in rectifier circuits to convert AC to DC. In half-wave rectification only one diode is
used to convert the AC signal to a half-wave. In full-wave rectification, the output signal
consists of only positive half cycles.
Required Equipment: 1 Power supply, 1 diodes, 1K resistor, 1 voltmeter, 1 ammeter.
Experiment 1: Diode IV characteristics
Circuit Diagram
Procedure
1. Connect the above circuit.
2. Switch on the power supply and vary the input DC in small steps.
3. Note down the ammeter and voltmeter readings for each step.
4. Plot the Voltage Vs Current graph.
Quiz
a) Discuss how a pn junction is formed.
b) Explain why the diode starts to conduct once it reaches the knee voltage.
c) Explain the importance of connecting a diode in series with a resistor in a circuit.