UNIT-4: SPECIAL PURPOSE DIODES AND DEVICES

Tunnel diode, Photo diode, Varactor diode, AC-DC converter, DC –DC converter,
SMPS, classification of sensors Principle & operation of Temperature, ultrasonic,
PIR sensors & actuators, solar panels.
Tunnel diode:
A Tunnel diode is a heavily doped p-n junction diode in which the electric current
decreases as the voltage increases. In tunnel diode, electric current is caused by
“Tunneling”. The tunnel diode is used as a very fast switching device in computers.
It is also used in high-frequency oscillators and amplifiers. The circuit symbol of
tunnel diode is shown in the below figure. In tunnel diode, the p-type
semiconductor act as an anode and the n-type semiconductor act as a cathode.

We know that an anode is a positively charged electrode which attracts electrons

whereas cathode is a negatively charged electrode which emits electrons. In tunnel
diode, n-type semiconductor emits or produces electrons so it is referred to as the
cathode. On the other hand, p-type semiconductor attracts electrons emitted from
the n-type semiconductor so p-type semiconductor is referred to as the anode.
Tunnel diodes are one of the most significant solid-state electronic devices which
have made their appearance in the last decade. Tunnel diode was invented in 1958
by Leo Esaki. Leo Esaki observed that if a semiconductor diode is heavily doped
with impurities, it will exhibit negative resistance. Negative resistance means the
current across the tunnel diode decreases when the voltage increases. In electronics,
tunneling means a direct flow of electrons across the small depletion region from n-
side conduction band into the p-side valence band.
Tunnel Diode Works:
Step 1: Unbiased tunnel diode
When no voltage is applied to the tunnel diode, it is said to be an unbiased tunnel
diode. In tunnel diode, the conduction band of the n-type material overlaps with
the valence band of the p-type material because of the heavy doping.

Because of this overlapping, the conduction band electrons at n-side and valence
band holes at p-side are nearly at the same energy level. So when the temperature
increases, some electrons tunnel from the conduction band of n-region to the
valence band of p-region. In a similar way, holes tunnel from the valence band of p-
region to the conduction band of n-region. However, the net current flow will be
zero because an equal number of charge carriers (free electrons and holes) flow in
opposite directions.
Step 2: Small voltage applied to the tunnel diode
When a small voltage is applied to the tunnel diode which is less than the built-in
voltage of the depletion layer, no forward current flows through the junction.
However, a small number of electrons in the conduction band of the n-region will
tunnel to the empty states of the valence band in p-region. This will create a small
forward bias tunnel current. Thus, tunnel current starts wing with a small
application of voltage.
Step 3: Applied voltage is slightly increased
When the voltage applied to the tunnel diode is slightly increased, a large number
of free electrons at n-side and holes at p-side are generated. Because of the increase
in voltage, the overlapping of the conduction band and valence band is increased. In
simple words, the energy level of an n-side conduction band becomes exactly equal
to the energy level of a p-side valence band. As a result, maximum tunnel current
flows.

Step 4: Applied voltage is further increased

If the applied voltage is further increased, a slight misalign of the conduction band
and valence band takes place. Since the conduction band of the n-type material and
the valence band of the p-type material sill overlap. The electrons tunnel from the
conduction band of n-region to the valence band of p-region and cause a small
current flow. Thus, the tunneling current starts decreasing.

