ELECTRONICS AND SEMICONDUCTORS (MST557)

LAB REPORT

SUBMITTED TO:
DR NUR AIMI BINTI JANI

NAME:
NUR SYUHADA BINTI AHMAD TERMIZI

STUDENT ID:
2019813952

GROUP:
AS2404M2

DATE OF SUBMISSION:
3rd of JULY 2021
 EXPERIMENT 1
THE I-V CHARACTERISTIC OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS

Objectives:

1. To study the current-voltage relationship in circuits containing various resistive

components.
2. To measure the values of resistance of some materials.
3. To understand the principal of Ohm’s Law.

Introduction:

Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics also known as current-voltage characteristics of

an electrical component or device is the relationship between its voltage and its current.
When current is applied in a conductor, whose ends have a potential difference of voltage, V
where the force required to make current flow through conductor. Electric current is flow of
electrons in a conductor where it flows from positive to negative meanwhile the electron
flows from negative to positive It has shown that in the equation which called Ohm’s Law:

V=IR

R is the resistance of the conductor and it measures in ohms. V and I are expressed in volts
and ampere. Ohm’s law states that the voltage or potential difference between two points is
directly proportional to the current or electricity passing through the resistance, and directly
proportional to the resistance of the circuit. The current-voltage relationship can be observed
through linear graph when the temperature is constant. The resistance and the voltage applied
across the electrical components will determine the amount of current flows through it.
However, there are a few electrical components that not obey Ohm’s Law. Thus, they are
called non-linear VI characteristics.
Summary Finding:

The common apparatus needed to investigate the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics

of a component are two coils of wire with different length (unknown resistance), rheostat,
switch, ammeter (A), voltmeter (V), and DC power supply. The circuit is connected and
constructed as shown after the voltmeter and ammeter were examined and the positive and
the negative terminals were observed carefully. Polarity is checked when the circuit is
connected to resistor. A few readings of currents were measured for a few difference voltages
with an increment of one volt each. The resistance is calculated by using Ohm’s Law. The
current flowing through the circuit for each voltage were recorded and measured. Lastly, the
steps were repeated by using different length of wires.

The results from the observation were plotted in the graph for each electrical
component tested. The slope of the curve were found and the resistance of were calculated if
the graph was linear. The value of resistance were compared from the graph with the value
measured by ohmmeter. It has shown the relationship between the current and voltage for the
resistor obeyed the Ohm’s law, I=V/R where current, I is directly proportional to voltage and
inversely to the resistance, R. This is because when the current is increase, the voltage would
increase too and the resistance is decrease. The amount of current flows through the
component is determined by the resistance and voltage that applied across it.

The resistance of conductor depends on the length of the wire, the types of material
made for the conductor, and the temperature of material. This is because the longer the wire,
the greater its resistance. Electrons charges that flows through along the longer wire produces
higher resistance than in shorter wire.

Some errors might be occurred during the experiment such as instrumental defects
such as rheostat do not function properly or the clip wire is not clip firmly to its end.
Systematic errors such as tolerance values of resistors could affect the readings. The voltage
or current value will fluctuate away from theoretical value when there are more tolerance
values of resistor. Apart from that, the voltmeter should be connected correctly to obtain true
readings.
References:

1. Ohm's Law: Definition & Relationship Between Voltage, Current & Resistance.
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/ohms-law-definition-
relationship-between-voltage-current-resistance.html
2. Current Voltage Characteristics. (2019). Retrieved from http://physicsnet.co.uk/a-
level-physics-as-a2/current-electricity/current-voltage-characteristics/.
3. Electronic Tutorials (n.d.). I-V Characteristic Curves. Retrieved from
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/blog/i-v-characteristic-curves.html#:~:text=The
%20I%2DV%20Characteristic%20Curves%2C%20which,operation%20within%20an
%20electrical%20circuit.
4. Ohm’s Law and Resistance: Video (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics/electricity/ohms-law-and-resistance/
5. Digestible Notes (n.d.). Current/Potential Difference Characteristics and Ohm's Law.
Retrieved from https://digestiblenotes.com/physics/current_electricity/ohms_law.php
 EXPERIMENT 2
RESISTORS

Objective:
1. To determine the equivalent resistances of resistors connected in series and parallel.

