Experiment-10

Objectives:-

1. To plot the current-voltage characteristics of a CdS photo-resistor at constant irradiance.

2. To measure the photo-current as a function of the irradiance at a constant voltage.

Apparatus:-

Lamp housing, adjustable slit self-centering, polarizer, analyzer, lens and photo-resistor
and the optical bench

Introduction:-

When light radiations fall on the insulating crystal, an increase in electrical conductivity of
the crystal takes place. This phenomenon is called photoconductivity. Gudden and Pohl did a lot
of research work on photoconductivity. They found that:
a) For a given material there was a similar dependence of light absorption and the extinction
of photoconductivity by light on the wavelength of light.
b) The presence of impurities extended the region of photosensitivity to longer wavelengths.
c) Some impurities when incorporated could reduce photosensitivity of the material. Direct
effect of illumination is to increase the number of mobile charge carriers in the crystal.

Theory:-

When the energy of the incident photon exceeds the energy gap E g , free electron-hole
pairs are produced in the crystal due to the absorption of the incident photons. The electrons and
the holes serve as the carriers of the electrical conductivity. The electrons are in the conduction
band and the holes in the valence band of the crystal. Therefore, photoconductivity arises due to
the reason that the incident photons excite the electrons from the valence band into the
conduction band where they become mobile and creation of holes in the valence band where they
are also mobile.
It may be pointed out that photo-conduction is not an intrinsic phenomenon. The
impurities and imperfections in the crystals also contribute to the photoconductivity. If donor
/acceptor impurities are present, then even the photons having energy below the threshold for the
production of electron-hole pairs may be able to produce mobile electrons or holes. The role of

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imperfections is quite important in understanding the phenomenon of photoconductivity. Due to
imperfections, discrete energy levels are introduced in the forbidden energy gap. These are called
traps.
Thus, photoconductivity is a process in which electrons (or holes) are freed from one or
other type of bound state by photons, spend some time in the conduction band (or valence band)
in which they act current carriers and are finally recaptured by the traps. As soon as the incident
radiation is removed, photoconductivity disappears because the holes and electrons recombine
with each other.

Variation of photoconductivity with illumination

Let us suppose that electron-hole pairs are produced uniformly throughout the volume of
the crystal by irradiation with an external light source. Recombination occurs by direct
combination of electrons with holes. It may be assumed that electrons leaving the crystal at one
end are replaced by electrons flowing in from the opposite electrode. The mobility of holes may
be neglected in comparison with the mobility of the electrons.
Photoconductivity may be written as

=no e  (1)
Where, is the electron mobility and no is the electron concentration in the steady state.
At a given voltage, the photo-current varies with light intensity as L1/2, where L is the number of
photons absorbed per unit volume of the specimen per unit time. The exponent observed may be
usually between ½ and 1, with some crystals having higher exponent. In case of CdS crystal, the
exponent varies between 0.92 at low level and 0.58 at high level of illumination. The response
time is given by

Response time is the time during which carrier concentration should drop to 0.5 n 0
.Response time should therefore be directly proportional to the photoconductivity at a given
illumination level L. Sensitive photo-conductors should have long response time.

Effect of traps

A trap is an impurity atom or other imperfection in the crystal capable of capturing an

electron or hole. The captured carrier may be re-emitted at a subsequent time and may move to
another trap. There are two types of traps.
i. One type helps in recombination of holes & electrons and thus to restore thermal
equilibrium. These traps are called as recombination centers. Recombination takes place
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 at much higher rate in the presence of traps.
ii. Second type of traps affect mainly the freedom of motion of charge carriers of one sign or
the other. It is observed therefore, that the presence of traps reduces the conductivity and
also reduces the response time.

Space charge effects

In photo-conductors, space charges arise when the illumination is not uniform throughout
the crystal or when the electrodes cannot supply charge carriers freely in the crystal. The photo-
currents may be reduced effectively and ultimately stop flowing when the electric field of the
surface charges just cancels the field applied by the electrodes.

1) Mount the lamp housing (H), adjustable slit self-centering (A), polarizer (P 1), analyzer (P2),
lens (L1) and photo-resistor (R) on the optical bench as shown in fig 1.
2) Connect the leads of the lamp housing to the power supply (0-12 V AC/DC, 5 Amp.) and
apply 10 V AC to the lamp.
3) Adjust the heights of the lamp housing, adjustable slit self-centering, polarizer, analyzer, lens
and photo-resistor such that all of them lie on same optical axis.
4) Make the connections to the photo-resistor and multimeter as shown in fig.2
5) Initially set the polarizer and analyzer at 0° mark.
6) Adjust the lamp, lens and photo-resistor so that a homogeneous ray of light illuminates the
photo-resistor.
7) Set the voltage of DC power supply (0-16 VDC, 5 Amp.) to 12 V.
8) Adjust the width of the self centering adjustable slit so that a current of about 9 mA flows
through the photo-resistor. Keep the width of the slit fixed for the experiment.

Note:-
When the illumination is changed, the response of the photo-resistor is slow .It takes some
time until the new value of the resistance is reached. Before noting the values, wait until a
stationary state is reached.

A. Measuring the photo-current Iph as a function of the voltage U at a

constant irradiance
i. Set the analyzer at 0° mark provided on the analyzer.

ii. Interrupt the path of the ray of light and determine the photo-current Io due to residual
lightness.
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iii. Starting from 16 V, reduce the voltage U to 0 V in steps of 2 V. Measure the photo-
current Iph each time and record it.
iv. Repeat the series of measurements with analyzer 30°, 60° and 90°.

B. Measuring the photo-current Iph as a function of the irradiance at a

constant voltage U

i. Set the voltage U to 16 V, interrupt the path of the ray of light and measure the photo-
current Io due to residual lightness.
ii. In order to vary the irradiance, increase the angle between the polarization planes of the
polarizers in steps of 10° from 0° to 90°. Measure the photo-current Iph each time and
record it.

iii. Repeat the series of measurements at U =8 V and U=1 V.

Note:-
The photo-resistor is influenced even by slight residual lightness in the
experiment room. The experiment must be performed in a dark room.

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Observations:-

1. Measuring photo current Iph as a function of Voltage U at a constant

irradiance.

U 𝑰𝑷𝒉 at 𝟎° 𝑰𝑷𝒉 at 𝟑𝟎° 𝑰𝑷𝒉 at 60° 𝑰𝑷𝒉 at 90°

(V) (mA) (mA) (mA) (mA)

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

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 2. Measuring photo current Iph as a function of irradiance  at a constant
voltage U.

𝑰𝒑𝒉 at 16V 𝑰𝒑𝒉 at 10V 𝑰𝒑𝒉 at 5V

𝜶 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝜶
(mA) (mA) (mA)
0° 1.00
10° 0.97
20° 0.88
30° 0.75
40° 0.59
50° 0.41
60° 0.25
70° 0.12
80° 0.03
90° 0.00

Result:

Date Signature:

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Conclusion:

APPLICATIONS:

Photoconductivity finds significant applications in television cameras, infrared detectors,

and light meters and indirectly on photographic process.

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Graph:-

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