Step 5: Applied voltage is largely increased

If the applied voltage is largely increased, the tunneling current drops to zero. At
this point, the conduction band and valence band no longer overlap and the tunnel
diode operates in the same manner as a normal p-n junction diode.
If this applied voltage is greater than the built-in potential of the depletion layer, the
regular forward current starts flowing through the tunnel diode. The portion of the
curve in which current decreases as the voltage increases is the negative resistance
region of the tunnel diode. The negative resistance region is the most important and
most widely used characteristic of the tunnel diode. A tunnel diode operating in the
negative resistance region can be used as an amplifier or an oscillator.
Advantages:
 Long life
 High-speed operation
 Low noise
 Low power consumption
 Disadvantages:
 Tunnel diodes cannot be fabricated in large numbers
 Being a two-terminal device, the input and output are not isolated from one
another.
Applications:
 Tunnel diodes are used as logic memory storage devices.
 Tunnel diodes are used in relaxation oscillator circuits.
 Tunnel diode is used as an ultra-high-speed switch.
 Tunnel diodes are used in FM receivers.
Photodiode:
The photodiode is a special type of diode that converts light energy into electrical
energy when incident light falls on it and the amount of current flow is directly
proportional to the intensity of light and designed to work in reverse bias. This
means if we increase the intensity of light at PN junction of photodiode the reverse
current also increases in the photodiode. The symbol of photodiode looks something
like a diode but having an incident light falling on it as you can see in the below
figure.

Photodiode Symbol
Photodiode working:
It has a P and N junction and is connected in reverse bias that results in a very wide
depletion region at the PN Junction. In P-type the majority carriers are holes and n-
type majority carriers are electrons. When we connect the photodiode in reverse bias
and if there is no illumination or light on photodiode in that condition we get a very
small amount of current in microampere we called that current as dark current.
When a photon having energy greater than the bandgap energy strikes on diode
covalent bond breaks and new electrons and hole pairs are generated. This makes a
couple of electrons and holes called inner photoelectric effect and the holes move
towards the anode and electrons move toward cathode this results in photocurrent.
The total current through the diode is the sum of dark current and photocurrent.
V-I Characteristics:
The photodiode works in reverse biased mode. The photocurrent is independent of
applied reverse biased voltage. In absence of light or you can say in zero
illuminance we get almost zero photo current and a very little amount of dark
current . While we increase the intensity of light we can experience the increase in
photocurrent as well.
Advantages:
 The photodiode is linear
 Low resistance
 A very good spectral response
 Better frequency response
 Low dark current
 Long lifetime
 Low noise
 High quantum efficiency
Disadvantages:
 Require increases in the dark current
 It depends on the temperature
 Small active area
 Normal PN junction photodiode has a very high response time
 It has very low sensitivity
 Light sensitive device
 Poor temperature stability
APPLICATIONS :
 Camera. • Light Meters. • Automatic Shutter Control. ...
 Medical. • CAT Scanners - X ray Detection. • Pulse Oximeters. ...
 Safety Equipment. • Smoke Detectors. • Flame Monitors. ...
 Automotive. • Headlight Dimmer. ...
 Communications.
 Industry. • Bar Code Scanners.
Varactor diode:
Varactor diode is a p-n junction diode whose capacitanceis varied by varying the
reverse voltage. Before going to varactor diode, let’s first take a look at the capacitor.
The term varactor is originated from a variable capacitor. Varactor diode operates
only in reverse bias. The varactor diode acts like a variable capacitor under reverse
bias. Varactor diode is also sometimes referred to as varicap diode, tuning diode,
variable reactance diode, or variable capacitance diode. The varactor diode is
manufactured in such a way that it shows better transition capacitance property
than the ordinary diodes.
Construction: The varactor diode is made up of the p-type and n-type
semiconductor. In the n-type semiconductor, free electrons are the majority carriers
and holes are the minority carriers. So the free electrons carry most of the electric
current in n-type semiconductor. In the p-type semiconductor, holes are the
majority carriers and free electrons are the minority carriers. So the holes carry most
of the electric current in p-type semiconductor. When a p-type semiconductor is in
contact with the n-type semiconductor, a p-n junction is formed between them. This
p-n junction separates the p-type and n-type semiconductor. At the p-n junction,
a depletion region is created. A depletion region is a region where mobile charge
carriers (free electrons and holes) are absent.