Introduction:
Resistor is a passive electrical component to create resistance where it usually
measured in ohms, Ω that reduces the electric current. The resistance occurs when a current
with 1A pass through a resistor with 1V drop across its terminals. The amount of current in a
circuit depends on the amount of voltage and the amount of resistance in the circuit to oppose
current flow. The value of resistance can be determined and dictated by the Ohm’s Law:

R=I/V

This relationship shows that the current is inversely proportional to the resistance. If the
resistance is increase, then the current will decrease.

Summary finding:

The resistors are connected in two circuits which one is in series circuit another one is
in parallel circuit to determine the resistances for each circuit. The resistors in series circuit is
divided into two parts and labelled as experiment A while experiment B in parallel circuit.
The apparatus are needed consists of resistors, batteries, rheostat, switch, ammeter (A),
voltmeter (V), DC voltage supply and connecting wires. The rheostat is adjusted to get the
voltage readings such as 1.0V, 1.5V, 2.0V and etc after the circuit had set up. The current (A)
of each circuit is recorded for each voltage value and the values of R, I, V is measured and
listed. A few readings are taken and been recorded. Then, the graph of the current versus
voltage for each experiment A and B are plotted and the resistance is calculated from the
graph.
 It has shown that the resistance value in series and parallel circuit are different. The
resistance of the series circuit is determined by:

i. Since there is only one path for the charges to flow through, the current is the same
through each resistor.
I = I 1 = I2 = I3
ii. Voltage across the series circuit is the sum of voltage for the each resistors.

V1 = IR1; V2 = IR2; V3 = IR3

iii. The potential difference, Vs across the series circuit is the total of the individual
potential difference:
Vs = V1 +V2 + V3 = I (R1 + R2 + R3) or Vs = IRS

iv. The sum of individual resistance as follows:

Rs = R1 + R2 + R3

Meanwhile, the resistance value of parallel circuit is calculated as follows:

i. The voltage across each resistor is all same.

V = V1 = V2 = V3

ii. The current in each resistors are different and the total current is the sum of individual
currents.

I = I1 + I2 + I3

iii. The total current is the sum of three current in each resistors:

I = I1+ I2 + I3 = Vp (I/R1+ I/R2 + I/R3)

iv. So, the resistance number in parallel is the reciprocal of the equivalence resistance
equals the sum of reciprocals of each resistance values and computed as follows:
 1/RP = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

References:

1. Youngblood, T., Keim, R., Orfei, F., & Texas Instruments. (2019). Ohm’s Law - How
Voltage, Current, and Resistance Relate. Retrieved from
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt-2/voltage-current-
resistance-relate/
2. EE Power (n.d.). What is a resistor? Retrieved from https://eepower.com/resistor-
guide/resistor-fundamentals/what-is-a-resistor/#
3. University of Saskatchewan. (n.d.) Resistors in Series and Parallel. Retrieved from
https://openpress.usask.ca/physics155/chapter/6-2-resistors-in-series-and-parallel/
4. Lumen Physics. (n.d.) Resistors in Series and Parallel. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/21-1-resistors-in-series-and-
parallel/
5. Physics Libre Texts. (2020). Resistors in Series and Parallel. Retrieved from
https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/University_Physics/Book
%3A_University_Physics_(OpenStax)/Book%3A_University_Physics_II_-
_Thermodynamics_Electricity_and_Magnetism_(OpenStax)/10%3A_Direct-
Current_Circuits/10.03%3A_Resistors_in_Series_and_Parallel
 EXPERIMENT 3
DIODES

Objectives:

1. To study the flow of the current in a diode of forward or reverse bias.

2. To determine the operating voltage of diode.

Introduction:

