EE444/544 – Power Electronics Prof.

Jevtić

SIMULATION #1

Diode Characteristics
Objectives

1. Get acquainted with Multisim.

2. Simulate static diode characteristic.
3. Simulate diode turn-off transient.

Instructions
(Items shown boxed should be submitted with the report.)

A. Front matter
1. Cover page to include: course number, course name, simulation number, simulation title,
your name, date simulation due, date simulation submitted.
2. Copy of these instructions.
3. Obtain a datasheet for the MUR415 diode and provide a copy of the first 2 pages.
4. Record the following datasheet parameters: breakdown voltage, average current, reverse
recovery time and under what conditions.

B. Static Characteristic: Simulated Agilent Oscilloscope

The circuit shown in Fig. 1 may be used to record the static I-V characteristic of a two
terminal device. An AC source periodically sweeps the range of voltages from −VRMS 2 to
+VRMS 2 , while the resistor R1 limits the current. Resistor Rs is a small shunt resistor
whose voltage is proportional to the current thru the device.
XSC1

Agilent

R1

V1 D1
MUR415
120 Vrms
60 Hz
0°
Rs

Fig. 1 Static diode characteristic setup with Simulated Agillent Scope.

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1. Determine the value of resistor R1 to limit the peak current thru the diode to the
maximum allowed average current. Assume R1>>Rs. Show calculation.
2. Determine the value of the shunt resistor Rs such that 1V of voltage drop across the
resistor corresponds to 1A of diode current. Show calculation.
3. Build the circuit in Multisim and use Simulated Agillent Oscilloscope (4th icon from the
bottom of the right sidebar) to measure diode voltage on Channel 1 and diode current
on Channel 2, as shown in Fig. 1.
4. Provide a printout of the circuit schematics showing all resistor values.
5. Start the simulation using the switch in the upper-left corner. Double click on the
oscilloscope and use the buttons the same way you would use them in the Lab. Initially,
you should see a regular scope mode with time variable along the horizontal axis. Click
“Main/Delayed” button and select XY soft key. This activates the XY mode which
displays Channel 1 on the X axis and Channel 2 on the Y axis. You should see the static
I-V characteristic of the diode displayed on the screen. Use the Channel 1 and 2 gain
buttons to fit the entire characteristics on the screen.
6. Provide a printout of the scope showing the static I-V characteristic.

C. Static Characteristic: 2 Channel Oscilloscope

1. Instead of the Simulated Agilent Oscilloscope, use the 2 channel scope (4th icon from the
top of the right sidebar.) Start the simulation and double-click the scope. Initially, you
should see a regular scope mode (called Y/T.) Switch to XY mode by selecting either
A/B or B/A to get the correct display. Use Channel A and B scale settings to fit the
entire static characteristic within the screen.
2. Provide a printout of the scope showing the static I-V characteristic.

D. Static Characteristic: DC Sweep

1. Build a simple Multisim circuit consisting only of a DC voltage source and MUR415
diode. Change the source name to Vd.
2. Provide a printout of the circuit schematics.
3. Select Simulate → Analyses → DC Sweep …
4. Under Analysis parameters tab, choose the start, stop, and increment of the source
voltage so that all important regions of the static characteristic show with sufficient
detail.
5. Under Output tab, add the source current I(Vd) to the list of output variables.
6. Click Simulate. If the static characteristic comes out upside down, return to the Output
tab under DC Sweep setup and select the I(Vd) output variable, click on Edit Expression
… and insert a minus sign in front of I(Vd). Click simulate.
7. Right-click within the Grapher View window and change the plot title, x and y labels,
limits and ticks, and use grid if desired.
8. Provide a printout of the Grapher View showing the static I-V characteristic.
9. Zoom in as required and estimate the following directly from the static I-V
characteristic:
a. diode breakdown voltage
b. diode on-resistance
c. threshold voltage

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EE444/544 – Power Electronics Prof. Jevtić