The depletion region is made up of positive and negative ions (charged atoms).
These positive and negative ions does not move from one place to another place.
The depletion region blocks free electrons from n-side and holes from p-side. Thus,
depletion region blocks electric current across the p-n junction. The symbol of a
varactor diode is shown in the below figure. The circuit symbol of the varactor
diode is almost similar to the normal p-n junction diode.
Two parallel lines at the cathode side represents two conductive plates and the
space between these two parallel lines represents dielectric.
Working:
The varactor diode should always be operated in reverse bias. Because in reverse
bias, the electric current does not flow. When a forward bias voltage is applied, the
electric current flows through the diode. As a result, the depletion region becomes
negligible. We know that depletion region consists of stored charges. So stored
charges become negligible which is undesirable. A varactor diode is designed to
store electric charge not to conduct electric current. So varactor diode should always
be operated in reverse bias. When a reverse bias voltage is applied, the electrons
from n-region and holes from p-region moves away from the junction. As a result,
the width of depletion region increases and the capacitance decreases.

However, if the applied reverse bias voltage is very low the capacitance will be very
large. The capacitance is inversely proportional to the width of the depletion region
and directly proportional to the surface area of the p-region and n-region. So the
capacitance decreases as the as the width of depletion region increases. If the reverse
bias voltage is increased, the width of depletion region further increases and the
capacitance further decreases. On the other hand, if the reverse bias voltage is
reduced, the width of depletion region decreases and the capacitance increases.
Thus, an increase in reverse bias voltage increases the width of the depletion region
and decreases the capacitance of a varactor diode. The decrease in capacitance
means the decrease in storage charge. So the reverse bias voltage should be kept at a
minimum to achieve large storage charge. Thus, capacitance or transition
capacitance can be varied by varying the voltage.

Applications:
 Frequency multipliers.
 Parametric amplifiers.
 Voltage-controlled oscillators.
AC TO DC CONVERSION PROCESS:
The basic building blocks of a regulated DC power supply are as follows:
1. A step down transformer
2. A rectifier
3. A DC filter
4. A regulator

Step Down Transformer

A step down transformer will step down the voltage from the ac mains to the
required voltage level. The turn’s ratio of the transformer is so adjusted such as to
obtain the required voltage value. The output of the transformer is given as an input
to the rectifier circuit.
Rectification
Rectifier is an electronic circuit consisting of diodes which carries out the
rectification process. Rectification is the process of converting an alternating voltage
or current into corresponding direct (DC) quantity. The input to a rectifier is ac
whereas its output is unidirectional pulsating DC. Usually, a full wave rectifier or a
bridge rectifier is used to rectify both the half cycles of the ac supply (full wave
rectification). Figure below shows a full wave bridge rectifier.'
DC Filtration'
The rectified voltage from the rectifier is a pulsating DC voltage having very high
ripple content. But this is not we want, we want a pure ripple free DC (Refer unit-3
for filters).
Regulation
This is the last block in a regulated DC power supply. The output voltage or current
will change or fluctuate when there is change in the input from ac mains or due to
change in load current at the output of the regulated power supply or due to other
factors like temperature changes. This problem can be eliminated by using a
regulator. A regulator will maintain the output constant even when changes at the
input or any other changes occur. Transistor series regulator, Fixed and variable IC
regulators or a Zener diode operated in the Zener region can be used depending on
their applications
DC-to-DC Converter:
The DC-to-DC converters convert one level of DC voltage to another level. The
operating voltage of different electronic devices such as ICs, MOSFET can vary
over a wide range, making it necessary to provide a voltage for each device. A Buck
Converter outputs a lower voltage than the original voltage, while a Boost
Converter supplies a higher voltage. With the application of DC-to-DC Converters,
the circuit’s efficiency, ripple, and load-transient response can be changed.
Optimal external parts and components are generally dependent on operating
conditions such as input and output specifications. So, while designing the
products, the standard circuits must be varied or changed according to and as per
the need to their individual specification requirements. Designing the circuit that
satisfies the specification and all the requirements needs a great deal of expertise
and experience in that field. The step-up or step-down DC-to-DC Converters are
useful in applications where the battery voltage can be above or below the regulator
output voltage. The DC to DC converter must be able to operate as a step up or
down voltage supplier to provide constant load voltage over the entire battery
voltage range through the operation.
Working Principle:
The working principle of the DC-to-DC converter is very simple. The inductor in
the input resistance has an unexpected variation in the input current. If the switch is
kept as high (on), then the inductor feeds the energy from the input and stores the
energy in the form of magnetic energy.

