Circuit Cellar columnist Ed Nisley doesn’t want to rely solely on datasheets to understand the values of LEDs in his collection. So he built a curve tracer to measure his LEDs’ specific characteristics.
Why was he so exacting?
“Most of the time, we take small light-emitting diodes for granted: connect one in series with a suitable resistor and voltage source, it lights up, then we expect it to work forever,” he says in his July column in Circuit Cellar. “A recent project prompted me to take a closer look at commodity 5-mm LEDs, because I intended to connect them in series for better efficiency from a fixed DC supply and in parallel to simplify the switching. Rather than depend on the values found in datasheets, I built a simple Arduino-based LED Curve Tracer to measure the actual characteristics of the LEDs I intended to use.”
The Arduino Pro Micro clone in this hand-wired LED Curve Tracer controls the LED current and measures the resulting voltage.
Ed decided to share the curve tracer with his Circuit Cellar readers.
“Even though this isn’t a research-grade instrument, it can provide useful data that helps demonstrate LED operation and shows why you must pay more attention to their needs,” he says.
Ed says that although he thinks of his circuit as an “LED Curve Tracer,” it doesn’t display its data.
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“Instead, I create the graphs with data files captured from the Arduino serial port and processed through Gnuplot,” he says. “One advantage of that process is that I can tailor the graphs to suit the data, rather than depend on a single graphic format. One disadvantage is that I must run a program to visualize the measurements. Feel free to add a graphics display to your LED Curve Tracer and write the code to support it!”
He adds that “any circuit attached to an Arduino should provide its own power to avoid overloading the Arduino’s on-board regulator.”
“I used a regulated 7.5 VDC wall wart for both the Arduino Pro Mini board and the LED under test, because the relatively low voltage minimized the power dissipation in the Arduino regulator,” he says. “You could use a 9 VDC or 12 VDC supply.”
To read more about Ed’s curve tracer, check out Circuit Cellar’s July issue.
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Circuit Cellar's editorial team comprises professional engineers, technical editors, and digital media specialists. You can reach the Editorial Department at editorial@circuitcellar.com, @circuitcellar, and facebook.com/circuitcellar
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