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Tunnel diodes: Difference between revisions
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Before concluding that a tunnel diode is bad, it is important to be sure that it has been measured correctly. A high resistance reading on a DMM indicates that the diode is bad. A low resistance on a DMM and a low voltage on a diode tester are both normal when measuring a tunnel diode. A more thorough test of a tunnel diode is to drive it through a resistor with a ramp voltage source while observing the voltage across the tunnel diode. The resistor should be calculated so that the peak current just exceeds the peak current that the tunnel diode is rated for. Of course if a curve tracer is available, it is great for measuring | Before concluding that a tunnel diode is bad, it is important to be sure that it has been measured correctly. A high resistance reading on a DMM indicates that the diode is bad. A low resistance on a DMM and a low voltage on a diode tester are both normal when measuring a tunnel diode. A more thorough test of a tunnel diode is to drive it through a resistor with a ramp voltage source while observing the voltage across the tunnel diode. The resistor should be calculated so that the peak current just exceeds the peak current that the tunnel diode is rated for. Of course if a curve tracer is available, it is great for measuring | ||
the I-V curve of the diode. | the I-V curve of the diode. | ||
[[Image:IV_Ge_TD-10mA.jpg|thumb|Tektronix 571 curve tracer run of 10mA | [[Image:IV_Ge_TD-10mA.jpg|thumb|Tektronix 571 curve tracer run of 10mA tunnel diode.]] | ||
[[Image:Ge_TD.jpg|thumb|10mA | [[Image:Ge_TD.jpg|thumb|10mA tunnel diode mounted in Tektronix 571 curve tracer fixture.]] | ||
== Modeling == | == Modeling == | ||