CMYK
C OOMMP PO NOENN ET SN T S
OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES &
THEIR APPLICATIONS
Optoelectronics is an interesting branch of electronics that
combines both electronics and optics. Optoelectronic devices
find varied applications in telecommunications, military
services, medical field, and automatic control systems. Lets
check out how they work
D. MOHAN KUMAR
L
ight is emitted from a material when
it is stimulated by the incident en-
ergy. If the energy is in the form of
photons, photoluminescence is produced.
Optoelectronic devices produce electrical
energy when exposed to incident light en-
ergy. They utilise energy in the visible
and infrared regions of the electromag-
netic spectrum.
Solidstate devices like sensors, IR emit-
ters, and laser emitters are used for opto-
electronic applications. Optoelectronic de-
vices can be classified into photoconduc-
tive and photovoltaic devices.
Photoconductive devices such as photo
resistors are widely used in counting sys-
tems, twilight switches, house security sys-
tems, etc. These detect variations in the
light intensities and activate or deactivate
electronic circuits. Photodiodes and
phototransistors also fall in this category.
These utilise the reverse biased junctions
for generating current when illuminated.
Photovoltaic devices produce a volt-
age when these are exposed to light. The
light energy produces a potential differ-
ence across the p-n junction depending
on the intensity of the incident light. So-
lar cells and photovoltaic cells are widely
used in various applications to generate
electricity.
The p-n junction as a voltage
source
The controlled diffusion of impurities into
such materials as germanium and silicon
ELECTRONICS FOR YOU OCTOBER 2003
terial. Similarly,
some of the holes
present in the p-
type material move
Fig. 3: Forward across the junction
biased p-n junction to the n region and
combine with the
electrons present in
the n region.
The process
Electromagnetic spectrum
continues and cre-
Band Wavelength in nm
Fig. 4: Reverse ates a region on ei-
Ultraviolet 100-400 biased p-n junction ther side of the
Visible 400-700
Infrared 700-1500
produces semiconductors. The process of
introducing impurities into a pure semi-
conductor material is known as doping.
Phosphorous, arsenic, boron, and alu-
minium are some of the materials used as Fig. 5: Anode and cathode in p-n junction
impurities for doping. By means of so- and the direction of current flow
phisticated processes, it is possible to pro-
duce p- and n-type junctions within the junction with no free charges. This region
same slice of silicon or germanium. The is known as depletion layer (refer Fig.
2). The continuous movement of electrons
and holes results in an equilibrium, with
the p region acquiring a small negative
charge and the n region acquiring a small
positive charge. This creates a small po-
tential across the p-n junction equivalent
to a small voltage.
Fig. 1: Diffusion of electrons and holes When an external voltage having a po-
across the n-p junction larity opposite to that of the p-n junction
is applied to the p-n junction, it effec-
resulting junction is called p-n junction. tively negates the internal potential differ-
Within the p-n junction there is move- ence and reduces the width of the deple-
ment of electrons and holes (refer Fig. 1). tion layer. As the external voltage is in-
From the n creased, the depletion layer becomes zero,
region elec- and this causes easy diffusion of charge
trons diffuse carriers across the junction. Electrons move
across the from n region to p region and the junc-
junction into tion is forward biased (refer Fig. 3). A
the p region large current flows from the p region (an-
and combine ode) to the n region (cathode). If the ex-
Fig. 2: Depletion layer with with the ternal potential has the same polarity as
no charges on either side holes present that of the junction, no current flows, as
of the junction in p-type ma- the depletion layer widens and inhibits
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the flow of charge carriers. closed in a transparent case. The glass

Photovoltaic cells
Photoelectric transducers generate electric
current when exposed to light. A photo-
voltaic cell consists of many p-n junctions
connected in series. One of the junctions
is very thin, so light can easily pass
through it. When light passes, charge car-
riers such as holes and electrons are pro-
duced proportional to
the incident light. Pho-
tovoltaic cells are used
in various applications
to generate electricity
where mains power is
not available. Examples
Fig. 6: Solar cell include solar cells (re-
fer Fig. 6) and solar bat-
teries, which are used in satellites.
