Chapter 4

Optical Sensors

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 Optical sensors
 Optical sensors are those sensors that detect electromagnetic
radiation in the broad optical range – from far infrared to ultraviolet
 Approximate range of wavelengths from 1 mm (3x1011 Hz or far
infrared) to 1 nm (3x1017 Hz or upper end of the ultraviolet range).
 Direct methods of transduction from light to electrical quantities
(photovoltaic or photoconductive sensors)
 Indirect methods such as conversion first into temperature variation
and then into electrical quantities.
 Sensing/actuation based on electromagnetic (light) propagation and its
effects.

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 Spectrum of “optical” radiation
 Nomenclature:
 Visible light – visible to the human eye
 Infrared radiation (not infrared “light”)
 Ultraviolet radiation (not UV “light”)
 Ranges shown are approximate and somewhat arbitrary

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 Optical units
 Definitions:
 Luminous intensity: radiated power per solid unit angle measured in candelas (cd)
 Luminous flux or lumen: power radiated (cd. sr)
 The (sr) steradian or square radian is the unit of solid angle.
 Illuminance: radiated power per unit area (cd. sr/m2)
 Luminance: the density of luminous intensity (cd/m2)
 The base SI unit is the candela (cd)
 Candela “is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that
emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540x1012 Hz and that has a
radiation intensity of 1/683 watt per steradian”
 The following table summarizes the quantities involved and their units.

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 Infrared radiation
 Infrared (IR) radiation:
 Approximate spectrum: 1mm (300 GHz) to 700nm (430 THz)
 Meaning: below red
 Near infrared (closer to visible light)
 Far infrared (closer to microwaves)
 Invisible radiation, usually understood as “thermal” radiation
(1 nm=10−9 m 1 GHz=109 Hz, 1 THz=1012 Hz)
 Visible light:
 Approximate spectrum: 700nm (430 THz) to 400nm (750 THz)
 Based on the human eye’s response
 From red (low frequency, long wavelength)
 To violet (high frequency, short wavelength)
 The human eye is most sensitive in the middle (green to yellow)
 Optical sensors may cover the whole range, may extend beyond it or maybe narrower
 Ultraviolet (UV) radiation:
 Approximate spectrum: 400nm (750 THz) to 400pm (300 PHz)
 Meaning - above violet
 Understood as “penetrating” radiation
 Only the lower end of the UV spectrum is usually sensed
 Exceptions: radiation sensors based on ionization.
(1 PHz = 1015 Hz (PHz = Peta-Hertz))
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 Optical sensing
 Based on two distinct principles
 Thermal effects of radiation
 Quantum effects of radiation
 Thermal effects: absorption of radiation
of the medium through increased
motion in atoms. This may release
electrons (heating)
 Quantum effects: photon interaction
with the atoms and the resulting effects,
including release of electrons.
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 The photoelectric effect
 Planck’s equation:
e=hf [ev]
h = 6.6262x10−14 [joule. Second] (Planck’s constant)
f = frequency
e = energy of a photon at radiation frequency f.

 This is called the quantum of energy

 Higher for higher frequency
 Can be imparted to electrons as kinetic energy

Note: this energy is also called ionization energy and is used to distinguish between
“dangerous” and “benign” radiation

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 The photoelectric effect
 Photons collide with electrons at the surface of a material
 The electrons acquire energy, and this energy allows the electron to:
 Release themselves from the material's surface by overcoming the substance's work function.
 Excess energy imparts the electron’s kinetic energy.
 This theory was first postulated by Einstein in his photon theory (photoelectric effect) in
1905 (for which he received the Nobel Prize):

hf − e0 = k
e0 is called the work function (energy required to leave the surface of the material)
k represents the maximum kinetic energy the electron may have outside the material. Energy is
“quantized”