E. Turn-off Transient: Setup and Adjustment

The circuit shown in Fig. 2 may be used to measure the reverse recovery time of a diode
under specified I F , dI F / dt , VR conditions, where I F is the initial steady state forward
current, dI F / dt is the rate at which the diode current decreases, and VR is the reverse
voltage held off by the diode after it turns-off.
Initially, the output of the pulse voltage source Vg is zero, the MOSFET Q1 is off, and
the entire current source current IF flows thru the diode D1. This sets I F = 1A . When the
VDD
90V

D1
IF MUR415
1A

Vds

Q1
Rg

Vg IRF510

0 V 12 V
1msec 1msec

Fig. 2 Circuit schematics for diode turn-off transient simulation.

output of voltage source Vg jumps to 12V, the gate of the MOSFET Q1 starts charging at a
rate dependent on the gate resistance Rg, similarly to charging of a capacitor through a
resistor. As the MOSFET drain current increases, more current is diverted from the diode
D1 to MOSFET Q1. This sets the dI F / dt conditions for the diode current. Finally, with the
MOSFET fully on, all of the current source current IF flows thru the MOSFET and diode is
in the blocking state. Since the on-state voltage drop across the MOSFET is very low,
reverse voltage across the diode is very nearly equal to VDD, which sets VR = 90V .

1. Built the circuit in Multisim. For the pulse voltage source Vg use 0V for the initial
value, 12V for the pulsed value, 0.1µs for delay time, 1ns for rise and fall times, and
1ms for pulse width and period. Use Rg=100Ω initially. Label drain node Vds.
2. Select Simulate → Analyses → Transient Analysis. Under the Analysis Parameters
tab, set TSTOP to 1µs and TMAX to 10ps.
3. We would like to display diode current but it is not listed under the Output tab. To
access device parameters, select Add device/model parameter … and choose options
as shown in Fig. 3. Finally, add I(d1[id]) to the list of variables selected for analysis.
4. We now need to simulate and determine dI F / dt which corresponds to our initial
gate resistor value Rg=100Ω. You may use the cursors in the Grapher View, after

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you have zoomed-in close enough for accurate readout, as illustrated in Fig. 4 Our
target is dI F / dt = 100 A / μ s which is the same as 1A in 10ns. From Fig. 4, we find
dx=10.0109ns and dy=-9.6841A, which is approximately 9.7 times faster than
required.
5. Using trial-and-error procedure guided by educated guesses (i.e., do you have to
increase or decrease the gate resistance Rg, and by how much, in order to slow down
the turn-on of the MOSFET?), find the value of Rg which results in
dI F / dt = 100 A / μ s within ±10%.
6. Provide a printout of the circuit schematics showing the final selected value of the
gate resistor Rg.

Fig. 3 Adding diode current to the list of output varables.

Fig. 4 Estimating dI F / dt for Rg = 100Ω .

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F. Turn-off Transient: Current and Voltage Waveforms

1. One way to output the diode voltage is to take the difference of anode and cathode
voltages: Vd = Vds − VDD . Under the Output tab of the Transient Analysis window,
select Add Expression and enter (V(vds)-V(vdd))/10. This will output diode voltage
reduced 10 times so that both voltage and current can be shown legibly on the same
plot.
2. Using the selected value of the gate resistance which results in dI F / dt = 100 A / μ s ,
provide a printout of the Grapher View showing a well designed plot of the diode
current and voltage.
3. From the plot, estimate the reverse recovery current, reverse recovery time, and
reverse recovery charge of the diode (area of a triangle with the correct units.)
Compare the reverse recovery time to data-sheet specifications.
4. Would you classify this diode as a soft-recovery or a snappy diode? Why?

G. Discussion
1. Optional: please provide feedback on the simulation process: what was the most
novel concept, what took the most time, what was superfluous, what do you feel was
the most valuable part, suggestions for improvement, etc.

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