If the switch is kept as low (off), it discharges the energy. Here, the output of the
capacitor is assumed as high that is sufficient for the time constant of an RC
circuit on the output side. The huge time constant is compared with the switching
period and made sure that the steady-state is a constant output voltage. It should
be Vo(t) = Vo(constant) and present at the load terminal.
Types of DC-DC Converters:
Step-down/Buck Converters: In a typical non-isolated step-down or buck
converter the output voltage VOUT depends on the input voltage VIN and the
switching duty cycle D of the power switch.

Working of a Buck Converter

The working of a buck converter can be broken down into a few steps.
STEP – 1: The switch turns on and lets current flow to the output capacitor, charging
it up. Since the voltage across the capacitor cannot rise instantly, and since the
inductor limits the charging current, the voltage across the cap during the switching
cycle is not the full voltage of the power source.

STEP – 2:
The switch now turns off. Since the current in an inductor cannot change suddenly,
the inductor creates a voltage across it. This voltage is allowed to charge the
capacitor and power the load through the diode when the switch is turned off,
maintaining current output current throughout the switching cycle.
These two steps keep repeating many thousands of times a second, resulting in
continuous output.
Step-up/Boost Converters
It is used to boost DC to DC converter voltage and it uses the same number of
passive components but arranged to step up the input voltage so that the output is
higher than that of the input.

Working: It’s time to take a really deep breath, we’re about to plunge into the
depths of power electronics. I’ll say at the outset that it is a very rewarding field. To
understand the working of a boost converter, it is mandatory that you know
how inductors, MOSFETs, diodes and capacitors work. With that knowledge, we
can go through the working of the boost converter step by step.
STEP – 1: Here, nothing happens. The output capacitor is charged to the input
voltage minus one diode drop.
STEP – 2:
Now, it’s time to turn the switch on. Our signal source goes high, turning on the
MOSFET. All the current is diverted through to the MOSFET through the inductor.
Note that the output capacitor stays charged since it can’t discharge through the
now back-biased diode. The power source isn’t immediately short circuited, of
course, since the inductor makes the current ramp up relatively slowly. Also, a
magnetic field builds up around the inductor. Note the polarity of the voltage
applied across the inductor. These steps happen many thousands of times
(depending on the frequency of the oscillator) to maintain the output voltage under
load.

POWER SUPPLY UNIT:

A power supply unit is an electrical device that takes the power from the source and
supplies it to the load. Majorly power supply is classified into two categories
namely, Linear power supply & Switched mode power supply
A linear power supply is the one that is used to convert the unregulated ac or dc
input signal into regulated dc output. But the principle of operation of LPS and
SMPS is different. Also, it is considered to be a less efficient approach in which
continuous heat generation causes wastage of power. It incorporates a voltage
regulator in series that suits low output power applications. In a linear power
supply, the applied ac input voltage is initially stepped down using a transformer.
Further diode rectifier is used to perform the rectification of the ac signal. After
rectification, the signal is filtered using a capacitor filter. Though filtered, the
unregulated dc signal is then given to the linear voltage regulator circuit that
produces a regulated dc signal as its output.
Switch Mode Power Supply:
Switch Mode Power Supply is a type of power supply unit that produces regulated
dc output by using semiconductor switching techniques.
Block Diagram and Working of SMPS:
The major components that constitute SMPS are as follows:
Input rectifier and Filter (Diode rectifier and capacitor filter)
High-frequency switch (Power transistor or MOSFET)
Power transformer
Output rectifier and Filter (Diode rectifier and capacitor filter)
Control circuit (comparator and pulse width modulator)
The figure given below represents the functional block diagram of SMPS:

Initially, the unregulated ac input signal from the source is provided to the input
rectifier and filter circuit. Here the ac input signal is rectified to generate a dc signal
and further smoothened to remove high-frequency noise component from it. The dc
output (still in unregulated form) is fed to the power transistor that acts as a high-
frequency switch.
Here the dc signal undergoes chopping (switching). This circuit acts as an ideal
switch i.e., when the power transistor (chopper circuit) is in on state, current passes
through it with negligible voltage drop, and dc signal is obtained at the output
terminal of the transistor. However, under the off state of the power transistor, no
current passes through it and leading to cause maximal voltage drop within it.
Thus, at the output side, no voltage will be present. Hence, according to the
switching action of the power transistor dc voltage will be obtained at its output
side. The chopping frequency plays a crucial role in maintaining the desired dc
voltage level.
The obtained dc signal at the output of the chopper circuit is then fed to the primary
winding of the high-frequency power transformer. Here the step-down transformer
converts the high voltage signal into a low voltage level which is further provided
as input to the output rectifier and filter unit. This simply filters out the unwanted
residuals from the signal in order to provide a regulated dc signal as the output. The
control circuitry present here acts as the feedback circuit for the complete unit. This
involves a comparator along with a pulse width modulator (PWM). The dc output
from the rectifier and filter is fed to the control circuit where the error amplifier
which acts as a comparator, compares the obtained dc voltage with the reference
value. If the dc output is greater than the reference value then the chopping
frequency is to be decreased. The decrease in chopping frequency will reduce the
output power and so the dc output voltage. However, if the dc output is less than
the reference value then the chopping frequency is increased. When chopping
frequency is raised then the dc output voltage will get increased. The pulse width
modulator in the above circuit is responsible for generating a fixed frequency pulse
width modulated waveform whose duty cycle controls the chopping frequency.
PIR Sensor:
PIR sensor definition is; a sensor that is used to measure infrared light radiating
from objects like the human body or animals. In PIR sensor, the term PIR stands for
“passive infrared sensor”. PIR sensors can detect the movement of an animal or
human within a fixed range. Generally, all objects at above zero temperatures
produce heat energy in the IR radiation form. So if the object is hotter then it emits
more radiation. So this kind of radiation is not observable to the human eye as it is
emitted at IR wavelengths. So PIR sensor is particularly designed for detecting such
infrared radiation levels. These sensors are most frequently utilized in motion
detectors, security alarms & automatic lighting-based applications.
Pin Configuration:
The typical PIR sensor pin configuration is shown below which includes three pins
where each pin and its functionality are discussed below.

Pin1 (VCC): This is a source terminal of the device which is connected to the 5V DC
supply.
Pin2 (OUT): This is the o/p pin of the sensor.
Pin3 (GND): This is a ground pin.
Working Principle:
A PIR sensor includes two main parts like pyroelectric sensor and fresnel lens. In
the following diagram, the sensor is a round metal including a rectangular crystal
within the center. A fresnel lens is a special lens that focuses the IR signals on the
pyroelectric sensor. Here, the pyroelectric sensor is capable of detecting different
infrared radiation levels.
The Pyroelectric Sensor
This sensor has a window including two rectangular slots & is made of a coated
silicon material that simply allows IR radiation to flow. After this window, there are
two separate IR sensor electrodes where one electrode is responsible for generating
the positive output & the other electrode is responsible for generating the negative
output.
Whenever there is no movement in the region of the sensor, then both slots can
detect a similar amount of IR radiation which results in a zero o/p signal. Although,
when a human body or an animal moves in the region of the sensor, first it
interrupts half of the sensor. So it causes a positive differential change between the
two halves. Once the human body interrupts the other half of the sensor then the
opposite happens & the sensor generates a negative differential change. So by
reading this change within voltage, then motion is detected.