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 The photoelectric effect
 For electrons to be released, the photon energy must be higher than the material’s work
function (Table 4.2). That is:
 Frequency must be sufficiently high or:
 Work function must be low
 Frequency at which the photon energy equals the work function is called a cutoff frequency
 Below it no quantum effects may be observed (only thermal effects)
 Above it, thermal and quantum effects are present.
 At higher frequencies (UV radiation) quantum effects dominate.
Table 4.2. Work functions for selected materials given in [eV]
Material Work Function
Aluminum 3.38
Bismuth 4.17
Cadmium 4.0
Cobalt 4.21
Copper 4.46
Germanium 4.5
Gold 4.46
Iron 4.4
Nickel 4.96
Platinum 5.56
Potasium 1.6
Silicon 4.2
Silver 4.44
Tungsten 4.38
Zinc 3.78
Note: 1 eV = 1.602x10-19 J. 9
 Some notes:
 The photoelectric effect is a surface effect
 Most notable in conductors
 Group 1 (Alkalis) has the lowest work function values - often used in photoelectric cells
(later)
 The number of electrons released becomes a measure of radiation intensity
 Photoelectric sensors are common, and some are very sensitive. We shall discuss some
of them shortly.

 Note: Electrons may be emitted by thermionic emission - a totally different issue based
on the thermal effect

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 Example:
Given a photoelectric device intended for light detection made of potassium surface
a., What is the longest wavelength that the device can detect?
b. What is the kinetic energy of an electron under red light radiation λ = 620 nm?

a. Photon energy: At the speed of light:

For potassium, the work function is 1.6 eV. The longest wavelength is:

This is 775.44 nm (near infrared)

b. At 620 nm, the frequency is c/λ. The kinetic energy is:

The kinetic energy is low because the frequency is close to the longest wavelength

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 The photo conducting effect
 A solid state (volume) effect
 Most notable in semiconductors
 Based on the displacement of valence and/or covalence electrons
 Valence electrons: bound to individual atoms in outer layers
 Covalence electrons: bound but shared between neighbouring atoms in the atom.
Valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost shell of the atom and covalent electrons are the
sharing of the atom's valence electrons with another atom.
 Photons collide with electrons
 Electrons must acquire sufficient energy to:
 Leave the valence band
 Move into the conduction band
 Minimum energy required is called “band gap energy”

The model for the photoconductive effect. a. The photon energy is sufficiently high to move an electron across the
band gap leaving behind a hole. b. The photon energy is too low resulting in re-combination of the electron and hole.
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 Model: photo conducting effect
 Two mechanisms for electrons to move into the
conduction band
1. Direct bandgap materials: No change in momentum
across the bandgap
 Electrons transit without change in momentum
 Still must acquire sufficient energy to do so
2. Indirect bandgap materials: Electrons must interact
with the crystal lattice
 Electrons must gain or lose momentum to be able
to occupy a site in the lattice
 Causes lattice vibration called phonon
 A less efficient process than in direct bandgap
materials

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 Model: photo conducting effect
 In the conduction band, electrons are mobile and free to move as a current.
 When electrons leave their sites, they leave behind a “hole” which is simply a positive charge
carrier.
 This hole may be taken by a neighbouring electron with little additional energy (recombination)
 Net current is due to electrons and holes.
 Manifested as a change in concentration of carriers (electrons and holes) in the conduction
band and therefore in conductivity of the medium
 Conductivity of the medium is:
 e – charge of the electron
 µe - mobility of electrons [m2/Vs]
 µp - mobility of holes [m2/Vs]
 n - concentration (density) of electrons [/m3]
 p - concentration (density) of holes [/m3]
 σ - conductivity of the medium
 Conductivity is temperature dependent (mobility and concentrations are temperature
dependent)

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 Photo conducting effect
 The change in conductivity or the resulting change in current is then a direct measure of
radiation intensity.
 The photo-conducting effect is most common in semiconductors because the band gaps
are relatively small.
 It exists in insulators as well but there the band gaps are very high and therefore it is
difficult to release electrons except at very high energies (dielectric breakdown).
 In conductors, most electrons are free to move (they are in the conduction band and hence
far above the band gap in energy) which indicates that photons will have minimal or no
effect on the conductivity of the medium.
 Semiconductors are the obvious choice for sensors based on the photo-conducting effect
while conductors will most often be used in sensors based on the photoelectric effect

