EE 2303 – Semiconductor Lab

Resources

Function generator

Oscilloscope

1N4001 Diode

470, 1K Resistors

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of Diode Operation

Knowledge of Half-wave

In this lab example we will be working with a new category of electronic device, the semiconductor diode.

Pre-Lab

BRING A FLOPPY DISK TO YOUR LAB

Read over the lab procedure and review the EE Lab writing guide on the web site.

Part I: Half Wave Rectifier

1. Using the function generator, connect the circuit shown below.

Figure 1. Half Wave Rectifier

2. Connect the oscilloscope to display the voltage across R2. Record the wave form on a Word pad document.

3. Use P-Spice to simulate the voltage across the “load” resistor R2. Paste the output wave form into the word document.

This circuit is called a half wave rectifier because only the positive half of the input voltage is coupled to the “load” resistor. The ability of this device to conduct current only on one direction offers a lot of interesting possibilities. Most electronic systems require DC voltage to operate. Diode rectifiers are used to convert AC voltage to DC voltage.

HAVE YOUR TA VERIFY YOUR WORK TO THIS POINT (initials) ______

Part 2: Nonlinear diode operation

  1. Reconfigure the function generator to output DC voltage only and set the output to 0V.
  2. Rewire the circuit as shown in Figure 2. Record the measured value of R1______.
  3. Set up the oscilloscope to measure DC voltage. Measure the voltage across R1 on Ch 1 and the voltage across the diode on Channel 2.
  1. Vary the voltage from the function generator from 0V to 1.5V in 0.1 increments and record the voltage across the diode and Resistor for each step in the Table 1 below.

Vin / Vr / Vd / Id = Vr/R1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5

Table 1. Diode Voltage and Current Data

HAVE YOUR TA VERIFY YOUR WORK TO THIS POINT (initials) ______

  1. Use P-spice to model the circuit in Figure 2. Step the DC voltage from –2V to +2V DC in at most 0.1V increments.
  2. Save the simulation plots to the word pad document.

HAVE YOUR TA VERIFY YOUR WORK TO THIS POINT (initials) ______

Part III: Summary and Follow Up instructions

  1. Prepare a short report describing the operation of the diode. Use a simple description of the P-N junction to explain the VI curves observed in your experiments. Use the plots and tables from your word pad document, other simulations, and illustrations to amplify your report. Use the format from the EE Labs website to guide your style. The grading rubric for EE lab reports is also available on the lab website.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Michigan Technological University