Fresnel Lens
The Fresnel lens in the sensor increases the sensor’s field & range of view of the
sensor. It is lightweight, slim & outstanding light gathering capacity which will
make it very useful for making this sensor small in size and also powerful.
Whenever a person enters the detecting range, then the sensor light will get the IR
wave automatically from the human body, the IR wave will be detected & the light
will be turned ON. Once the human body moves away from the detecting region,
then IR waves are not obtained & the lights are turned off automatically. If the
person does not leave the detecting region, the sensor switch will be turned on
continuously. Once a person leaves the detecting region, then the delay will turn off
the switch automatically.
Working principle of DHT sensor:
These sensors are very popular for electronics hobbyists because there are very
cheap but still providing great performance.
Main specifications:
The DHT22 is the more expensive version which obviously has better specifications.
Its temperature measuring range is from -40 to +125 degrees Celsius with +-0.5
degrees accuracy. Also the DHT22 sensor has better humidity measuring range,
from 0 to 100% with 2-5% accuracy. They consist of a humidity sensing component,
a NTC temperature sensor (or thermistor) and an IC on the back side of the sensor.
VCC pin supplies power for the sensor. Although supply voltage ranges from 3.3V
to 5.5V, 5V supply is recommended.
Data pin is used to communication between the sensor and the microcontroller.
NC Not connected.
Ground should be connected to the ground of the microcontroller that you are
using.

For measuring humidity, they use the humidity sensing component which has two
electrodes with moisture holding substrate between them. So as the humidity
changes, the conductivity of the substrate changes or the resistance between these
electrodes’ changes. This change in resistance is measured and processed by the IC
which makes it ready to be read by a microcontroller. On the other hand, for
measuring temperature these sensors use a NTC temperature sensor or a thermistor.
A thermistor is actually a variable resistor that changes its resistance with change of
the temperature. These sensors are made by sintering of semiconductive materials
such as ceramics or polymers in order to provide larger changes in the resistance
with just small changes in temperature. The term “NTC” means “Negative
Temperature Coefficient”, which means that the resistance decreases with increase
of the temperature.
Ultrasonic sensor:
An ultrasonic sensor is an electronic device that measures the distance of a target
object by emitting ultrasonic sound waves, and converts the reflected sound into an
electrical signal. Ultrasonic waves travel faster than the speed of audible sound (i.e.
the sound that humans can hear).
Ultrasonic sensors have two main components: the transmitter (which emits the
sound using piezoelectric crystals) and the receiver (which encounters the sound
after it has travelled to and from the target).

Working:
It all starts when the trigger pin is set HIGH for 10µs. In response, the sensor
transmits an ultrasonic burst of eight pulses at 40 kHz. This 8-pulse pattern is
specially designed so that the receiver can distinguish the transmitted pulses from
ambient ultrasonic noise. These eight ultrasonic pulses travel through the air away
from the transmitter. Meanwhile the echo pin goes HIGH to initiate the echo-back
signal.
If those pulses are not reflected back, the echo signal times out and goes low after
38ms (38 milliseconds). Thus a pulse of 38ms indicates no obstruction within the
range of the sensor.
If those pulses are reflected back, the echo pin goes low as soon as the signal is
received. This generates a pulse on the echo pin whose width varies from 150 µs to
25 ms depending on the time taken to receive the signal.

Pins:
Let’s take a look at its pinout.

VCC: supplies power to the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor. You can connect it to the 5V
output from your Arduino.
Trig (Trigger): This pin is used to trigger ultrasonic sound pulses. By setting this
pin to HIGH for 10µs, the sensor initiates an ultrasonic burst.
Echo Pin: This pin goes high when the ultrasonic burst is transmitted and remains
high until the sensor receives an echo, after which it goes low. By measuring the
time the Echo pin stays high, the distance can be calculated.
GND: This is the ground pin. Connect it to the ground of the Arduino.
This sensor provides excellent non-contact range detection between 2 cm to 400 cm
(~13 feet) with an accuracy of 3 mm. Since it operates on 5 volts, it can be connected
directly to an Arduino or any other 5V logic microcontroller.
Solar Cell:
A solar cell (also known as a photovoltaic cell or PV cell) is defined as an electrical
device that converts light energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic
effect. A solar cell is basically a p-n junction diode. Individual solar cells can be
combined to form modules commonly known as solar panels. The common single
junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of
approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts.
Construction: of Solar Cell:
A solar cell is basically a junction diode, although its construction it is little bit
different from conventional p-n junction diodes. A very thin layer of n-type
semiconductor is grown on a relatively thicker p-type semiconductor. We then
apply a few finer electrodes on the top of the p-type semiconductor layer. These
electrodes do not obstruct light to reach the thin n-type layer. Just below the n-type
layer there is a p-n junction. We also provide a current collecting electrode at the
bottom of the p-type layer. We encapsulate the entire assembly by thin glass to
protect the solar cell from any mechanical shock.