The solar energy incident on the p-n
junction of the solar cell collides with the
valence electrons. This causes the forma-
tion of electron-hole pairs, which cross
the p-n junction in an opposing manner
and create a voltage across the p-n junc-
tion. The voltage generated per cell is ap-
proximately 0.6V. Large arrays of solar
cells are used in series and parallel com-
binations to produce a large voltage.
Photoconductive cells
Photoconductive cells use a semiconduc-
tor material whose electrical conductivity
varies with the intensity of the incident
light. Light-dependent resistors (LDRs) (re-
fer Fig. 7) are typical photoconductive
cells. When light falls on the semiconduc-
tor material, its conductivity increases.
Normally, cadmium sulphide (CdS) is used
in LDRs and their resis-
tance depends on the in-
tensity of light. CdS cells
have a sensitive area that
contains small amounts
of silver, antimony, or in-
Fig. 7: Light- dium impurities. The
dependent electron-hole pairs pro-
resistor duced by the incident
light increase its conduc-
tivity and cause increase in current flow.
Besides CdS, lead sulphide or cadmium
selenide are also used in photoconductive
cells.
In absolute darkness the resistance of
an LDR is a few mega-ohms, while it re-
duces to as low as a few ohms when fully
illuminated. The LDR is made up of a
thin film of semiconductor material en-
window permits entry of light into the
semiconductor.
Primary advantages of CdS are their
high dissipation capacity, excellent sensi-
tivity in the visible spectrum, low resis-
tance in light, etc. It can handle many
watts, so a relay can be directly operated
using an LDR. LDRs are used as switch-
ing devices in the presence or absence of
light. Counters, twilight switches, camera
control systems, etc utilise this property
of LDR.
Photodiodes
Photodiodes (Fig. 8) are high-impedance
devices that are usually reverse biased for
improved performance. These are high-
speed sensors which generate a tiny cur-
rent (in A) proportional to the amount
of incident light.
The photodiode
consists of a relatively
large silicon p-n junc-
tion, which is illumi-
nated by the incident
light. Light photons im-
Fig. 8: Photo- pinging on the junction
diode have sufficient energy
to rupture a number of
covalent bonds in the junction, thereby
producing electron-hole pairs. This causes
the flow of current in the diodes. As the
illumination increases, additional electron-
hole pairs are released and the diode cur-
rent increases.
Phototransistors
Phototransistors employ the principle of
photodiodes, but the amplifying action of
the transistor makes these devices more
sensitive. Phototransistors are duo diodes
having two junctions in the same device
separated by a wide base region, thus form-
ing an n-p-n junction (Fig. 9). The n-p
junction is slightly forward biased and the
p-n junction is reversed biased. Light en-
ergy striking the n-p junction liberates elec-
tron-hole pairs. The released electrons dif-
fuse out of the p
region towards
the junction. The
holes, however,
are trapped in the
p region and
form a positive
Fig. 9: The working
surface charge.
principle of photo- This causes an
transistor increase in for-

OCTOBER 2003 ELECTRONICS FOR YOU

CMYK
COMPONENTS
ward bias of n-p junction, increasing the
current flow.
Phototransistor is usually connected in
common-emitter configuration with an
open base. Photons are focused to the
junction through a lens system. Only two
leads (collector and emitter) of the
phototransistor are usually used in circuit
connections. The base current is created
by the photons falling on the base-collec-
tor junction. The current in the
phototransistor depends on the intensity
of incident light and is less affected by
the voltage in the circuit. Darlington n-p-
n phototransistors are widely used in light-
detection devices, light-operated systems,
counters, and house security systems.