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 Photo conducting effect
 Conductivity results from the charge, mobilities of electrons
and holes and the concentrations of electrons, n and p from
whatever source.
 In the absence of light, the material exhibits what is called
dark conductivity, which in turn results in a dark current.
 Depending on construction and materials, the resistance of
the device may be very high (a few Megaohms (MΩ) or a
few kΩ).
 When the sensor is illuminated, its conductivity changes
depending on the change in carrier concentrations (excess
carrier concentrations).
 The change in concentrations depends on power density
and on the quantum efficiency of the medium (a property of
the semiconductor indicating how efficient it is in converting
photon energy into carriers)

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 Photo conducting effect
 This change in conductivity is

 Carriers are generated at a certain generation rate

 They also recombine at a recombination rate typical for the material, wavelength, carrier lifetime,
etc.
 Generation and recombination exist simultaneously
 Under a given illumination a steady state is obtained when these are equal.
 Under this condition, the change in conductivity is (τp,τn = lifetimes, f = # of carriers generated per
second per volume)

 If p-type carriers dominate - p-type photoconductor

 If n-type carriers dominate – n-type photoconductor
 Opposite type carrier concentrations are negligible – conductivity and change in conductivity only
depend on the majority of carriers
 A particular type is obtained by doping.

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 Photo conducting effect - sensitivity
 Sensitivity to radiation (efficiency)
 L is the length of the sensor (distance between
electrodes) and V the voltage across the sensor.
 Sensitivity (G) is defined as the number of
carriers generated per photon of the input
radiation.
 To increase sensitivity
 materials with high carrier lifetimes
 keep the length of the photoresistor small
 the latter is typically achieved through the meander
construction shown in the following slide

Spectral sensitivity: a property of

semiconductors related to the momentum
 Spectral sensitivity: dependence of the carrier distribution in electrons. The net effect is
density on frequency – due to the momentum frequency dependence of their response.

distribution of electrons.

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 Photo conducting effect
 Properties vary among semiconductors
 The lower the band gap the more effective the semiconductor will be at detection at low
frequencies (long wavelengths).
 The longest wavelength specified for the material is called the maximum useful wavelength,
above which the effect is negligible.
 Availability of electrons is temperature dependent - each semiconductor has a maximum useful
temperature (see table)

 Example: InSb (Indium Antimony):

 maximum wavelength of 5.5 µm
 sensitive in the near-infrared range
 band gap is very low - very sensitive.
 but electrons can be easily released by thermal sources
 totally useless for sensing at room temperatures (300°K) (most
electrons are in the conduction band)
 These carriers serve as thermal background noise for the photon-
generated carriers.
 it is often necessary to cool these long wavelength sensors to make
them useful by reducing the thermal noise.

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Photoconding sensors – structure and
operation

 The meander structure reduces the length L, increasing sensitivity

(see Eq. (4.7))
 The resistance of the sensor is:
 The change in conductivity, and hence in resistance of the sensor is
due to the change in carrier density. The change in conductivity is

 Given an incident radiation power density on the surface of the

photoconductor, the excess carrier densities are:

P is incident power density (W/m2), T is the fraction of this power density absorbed in the material, η
is the quantum efficiency, h the Planck constant, f the frequency and t the lifetime of the carriers.
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 Example
A CdS photoresistor is given as shown: L= 4 mm, w=1 mm, d=0.1 mm. Mobilities are 210
cm2/Vs for electrons and 20 cm2/Vs for holes. Dark concentration is 1016 carriers/cm3 (both
electrons and holes). At a light density of 1 W/m2, carrier density increases by 11%
a. Calculate the conductivity of the material and its resistance under dark and light
conditions
b. Assuming rate of carrier generation due to light of 1016 carriers/cm3, estimate the
sensitivity of the sensor to radiation.

a. Conductivity is calculated directly from Eq. (4.4):

The resistance is found from Eq. (4.8): Dark:
Under light conditions:

The resistance goes down due to the increase in carrier density

b. Sensitivity is calculated from Eq. (4.7). Since we do not know the lifetimes of carriers, we
write from Eq. (4.5) and Eq. (4.6):

The sensitivity is:

This gives a sensitivity of 14,375 carriers per volt difference per photon 21