A diode also known as rectifiers is a semiconductor device that essentially acts as a

one-way switch for current. The current allows to flow easily in one direction but it restricts
from flowing in opposite direction. Diode also can change from alternating current (AC) into
direct current (DC). Forward biased means putting a voltage across a diode that allows
current to flow easily, while reverse biased means putting a voltage across a diode in the
opposite direction. Diodes have polarity, determined by an anode (positive lead) and cathode
(negative lead). A diode’s working principle depends on the interaction of n-type and p-type
semiconductors. P-type (anode) diodes can be described where the holes are the majority
carriers and electrons are the minority while N-type (cathode) is where the elctrons act as
majority carriers and holes act as minority carrier. P-type semiconductors are created by
doping an intrinsic semiconductor with acceptor impurities while N-type semiconductor are
created by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with donor impurities.

Apparatus and Procedure:

The apparatus that been used are semiconductor diode, power supply, bulb, rheostat,
resistance box and voltmeter. The procedure is divided into three parts where the experiment
A is to investigate the characteristics of biased diode. In this experiment, two types of circuit
are set up and connected to each component. The connection for the negative end of cathode
are connected to negative terminal of the DC source. Second, experiment B is to determine
the knee voltage of a diode. For experiment B, the circuit are connected and the diode is set
up in forward biased. The voltage reading are set to 0.5V. The voltage during at which bulb
light up are figured up by tuning rheostat finely. Lastly, experiment C is to measure the DC
characteristic of a junction diode. The DC voltage are set to 0V and the diode are been
connected as follows. The DC supply voltage are been change by 0.3 and the DC current that
pass through the diode were calculated and recorded. The polarity of the DC power supply
then were reversed and the resistance were change as well. Steps were repeated and the
current and voltage were recorded.

Summary finding:

In forward bias operation of P-N junction, the positive terminal is connected to P-side
while negative terminal is connected to the N-side. In this condition, the height of the
potential barrier at the junction is lowered by an amount equal to given forward biasing
voltage. It has shown in experiment B where the minimum voltage at which the diode starts
conducting and current starts increasing exponentially. This is called as knee voltage. When
voltage becomes greater than the value of the potential barrier, the potential barriers
opposition will be overcome and current will start to flow.

When a diode is connected in a reverse bias condition, a positive voltage is applied

and connected to the N-type and negative voltage is connected to the P-type. The bulb not
light up under normal reverse voltage since there is little reverse current flows through P-N
junction. If reverse bias is made too high, the current through PN junction increases abruptly
and the voltage at which this phenomenon occurs is called breakdown voltage like in
experiment C where the voltage were varying from 0V slowly raised to 0.3V the to larger
volts. The break down voltage is defined as the reverse voltage at which P-N junction
breakdown with sudden rise in reverse current. A diode will operate in one of three regions
which are forward bias, reverse bias and breakdown depending on the voltage applied across
it. The operating voltage of diode can be recorded by on the maximum forward voltage a
diode can withstand since the breakdown voltage been identified.
References:

1. Electronic tutorials (n.d) PN Junction Diode and Diode Characteristics. Retrieved

from https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/diode/diode_3.html
2. Physics and Radioelectronics (n.d) Light Emitting Diode (LED). Retrieved from
https://www.physics-and-radio-electronics.com/electronic-devices-and-
circuits/semiconductor-diodes/lightemittingdiodeledconstructionworking.html
3. Energy Education (n.d) Diode operation. Retrieved from
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Diode_operation
4. ElProCus (n.d) What is Knee Voltage of PN-Junction Diode. Retrieved from
https://www.elprocus.com/knee-voltage-of-pn-junction-diode/
5. Cadence Pcb Solutions (n.d) Forward Bias vs. Reverse Bias and their Effects on
Diode Functionality. Retrieved from https://resources.pcb.cadence.com/blog/2020-
forward-bias-vs-reverse-bias-and-their-effects-on-diode-functionality
 EXPERIMENT 3
BIPOLAR TRANSISTORS

Objectives:
1. To experiment with a transistor and demonstrate its basic operation.

