Abstract

The power sources which we use may not be able to

provide us constant voltage. This may affect the proper
functioning of the eletronic device. Zenerdiode is a
special type of diode having a sharp cut off voltage
during reverse biasing. At cut off voltage it conducts to
large values of current, but voltage remains at constant
values. Even the input voltage varies or the external
load varies, the output voltage remains at a steady
value. Such Zenerdiode voltage regulators are used
mainly in voltage stabilizers, T.V's etc.
In general, electronic circuits uses tubes or transistors
for a source of d.c. power. In pracitce, d.c power for
electronic circuits is most conveniently obtained from
commericial a.c lines by using rectifier filter system
called a d.c power supply.
An ordinary or unregulated d.c power supply contains
a rectifier and a filter circuit. The output from rectifier
is a pulsating d.c. These pulsations are due to the
presence of a.c. component in the rectifier output. The
filter circuit removes the a.c. component so that steady
d.c voltage is obtained across the load
Rheostat:-
A rheostat is an electrical component that has an
adjustable resistance. It is a type of potentiometer that
has two terminals instead of three. The two main types
of rheostat are the rotary and slider. The symbol for a
rheostat is a resistor symbol with an arrow diagonally
across it. Rheostats are used in many different
applications from light dimmers to the motor
controllers in large industrial machines.

Rheostat Construction:-
Most rheostats are the wire wound type that have a
long length of conductive wire coiled into a tight spiral.
The linear type has a straight coil, while the rotary type
has the coil curved into a torus to save space. The coild
and contacts are sealed inside the case to protect them
from dirt, which can cause on open circuit and from
moisture, which can cause a short circuit. Rheostats
can be made from other materials such as carbon
disks, metal ribbons and even certain fluids. As long as
a material has a significant resistance change over a
short length, it can probably be used to make a
rheostat.

How Rheostat works:-

The basic principle that rheostats used is Ohm's law
which states that current is inversely proportional to
resistance for a given voltage. This means that the
current decreases as the resistance increases or it
increases as the resistance decreases. Current enters
the rheostat through one of its terminals, flows
through the wire coil and contact, and exits through
the other terminal. Rheostat do not have polarity and
operate the same when the terminals reversed. Three
terminal potentiometers can be use as rheostats by
connecting the unused third terminal to the contact
terminal. Principle
When the reverse bias on a crystal diode is increased, a
critical voltage, called breakdown voltage is reached
where the reverse current increases sharply to a high
value. The satisfactory explanation of this breakdown
of the junction was first given by the American scientist
C. Zener. Therefore the breakdown voltage is
sometimes called, Zener voltage and the sudden
increase in current is known as Zener current.
The breakdown of Zener voltage depends upon the
amount of doping. If the diode is heavily doped,
depletion layer will be thin and consequently the
breakdown of the junction will occur at a lower reverse
voltage. On the other hand, a lightly doped diode has a
higher breakdown voltage. When an ordinary crystal
diode is properly doped so that it has a sharp break
down voltage, it is called Zener diode

Requirements
• 6.2 V, 400 mW Zener diode.
• Unregulated Power supply of about 16 V
• Resistors
• 10 K? resistance box
• Rheostat
• Multimeter
• Circuit board etc.
Procedure :
• A Zene diode is like an ordinary diode except that it is
properly doped so as to have a sharp breakdown
voltage.
• A Zener diode is always reverse connected, ie, it is
always reverse biased.
• A Zener diode has sharp break down voltage, called
Zener voltage .
• When forward biased, its characteristics are just
those of ordinary diode.
• The Zener diode is not immediately burnt first
because it has entered the breakdown region. As long
as the external circuit connected to the diode limits the
diode current to less than burn out value, the diode
will not burn out

Observations
Conclusion :-
i) A voltage regulator using Zener diode is constructed
and its load and line variation is studied .
ii) Zener Voltage is = 6.2 V