LABORATORY MANUAL

ACTIVITY 9
AIM
Use of Multimeter to
(A) check whether the diode is in working order and to check
unidirectional flow of current in a diode; (B) identify emitter, base
collector of a transistor; (C) distinguish between n-p-n and p-n-p
transistors and check whether the transistor is in working order.

APPARATUS AND MATERIAL REQUIRED

A multimeter, a diode, a transistor (whose base diagram is known),
plug key, a battery, resistance box, connecting wires and sand paper.

PPRINCIPLE
Analog multimeter used in resistance mode
In this selection a circuit with a battery and resistors come into
play. The circuit diagram
below (Fig. A 9.1)
indicates the main
circuit components:
a 3V battery (provided
in the multimeter), a
fixed resistance, a
rh eo st at and a
galvanometer G. Red
and black leads are
con nected at fixed
resistance ends B and Fig. A 9.1 Multimeter in resistance mode
A respectively.
The deflection is adjusted to full scale deflection (zero mark on the
scale), using the rheostat (zero adjust) by first shorting the red and
black leads. Any resistance which has to be tested/evaluated is placed
between A and B. The deflection due to current in the circuit is
calibrated to read the resistance.

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You will notice that the black lead is actually connected to the positive
and red to the negative of the internal 3 V battery. While measuring
values of resistances, it is immaterial how they are connected across
A and B. However, it becomes important when this battery also provides
the bias for a diode or a transistor junction.

(A) Checking whether a diode is in working order and whether

flow of electric current is unidirectional through it
A semiconductor junction diode,
when connected (or biased) in the
forward direction, offers a low
resistance. However, when it is biased
in the reverse direction, it offers a very
high resistance. Therefore, the
working of a junction diode can be
examined by measuring its resistance
in the forward and reverse bias
con ditio ns. T he f uncti oning of
junction diode can also be examined
by checking the unidirectional flow
of current in a circuit as shown in
Fig. A 9.2. For a diode in proper Fig. A 9.2 A semiconductor junction
working order, a substantial current diode in the forward bias
(of the order of few mA) will flow in the
forward bias condition. If the polarity of the bias is reversed (i.e.,
diode in reverse bias condition), negligible current (of the order of
few µA) will flow.

(B) Identification of emitter, base and collector of a transistor

In general, each transistor has
three pins of the same size. In some E B C
transistors a dot or mark is put on
the body near one of the pins. This
pin is the emitter. The Emitter (E), E B C
Base (B) and Collector (C) of a
transistor can be identified using
its pin diagram. Fig. A 9.3 shows
the base diagram of a typical metal
capped cylindrical transistor. This
Fig. A 9.3 Base diagram of a typical metal-capped
has been drawn by keeping the
cylindrical transistor. Note that the pin
pins of transistor pointing connections may be different for different
upwards. In fact, there is no transistors. It is advisable to refer to
universal pin diagram for the the manufacturer’s data sheet.
transistors. One can find the pin
diagram of a given transistor (transistors have code numbers AC
127, BC548, 2N3055HL 100 etc.) in most transistor manuals.

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(C) Distinguishing between n-p-n and p-n-p transistors and

checking whether the given transistor
(p-n-p or n-p-n) is in working order
E n p n C E p n p C
The base B of an n-p-n transistor is p-type
material whereas emitter E and collector C
B B are of n-type materials (Fig. A 9.4 a).
n-p-n transistor p-n-p transistor Therefore, the forward resistance between the
base B and the emitter E (or collector C)
(a) (b)
should have a low value. In case of a p-n-p
Fig. A 9.4 Schematic representation of (a) n-p-n, transistor (Fig. A 9.4 (b) (whose emitter E, base
and (b) p-n-p transistors B, and collector C are p-, n- and p-type
materials respectively), the forward resistance
between the emitter and base should be low.
The resistances between the base-emitter, and base-collector are
measured. For a transistor in working order, resistance values follow
the results as shown in Table A 9.1.

Table A 9.1 : Resistance values between different terminals of n-p-n and p-n-p
transistors

Sl.No. One of the transistor termi- Transistor Bias Resistance

nals (B, C or E) connected terminal
to negative lead (black) connected with
of the multimeter positive (red) lead
of the multimeter
A. For n-p-n transistor

1 E B Forward Low

2 C B Forward Low

3 B C Reverse Very high

4 B E Reverse Very high

B. For p-n-p transistor

1 B E Forward Low

2 B C Forward Low

3 E B Reverse Very high

4 C B Reverse Very high

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Any deviation from the results shown in Table A 9.1 would indicate
that the given transistor is not in working order. For example, for an
p-n-p transistor, a low resistance value between terminal E (when
connected with the negative lead of the multimeter) and terminal B
(when connected with positive lead of the multimeter) indicates that
the transistor’s terminals E and B are short-circuited. For a working
transistor, it should have shown very high resistance, being reverse
biased.

