Question

When testing forward and reverse-biased diodes: 1. What factors affect the accuracy of the measurements?

Answer 1

in 2 ways a diode can be tested,

1. diode mode.

2. resistance mode

while testing in diode mode:

factors that affect the accuracy of measurement of forward or reverse voltage are:

a) test current output of the mesuring instrument. if current is higher to cause significant voltage drop, we will get an inaccurate voltage reading even though the diode is forward biased.

while testing in resistance mode:

factors that affect the accuracy are:

a) if test voltage by the instrument is less, the diode break-in voltage is not overcome and it will not be activated.

so even though diode is in forward biased direction, the resistance value will be shown very high which is faulty.

b) the measurement also depends upon the state of the diode and the corresponding p-n junction and it is a qualitative test and not a quantitative test.