De La Salle University – Dasmariñas

College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology

Electrical Engineering Program

Name: Jay Key Manalo Date Sumbitted:28/10/2021

CYS: EEE31

EXPERIMENT 4
Photoresistor I.

OBJECTIVE:

By the end of this laboratory experiment, the experimenter should be able to:

• Explain how a photoresistor works

• Describe the voltage-current relationship for an LED

• Build a circuit that includes an LED, photoresistor, and transistor and interface the circuit to a

microcontroller to create a light controlled switch

INTRODUCTION:

A photoresistor is simply a resistor whose resistance depends on the amount of light incident upon it.

Photoresistors are used to make light-sensitive devices, and are often made from cadmium sulfide (CdS).

The resistance of a CdS photoresistor varies inversely to the amount of light incident upon it. In other

words, its resistance will be higher at low light levels (in the dark) and lower at high light levels (in the

light).

A light emitting diode (LED) behaves like an ordinary diode except that when it is forward biased, it

emits light. An LED’s forward voltage drop is higher than that of an ordinary diode. Typical LEDs (the
two-wire leaded “jelly bean” type) require 5 to 15mA to reach full brightness, but are not designed to

handle more than about 20 mA of current (though some designed specifically for lighting applications can

handle upwards of 1A or more). You will therefore always need to provide a resistor in series with an

LED to limit the current to about 20 mA or less, or else you will burn it out. Look at the schematic

diagram to see which kind of component is needed.

II. MATERIALS NEEDED:

1 Photoresistor

1 2N3904, NPN transistor

2 10 kΩ resistor

1 470 Ω resistor

1 220 to 270 Ω resistor

1 red or green LED

1 Solderless Breadboard

1 Voltmeter, Ammeter

1 Regulated Power Supply 1

Breadboard for constructing

circuit PROCEDURES:

Part 1: The Light-Controlled Switch

1. Measure the photoresistor’s resistance in the ambient lighting of the lab.

RP(on)= 506Ω

2. Repeat the measurement, only this time, cover the cell with your hand. These two extremes will

be used in calculations later on.

RP(off)= 180k Ω
3. To verify the behavior of the LED, construct the circuit shown in Figure 1 vary the supply voltage

from 1 to 5 volts using 1-volt increments. At each voltage, measure the voltage across the LED

and the 470 Ω resistor using the DMM, and enter the values into the table.

Figure 1. LED and typical circuit

Vs (V) VLED VR (V) I (mA)
(V)
1V 1000 0V 0A
mV

2V 1.78 V 216 mV

3V 1.87 V 1.13 V 2.4 mA

4V 1.91 V 2.09 V 4.44 mA

5V 1.94 V 3.06 V 6.50 A

Table 1. LED circuit measurement

4. Construct the circuit below

Figure 2. Light-controlled LED

 5. With the following supply voltages, determine the condition of LED whether it is in an ON state
or OFF state. Measure the voltage across the LED for each supply voltage. Record your data in
Table 2.
Vs (V) VLED (V) Condition of LED I (mA)
1V 1V off 0A

2V 1.78 V On (very low) 0.432 A

3V 1.87 V On (low) 2.23 A

4V 1.91V On 4.13 A

5V 1.94 V On 6.05 A
Table 2. Operation of the Photoresistor

6. Using Figure 2 and given supply voltages, determine the condition of LED whether it is in an ON

state or OFF state. provided that the cell of the photoresistor is covered. Measure the voltage

across the LED for each supply voltage. Record your date in Table 3.

Vs (V) VLED (V) Condition of I (mA)

LED
1V 1 Off 0A

2V 1.54 ON (very low) 0A

3V 1.57 On (very low) 0A

4V 1.62 On (very low) 0.0133 A

5V 1.63 On (very low) 0.0187 A

Table 2. Operation of the Photoresistor

7. Determine which on the supply voltages above is/are a supply voltage. (Hint: V should be high

enough so that enough current flows through the LED when the photoresistor has low resistance,

and yet should be low enough so that the current is not enough to turn on the LED when the

photoresistor has high resistance.)

Vs = 2 V

Part 2: The Light-Controlled Switch Using a Transistor

1. Choose the supply voltage, VS. The supply voltage is often a predetermined value rather than a

design choice.

Vs = 5V

2. Select R1. First, choose the value of the photoresistor’s resistance (call it Ron) within the range

that you measured earlier at which you would like the LED to be turned on. The resistance value

can be that for when the photoresistor is covered or somewhat “shaded”, it’s up to you. The value

𝑉𝑆𝑅 of
1
R1 should be such that 0.7𝑉 = (𝑅 +𝑅 )
1 𝑜𝑛

3. Choose a nominal resistor value closest to the value you calculated for R1Depending on the

resistor value you choose, you may want to check the equation above for RON to make sure it still

within the range that you want.

4. Select Rc, the current limiting resistor. With this resistor, the collector current is limited to Imax

= (VS - VLED - VSat)/RC , where VLED is the voltage drop across the LED (i.e., the voltage you
measured across the LED when it was ‘on’. See Table 1 above.), and VSat is the saturation voltage

between the collector and emitter. A reasonable value for VSat for the 2N3904 transistor is about

0.4V. Select RC so that the LED current is limited to be less than 20 mA (preferably 5-10 mA).

You may need to iterate this calculation depending on the limited choice of resistor values that

we have in the lab. Using Rc, construct and test the circuit.

Figure 3. Light-controlled switch using a 2N3904 transistor.

R1=82.37 Ω RC=133 Ω
QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS:

1. Explain the theory and operation of a Photoresistor.

A photocell, also known as a photoresistor, is a light-sensitive sensor whose resistance
changes when exposed to light. The resistance caused adjustments dependent on how much light
struck his surface. A high intensity of incoming light on the surface causes less resistance,
whereas a low intensity of light causes greater resistance. When light strikes a photosensitive
material (or a photoresistor), the valence electrons absorb the energy and break away from the
nucleus, allowing them to become free electrons. Current flows when an external force, such as
an electric field, is applied to these electrons.

Observation:
Based on the tables, measure and find the readings from VLED, VR, and I in table 1. The
measurements were obtained by using a power supply and a multimeter. In the case of VLED, when the
voltage from the power source grows, so does the VLED, but only in the point system. In terms of VR, as
the voltage from the power source rises, so does the VR, and similarly, as the voltage rises, so does the I.
Finding the readings for V, conditions from the LED, and I in table 2. For VLED, as the voltage
increases, so does the current. It is the same with VLED; as the voltage increases, so does the current.
Because LEDs are diodes with non-linear P-N junctions, the conditions from the led are only of 1V, and
as the voltage increases, the LED becomes brighter and brighter. Until the forward voltage is attained,
very little current flows. Above this point, the current grows exponentially as the voltage increases. A
photoresistor is a sensor that alters resistance when exposed to light. The resistance created changes based
on the amount of light that strikes his surface. A high intensity of light incident on the surface causes a
reduced resistance, whereas a low intensity of light causes a higher resistance.