IV curve of a BD-5 tunnel diode

[jack b]

Hi All

Anyone know where I might find the IV curve for a General Electric BD-5 tunnel diode? I have found a few short datasheets for the BD series, but I really need a curve.

Does anyone know where to find such a thing? Or should I just get the SourceMeter out and make one myself.

Thanks
Jack

 

[berkeman]

Hi All

Anyone know where I might find the IV curve for a General Electric BD-5 tunnel diode? I have found a few short datasheets for the BD series, but I really need a curve.

Does anyone know where to find such a thing? Or should I just get the SourceMeter out and make one myself.

Thanks
Jack

I googled BD-5 tunnel diode, and got some hits. Here's one with a sketch of the curve:

http://www.phys.ufl.edu/REU/1999/reports/tyner/tyner.htm

from a report on some research.

It may be the most effective like you say to just sweep out the curve yourself. If you're in Silicon Valley, I have a curve tracer next to my lab bench that I could let you use...

 

[jack b]

Hi Berkeman

Sorry for the delay in replying, I ended up traveling home for christmas, so no internet.

Cheers for looking, but that doesn't really have the detail I need. And I'm a few thousand miles too far east to take up your generous offer to lend a curve tracer. I managed to borrow a good Keithley SourceMeter, so I'll just do the measurements back at the lab.

Thanks anyway
Jack

 

[Corneo]

Side note: One of my first assignments at my work was sweep out the I-V curves for several zener diodes. We didn't have a curve tracer readily available, so I had to build a test jig using only a power supply and a resistor.

 

[jack b]

EDIT: OK, so I was replying to a post pushing some curvefitting software, which got deleted as spam, but I'll leave my post here as the info may be useful.
====================================================

Ignoring the fact that this thread has been dead for months, and the fact that a lorentzian fit to a badly-sketched curve without any values on it would be about as much use as a water soluble lifeboat, I do now have some useful data.

For anyone who's interested I did take appropriate data back in February. I thought I'd make it available to anyone who's searching the web for it.
I've attatched rough IV plots of two BD5 diodes and a BD4 diode, measured with a sourcemeter at room temperature. Usual disclamers apply (not all the diodes are the same, for all you know I'm incompetent etc. etc.)

Cheers
Jack