I-V Characteristics

Objective: To measure the current response to voltage applied across resistors and diodes.

Theory: Ohm's law states that the current through a device I  V / R , where V is the potential drop
across the device and R is its resistance. Note that R is constant for an ideal resistor and can be
determined from the inverse of the slope of a plot of I as a function of V. Nonlinear devices, such as
diodes, do not yield such simple behavior.

A simple diode consists of two extrinsic semiconductors placed in electrical contact. One type of
semiconductor is doped with impurities in such a way that it has an excess of electrons in the energy
levels which contribute to conduction (n-type doping) and the other is doped such that is has extra
vacancies in the non-conducting energy levels (p-type doping). When placed in contact, electrons from
the n-type semiconductor drift to the p-type, and this separation of charge creates a region of the
semiconductor with a built in electric field known as the depletion region. This electric field makes it
such that electrons can flow in one direction relatively easily, but cannot flow easily in the other
direction. This is the basic function of a diode.

An applied voltage can repel this electric separation however, and if the voltage is large enough it can
completely reverse the separation and electrons are no longer inhibited from flowing in the forward
direction. This application of voltage is known as forward bias. The amount of voltage required to allow
current to flow across the depletion region is the “knee voltage.”

The type of semiconductor can be determined by the voltage at which the device becomes relatively
conductive. This "knee voltage" is about 0.3 V for germanium and about 0.6 V for silicon.

Apparatus: variety of resistors, diodes, Vernier ammeter and voltmeter, function generator, D M M and
LoggerPro software.

1 . Construct a series circuit using a function generator as a voltage source followed by the
ammeter and a resistor next to ground. Connect the voltmeter with grounded reference
in parallel across the resistor. Include a circuit diagram in your Group Report.

2 . Set the function generator to a 1.0 Hz triangle output with peak-to-peak amplitude of
2.0 V. Make sure the DC offset is near zero.

3 . Start Logger Pro from the desktop. If your two sensors are recognized, you will see two
plots appear. Set Logger Pro to sample 100 times per second for several seconds.
This can be found by clicking on the “Clock” icon near the “Collect” button. Change
one of the plots to show I as a function of V instead of time. To change the variable
click on the title of the axis you want to change, and choose the correct parameter from
the list.

4 . Ga th e r da ta a n d th e n perform a linear fit (including the tolerance of the slope). It is

probably necessary to right-click on the fit box to invoke the tolerance option. Include a
fully labeled plot in your Group Report.
5 . Measure the resistance with a digital multi-meter (DMM) and use it as the standard to
compare with the resistance obtained in step 4 and with the color code value on the
resistor. Calculate a percent error for the color code and slope value separately.
Create a table of results for your Group Report.

6 . Significantly change the parameters specified in step 2 and repeat 4. Note any
changes in your results for the analysis below. Return to your original settings.

7 . Replace the resistor with a diode. Gather data and identify the material by finding the
knee-voltage. Note the uncertainty of this voltage for use in the analysis below. Once
the diode is identified, calculate a percent error with the expected knee voltage for your
chosen diode.

8 . Analyze the results of this experiment in your group reports:

a. When you changed the parameters of the function generator in step 6 did
any of your results change? Explain why or why not.

b. I-V behavior is considered “ohmic” when the relation between current and
voltage is linear. Does your data indicate that the resistor is ohmic?
Support your answer using the value of the correlation coefficient from
your linear regression.

c. Is the diode ohmic over the entire range of -2 V to +2 V? Does the behavior
appear to be ohmic for forward-bias voltages less than the knee voltage (as
well as reverse-bias voltages)? You may qualitatively answer this question.

d. From your data, can you conclude that the diode has infinite resistance for
forward-bias voltages less than the knee voltage (as well as reverse-bias
voltages)? If not, estimate the resistance of the diode for this voltage
range.

e. For forward-bias voltages greater than the knee voltage, can you conclude
that the resistance of the diode is zero? If not, estimate the resistance of
the diode for this voltage range.

f. Use your data to provide an uncertainty ΔVknee for your measured value of
the knee voltage. This can be determined by direct observation of your I-V
data. Can your percent error be attributed to this uncertainty? In other
words, does the actual value of the knee voltage fall within the uncertainty
range ΔVknee that you measured?