Electronic – How to approach diode circuit analysis (novice)

circuit analysisdiodes

In my microelectronics course we have just begun learning about diodes and semiconductor physics. We have been analyzing simple circuits with diodes, mostly solving for component values. The approach we have been taught is to simply "guess" how the circuit is behaving, running the math to see if it works out, and adjusting if necessary. For example, consider this circuit:

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NOTE: I have already solved this question (I am not asking for homework help).

It turns out D1 is reverse biased and D2 is forward. I only found this out after testing two other assumptions (D1 and D2 both on, and D1 on/D2 off).

Are there any clues that indicate a certain assumption is more likely to be correct? I ask this because we are expected to solve these rather quickly – I know practice is the best, but I am hoping for some tips.

Best Answer

Here's your circuit, redrawn a bit with more labels.

schematic

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

You can determine the state of the diodes without any math, just reasoning about the circuit. In these situations I find it helpful to imagine that there's no voltage across any of the resistors (through some magic mechanism), and then consider how the circuit will behave as it approaches equilibrium.

Initially the voltage across R2 is 0, so D1 and D2 are forward. This permits more current to flow through R2, pushing up nodes B and C with it.

Once C is at 0V, both diodes are forward, but only just. If C creeps above 0V, D1 will be reverse biased.

Will it? I can see that R1 and R2 make a voltage divider, and the voltage across R2 must be twice that of R1. With C at 0V, that's not the case: we have 10V across R1 and 9.3V across R2.

So the voltage at C will continue to rise, and D1 will be reverse biased. The voltage at C will continue rising until the voltage divider is in equilibrium, and D2 will remain forward biased.