P
ROCEDURE
1. The diodes, transistors, and connecting wires may have some
insulating layers on their surface if they are not used for a long
time. Therefore, clean their ends using a sand paper till they shine.

(A) Checking whether a diode is in working order and whether

flow of electric current is unidirectional through it
2. Set the multimeter in resistance measuring mode.
3. Connect the diode terminal 1 with the positive lead of the
multimeter and terminal 2 with the negative lead of the
multimeter. Measure the diode resistance. Reverse the diode
connections and again measure the diode resistance. Record your
observations in Table A 9.2. Also conclude whether the given
diode is in working order or not.
Note: A low value of diode resistance (ranging from few Ω to kΩ)
indicates that the diode is connected in forward bias. While
a very high value of resistance (of the order of MΩ), indicates
that the diode is connected in reverse bias.
If both the resistance values, i.e., in reverse and forward
directions, are low then it means that the diode is short-circuited.
On the other hand if both the resistance values are very high,
then the diode junction may be considered as discontinuous or
open. Thus, in both the conditions, the diode condition may be
concluded as not in working order.
4. Identify the p-and n-terminals of the given diode from
the observations.
5. Connect the diode with the cell and resistance box in a series
circuit (without key ON) as shown in Fig. A 9.2. Set the
multimeter in current measuring mode at a suitable range (mA,
start from high current range).
6. Take out a suitable resistance R from the resistance box in the
circuit to restrict the current within the current range chosen (in
the multimeter). Put the key ON and measure the current flowing
through the circuit. Record your observations in Table A 9.3.
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7. Repeat step 6 for a few more values of resistance R in the circuit.

8. Reverse the polarity of diode (now the diode is reverse biased) and
repeat steps 6 and 7.

(B) and (C) Identifying n-p-n and p-n-p transistors and

checking whether the given transistor (p-n-p or n-p-n) is in
working order
9. Identify the emitter E, base B, and collector C of the given transistor
by observing dot or a mark on the body of transistor near one of
its pins. Draw the base and schematic diagrams of the given
transistor in your notebook.
10. Set the multimeter in ‘resistance measuring mode’.
11. Connect the positive (red) lead of the multimeter with the base
and negative led (black) with emitter (or collector) terminal and
measure the resistance. Record the observations in Table A 9.4.
12. Reverse the connections of the multimeter and again measure the
resistance values between the transistor’s base B and emitter E
(or collector C) terminals. Record observations in Table A 9.4.
13. From Table A 9.4, check whether the given transistor is in working
order or not.
14. For a transistor that is in working order, using the information
given in Table A 9.1, infer the nature of the given transistor (n-p-
n or p-n-p).

O BSERVATIONS

1. Table A 9.2 : Measurement of diode resistance

Sl. No. Diode terminal connected Diode terminal connected Resistance

with the positive lead with the negative lead of (Ω)
of the multimeter the multimeter

1 1 2
2 2 1

2. Table A 9.3 : Unidirectional flow of current through a diode

(a) When diode is connected in forward bias

Sl. No. Resistance (Ω) Current (mA)

1
2
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 ACTIVITY 9

(b) When diode is connected in reverse bias

Sl. No. Resistance (Ω) Current (mA)

1
2
3

3. Table A 9.4: Resistance values between different transistor terminals

Transistor terminal Transistor terminal

Sl. connected with the Resistance
connected with the negative
No. positive lead of the (Ω)
lead of the multimeter
multimeter
1 B E
2 B C
3 E B
4 C B

R ESULT
1. The p- and n-sides of the given diode are identified from Table
A 9.2.
2. The given diode is/is not in working order (from Tables A 9.2
and A 9.3)
3. The unidirectional flow of current in a diode has/has not been
realised (from Table A 9.3).
4. The three terminals of the given transistor have been identified
and the pin diagram has been shown in Fig. A 9.3.
5. The given transistor is n-p-n/p-n-p (from Table A 9.4).
6. The given transistor is/is not in working order (from Table
A 9.4).

P
RECAUTIONS
1. While obtaining resistance of any component, clean its leads
properly.
2. Use the selector switch of the multimeter carefully for various
measuring modes.

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