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59.intensity Measurement Using LDR

LDRs, or light dependent resistors, are photoresistors whose resistance decreases with increasing light intensity. They are made from a semiconductor that allows electrons to jump between energy bands when struck by photons of sufficient energy. This movement of electrons conducts electricity, lowering resistance. Cadmium sulfide cells rely on this property, varying resistance from 100 ohms in bright light to over 10 megohms in darkness, and are used in devices like streetlights, security alarms, and cameras. The circuit works by using an LDR in a voltage divider with a comparator, whose output varies with light intensity on the LDR and is amplified for measurement.

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Kathir Vel
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75 views3 pages

59.intensity Measurement Using LDR

LDRs, or light dependent resistors, are photoresistors whose resistance decreases with increasing light intensity. They are made from a semiconductor that allows electrons to jump between energy bands when struck by photons of sufficient energy. This movement of electrons conducts electricity, lowering resistance. Cadmium sulfide cells rely on this property, varying resistance from 100 ohms in bright light to over 10 megohms in darkness, and are used in devices like streetlights, security alarms, and cameras. The circuit works by using an LDR in a voltage divider with a comparator, whose output varies with light intensity on the LDR and is amplified for measurement.

Uploaded by

Kathir Vel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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INTENSITY MEASUREMENT USING LDR

LDR:
A photoresistor is an electronic component whose resistance decreases with
increasing incident light intensity. It can also be referred to as a light-dependent resistor
(LDR), or photoconductor.
A photoresistor is made of a high-resistance semiconductor. If light falling on the
device is of high enough frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give bound
electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting free electron
(and its hole partner) conduct electricity, thereby lowering resistance.
A photoelectric device can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. In intrinsic devices, the
only available electrons are in the valence band, and hence the photon must have enough
energy to excite the electron across the entire bandgap. Extrinsic devices have impurities
added, which have a ground state energy closer to the conduction band — since the
electrons don't have as far to jump, lower energy photons (i.e. longer wavelengths and
lower frequencies) are sufficient to trigger the device.

Cadmium sulphide cells:


Cadmium sulphide or cadmium sulphide (CdS) cells rely on the material's ability
to vary its resistance according to the amount of light striking the cell. The more light that
strikes the cell, the lower the resistance. Although not accurate, even a simple CdS cell
can have a wide range of resistance from less than 100 Ω in bright light to in excess of 10
MΩ in darkness. The cells are also capable of reacting to a broad range of frequencies,

including infrared (IR), visible light, and ultraviolet (UV). They are often found on street
lights as automatic on/off switches. They were once even used in heat-seeking missiles to
sense for targets.
Applications:
Photoresistors come in many different types. Inexpensive cadmium sulphide cells
can be found in many consumer items such as camera light meters, clock radios, security
alarms, street lights and outdoor clocks. At the other end of the scale, Ge:Cu
photoconductors are among the best far-infrared detectors available, and are used for
infrared astronomy and infrared spectroscop.
Circuit working principle:
In this circuit the LDR is connected in series with resistor R1 formed as voltage
divider network which is connected to inverting input terminla of comparator. The
reference voltage is given to non inverting input terminal. The comparator is constructed
by the operational amplifier LM741. The LM741 is a high performance monolithic
operational amplifier on a single silocon chip.

When there is no light rays the output of the comparator is zero because we have
set the reference voltage equal to inverting input voltage. When the light rays fallen on
the LDR, it resistance value is decreased. The comparator delivered error voltage on the
output terminal. Then the error voltage is given to next stage of the gain amplifier in
which the variable resistor is connected in the feedback path. By adjusting the resistor we
can get the variable gain voltage on the output terminal which is given to ADC or other
related circuit in order to find the light intensity level.

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