Working Principle:
When light reaches the p-n junction, the light photons can easily enter in the
junction, through very thin n-type layer. The light energy, in the form of photons,
supplies sufficient energy to the junction to create a number of electron-hole pairs.
The incident light breaks the thermal equilibrium condition of the junction. The free
electrons in the depletion region can quickly come to the n-type side of the junction.
Similarly, the holes in the depletion can quickly come to the p-type side of the
junction. Once, the newly created free electrons come to the n-type side, cannot
further cross the junction because of barrier potential of the junction. Similarly, the
newly created holes once come to the p-type side cannot further cross the junction
became of same barrier potential of the junction. As the concentration of electrons
becomes higher in one side, i.e. n-type side of the junction and concentration of
holes becomes more in another side, i.e. the p-type side of the junction, the p-n
junction will behave like a small battery cell. A voltage is set up which is known as
photo voltage. If we connect a small load across the junction, there will be a tiny
current flowing through it.
V-I Characteristics of a Photovoltaic Cell

Materials Used in Solar Cell:

The materials which are used for this purpose must have band gap close to 1.5ev.
Commonly used materials are Silicon & GaAs
Criteria for Materials to be Used in Solar Cell
 Must have band gap from 1ev to 1.8ev.
 It must have high optical absorption.
  It must have high electrical conductivity.
 The raw material must be available in abundance and the cost of the material
must be low
Advantages:
 No pollution associated with it.
 It must last for a long time.
 No maintenance cost.
Disadvantages:
 It has high cost of installation.
 It has low efficiency.
 During cloudy day, the energy cannot be produced and also at night we
will not get solar energy.
Applications :
 It may be used to charge batteries.
 Used in light meters.
 It is used to power calculators and wrist watches.
 It can be used in spacecraft to provide electrical energy.
Actuators:
An actuator is a machine component or system that moves or controls the
mechanism of the system. Sensors in the device sense the environment, then
control signals are generated for the actuators according to the actions needed to
perform. A servo motor is an example of an actuator. They are linear or rotatory
actuators, can move to a given specified angular or linear position. We can use
servo motors to make the motor rotate to 90 degrees, 180 degrees, etc., as per our
need. The following diagram shows what actuators do, the controller directs the
actuator based on the sensor data to do the work.
Working and use of Actuators
The control system acts upon an environment through the actuator. It requires a
source of energy and a control signal. When it receives a control signal, it converts
the source of energy to a mechanical operation. On this basis, on which form of
energy it uses, it has different types given below.
Types of Actuators:
1. Hydraulic Actuators:
A hydraulic actuator uses hydraulic power to perform a mechanical operation.
They are actuated by a cylinder or fluid motor. The mechanical motion is
converted to rotary, linear, or oscillatory motion, according to the need of the
device. Ex- construction equipment uses hydraulic actuators because hydraulic
actuators can generate a large amount of force.
2. Pneumatic Actuators:
A pneumatic actuator uses energy formed by vacuum or compressed air at high
pressure to convert into either linear or rotary motion. Example- Used in robotics,
use sensors that work like human fingers by using compressed air.
3. Electrical Actuators:
An electric actuator uses electrical energy, is usually actuated by a motor that
converts electrical energy into mechanical torque. An example of an electric
actuator is a solenoid based electric bell.