Infrared diodes
Infrared (IR) diodes are photodiodes that
emit a beam of infrared light when their p-
n junction is forward biased. The p-n junc-
tion in IR diodes (Fig. 10) is made up of
gallium arsenide. The p-n junction consists
of a recombination region between p- and
n-type materials. When a potential differ-
ence is applied between the anode and the
cathode of the IR diode, the p-n junction is
energised and
electrons move
from the n re-
gion and com-
bine with the
holes present in
the p region. The
Fig. 10: IR Diode recombination
of electrons and
holes takes place in the recombination re-
gion. The recombination restores the equi-
librium of the p-n junction, leading to the
emission of photons in the form of infrared
rays. These rays have a wavelength of 900
nm. IR diodes are used in TV remotes,
remote switching burglar alarms, etc.
IR sensor modules
The photo current from a photodiode is
very small and must be amplified for acti-
vating the circuit. IR modules (Fig. 11)
are high-efficiency sensors having an
inbuilt phototransistor or photodiode and
a transistor amplifier consisting of an npn
transistor or FET. These are 3-pin light-to-
voltage converters with provision to im-
prove the amplifiers offset voltage stabil-
ity. The output voltage is directly propor-
tional to the incident infrared light.
IR sensors simplify the circuit design
as these require no external component
ELECTRONICS FOR YOU OCTOBER 2003
Fig. 11: IR sensors
for amplifying the signal. Some of these
produce digital outputs. IR sensors are sen-
sitive to infrared rays only and strong sun-
light or fluorescent lamps may affect their
functioning. Most IR sensors require a pul-
sating IR beam for maximum performance.
Solar panels
The pulsating IR ray allows the sensor to
keep the sensing ability and reduce the
response to visible light. IR sensor mod-
ules are used in TV/VCR remote systems
and remote switching controls.
Laser diodes and their
applications
Laser is a long narrow beam of photons
emitted from specially made diodes called
laser diodes. Like infrared diodes or LEDs,
laser diodes (Fig. 12) convert electrical en-
ergy into light energy. The most common
lasers used are semiconductor or injection
lasers. These lasers are based on the fact
that a population of inversion electrons is
produced when a voltage is applied across
the p-n junction. The p-n junction is doped
with gallium arsenide. Laser beam is avail-
able from the
doped semicon-
ductor from the
near UV to well
into infrared re-
gions.
The p-n junc-
Fig. 12: The working tion of the laser
principle of a laser diode has pol-
diode ished ends so that
the emitted
photons reflect
back and forth
to cause more
recombination
of electrons
and holes in
the p-n junc-
tion and new
photons are
emitted with
the same phase. The photons come out
from the p-n junction in the form of a long-
range narrow beam. All the photons in the
laser beam are coherent and in phase.
Lasers are of prime importance in op-
tical memories, fibre-optic communica-
tions, military applications, surgical pro-
cedures, and also in CD players. Be-
sides gallium arsenide lasers, helium-
neon lasers, argon-ion lasers, and car-
bon-dioxide lasers are also used in vari-
ous applications.
Lasers and CD players
CD players use laser technology to read
the optically recorded data in the form
of bits and pits on a CD. A CD is made
up of a polycarbonate plastic known as
polymethyle metacrylite. The surface of
the CD is coated with a thin film of alu-
minium and protected by a coating of lac-
quer. About 20,000 tracks are found in a
disks recording surface. The digital infor-
mation is defined as the length of pits and
distance between them. The pits and re-
flective surface represent logic 0s and 1s.
When a laser beam is focused onto
the disk, because of a difference between
the depth of the pits and wavelength of
the laser beam, a phase difference devel-
ops between the light reflected from the
pits and the reflecting surface. The re-
flected light is then modulated by the de-
tector system.
The laser diode-lens assembly and the
sensor form the optical system of the CD
player. The lens system focuses the laser
beam reflected onto the disk and reflected
back light is collected by the objective lens
and transmitted to the detector system.
Before passing to the detector, the reflected
laser beam is polarised and aligned to 90
degrees. The detector is a photosensor that
produces corresponding electrical signals,
which are then amplified and separated into
corresponding video and audio signals.
The author is a lecturer at Government
Victoria College, Palakkad, Kerala