Introduction:
Bipolar transistors are a type of transistor that uses both electrons and holes as charge
carriers. It composed of P-N junctions which also called as bipolar junction transistors (BJT).
There are two types of bipolar transistors which namely PNP and NPN. The function of
bipolar transistors are as same as all the transistors which to act as switch or to amplify and
rectify power. Bipolar transistors are current-controlled devices where the smaller base
current causes a larger current to flow from emitter to collector.

There are three regions of operations involved for bipolar junction transistors. Firstly,
active region. In this region, the base emitter junction is forward biased and the base-collector
junction is reverse biased. Second is cut-off region where both base-emitter and base-
collector junctions are reverse biased and the transistor acts like an open switch. Lastly,
saturation region, both base emitter and base-collector junctions are forward biased and the
transistor acts like a closed switch. For PNP transistor, the current is carried by holes which is
in positively charges that move in the same direction while for NPN transistor, the current is
carried by electrons.

Apparatus and Procedure:

The apparatus needed consists of NPN transistor, DC source (6V), 100 kΩ and 560Ω resistor,
ammeter, LED and breadboard. A circuit is assembled in NPN bipolar junction transistor that
been used as switch. LED was connected correctly since it has polarities. The connection at
end of transistor is labelled as A while connection to the ground as B. The one end of 100 kΩ
resistor is connected at the one terminating in arrowhead which intended to remain loose. The
ammeter was connected to the loose wire to the positive side of power source. The LED’s
current was measured. The wire was removed from the circuit and “bridging” the
unconnected end of 100kΩ resistor to the power source’s positive pole with two fingers of
one hand to illustrate the miniscule the controlling current is. The end of the fingers need to
be wet to be wet to maximize the conductivity. The contact pressure of the fingers with those
two points in the circuits to vary the amount of resistance in the controlling current path. The
brightness of the LED were determined and the capability of the transistor were determined.

Summary finding:

From the finding, the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) uses both electron and holes as
charge carriers. Three basic terminals of BJT are the emitter, the base and the collector.
Bipolar transistor is to control the amount of current flowing through them from the emitter
to the collector terminals in proportion to the amount of biasing voltage applied to their base
terminal, thus acting like a current-controlled switch. The amount of current allowed between
collector and emitter is influenced by the amount of current moving between base and
emitter. The smaller the current flows into the base terminal controls hence, the larger the
collector current. The controlling current that been obtained from the experiment is the small
amount of current that supplied to the circuit to able the LED to light up. The input signals
caused the emitter current to flow and later sends to the collector current, flows through the
load resistor and lead to a large voltage drop across the circuit.

The presence of BJT will amplify the current flow in the circuit towards the LED if
the required current of LED is higher than controlling current where a small input voltage
results in a large output voltage. If it is higher than the controlling current, that means LED
need to be in forward voltage for it to light up hence the voltage will increase and the current
increase too. Bipolar junction transistor also prevents the resistor in the circuit which it
control the excessive flow of current that might cause short-circuit, therefore, the enough
current can be applied to LED for it to light up.
References:

1. Elprocus, (n.d). Bipolar Junction Transistors Working Principle and Applications.

Retrieved from https://www.elprocus.com/bipolar-junction-transistors-working-
principle-and-applications/
2. Electronics Tutorials (n.d). Bipolar Transistor. Retrieved from
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/transistor/tran_1.html
3. All About Circuits (n.d). Introduction to Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT).
Retrieved from https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-
4/bipolar-junction-transistors-bjt/
4. Granath, E. (2020). An introduction to the bipolar junction transistor (BJT). Retrieved
from https://www.power-and-beyond.com/an-introduction-to-the-bipolar-junction-
transistor-bjt-a-909454/
5. Electrical 4 U (2020). Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT): What is it & How Does it
Work?. Retrieved from https://www.electrical4u.com/bipolar-junction-transistor-or-
bjt-n-p-n-or-p-n-p-transistor/