Optical transducers

AKA photodetectors!

Photodetectors

Atoms in Solids

Atoms form a lattice structure

The lattice affects the structure of the energy levels of each atom we now have joint levels for the entire structure
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Band Theory

Three bands of energy levels form

Valence Band most of the electrons are here Conduction Band electrons here give the material electrical conductivity Forbidden Band electrons must jump this band to get from the valence to the conduction band
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Lattice Bands

Conduction

In order for an electron to become free and participate in current flow, it must gain enough energy to jump over the forbidden band For semiconductors at room temperature, there is not enough energy to conduct. As temperature increases more electrons have the energy to jump the forbidden band
Resistivity decreases This is the opposite behavior of conductors
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Resistivity
Semiconductor R Conductor

Semiconductors

When an electron becomes free, it creates a hole in the lattice structure

A hole is effectively a positive charge

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Electron and Hole Movement

Intrinsic Semiconductor

Elemental or pure semiconductors have equal numbers of holes and electrons

Depends on temperature, type, and size.

Compound Semiconductors can be formed from two (or more) elements (e.g., GaAs)

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Extrinsic Semiconductors

A pure semiconductors where a small amount of another element is added to replace atoms in the lattice (doping).
The aim is to produce an excess of either electrons (n-type) or holes (p-type) Typical doping concentrations are one part in ten million Doping must be uniform throughout the lattice so that charges do not accumulate
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N-Type and P-Type

One valence electron too many (n-type)

Arsenic, antimony, bismuth, phosphorus

One valence electron too few (p-type)

Aluminum, indium, gallium, boron

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The PN Junction Diode

Start with a P and N type material. Note that there is excess negatives in the n-type and excess positives in the p-type Merge the two some of the negatives migrate over to the p-type, filling in the holes. The yellow region is called the depletion zone.

More positive than rest of N

More negative than rest of P

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Biasing the Junction

Apply a voltage as indicated. The free charge carriers (negative charges in the N material and positive charges in the P material) are attracted to the ends of the crystal. No charge flows across the junction and the depletion zone grows. This is called reverse bias. Switch polarity. Now the negative charges are driven toward the junction in the N material and the positive charges also are driven toward the junction in the P material. The depletion zone shrinks and will disappear if the voltage exceeds a threshold. This is called forward bias.

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Photoelectric effect and band gaps

Photoelectric effect
Photons knock electrons into conduction band Band gap and work function
E = h (h is Plancks constant, is light frequency) Kmax = h - ( = Work Function, Kmax is max kinetic energy of freed electron)

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PN Junction Diode
A diode is formed by interfacing an n-type semiconductor with a p-type semiconductor. A pn junction is the interface between n and p regions.

Diode symbol

Photo Diodes and Photodetectors

If depletion region of pn junction diode is illuminated with light with sufficiently high frequency, photons can provide enough energy to cause electrons to jump the semiconductor bandgap to generate electron-hole pairs: hc E = h = E P G h = Plancks constant = 6.626 x 10-34 J-s = frequency of optical illumination = wavelength of optical illumination c = velocity of light = 3 x 108 m/s Photon-generated current can be used in photodetector circuits to generate output voltage vo = i R PH Diode is reverse-biased to enhance depletion-region width and electric field.
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Photoresistors

CdS tends to like Yellow...

Photons knock electrons into conduction band 1 photon can release 900 electrons Acceptor band keeps electron lifetime high -> Lower Resistance with increasing light Slow response...

Goes from M to Ohms

CdS (Cadmium Sulfide) and CdSe (Cadmium Selenide) cells are common

( I ) Directly beneath the conduction band of the CdS crystal is a donor level and there is an acceptor level above the valence band. In darkness, the electrons and holes in each level are almost crammed in place in the crystal and the photoconductor is at high resistance. ( II ) When light illuminates the CdS crystal and is absorbed by the crystal, the electrons in the valence band are excited into the conduction band. This creates pairs of free holes in the valence band and free electrons in the conduction band, increasing the conductance. ( III ) Furthermore, near the valence band is a separate acceptor level that can capture free electrons only with difficulty, but captures free holes easily. This lowers the recombination probability of the electrons and holes and increases the number for electrons in the conduction band for N-type conductance

Condition like FSRs (voltage divider, transimpedance amp, etc.)

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Photodiodes

Photons interacting in the depletion region produce electron-hole pairs

Electrons diffuse through depletion region, driven by the E-field, to arrive at the N layer and electrode, producing current. Depletion region bigger (more reverse bias)
More efficient (higher probability of photon interaction) Faster (charge doesnt have to diffuse across longer lengths before it hits Efield, hence less charge stored, hence smaller capacitance) PIN diodes increase the collection area - faster response

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Capacitance and Response

Silicon has more than 2x response in IR Reverse bias lowers capacitance (makes device faster, extends sensitivity)

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Quantum Efficiency
Thinned silicon - More efficient, esp. at short - Rear illumination better, as the pads/traces in front get in the way

Quantum efficiency (QE) is a figure given for a photosensitive device (charge-coupled device (CCD), for example) which is the percentage of photons hitting the photoreactive surface that will produce an electron-hole pair. It is an accurate measurement of the device's sensitivity. 21
Signal-to-noise ratio is also important!!

Photoconductive and photovoltaic operation

Photovotaic - produces voltage with illumination

Typical photodiode (.2 mm2) produces 30 A in sunlight and 30 pA on a clear moonless night)

Photoconductive - increasing current with illumination

Reverse bias voltage applied Much faster, more sensitive 22 Dark current threshold at zero illumination

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Photodiode ICs

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The Phototransistor

Like diodes, all transistors are light-sensitive. Phototransistors are designed specifically to take advantage of this fact. The most-common variant is an NPN bipolar transistor with an exposed base region. Here, light striking the base replaces what would ordinarily be voltage applied to the base -- so, a phototransistor amplifies variations in the light striking it. Note that phototransistors may or may not have a base lead (if they do, the base lead allows you to bias the phototransistor's light response. Phototransistors run in the photoconductive mode Theyre pretty slow, on average (e.g., Khz response) But give a fair amount of gain and are very easy to use.
Generally ground emitter and provide a collector resistor to set gain

Photodarlingtons give more gain, but can be slower

24 http://encyclobeamia.solarbotics.net/articles/phototransistor.html

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Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

Photoelectrons generated in E1 and doping in region E2 generates avalanche gain from collisions

High voltage across detector produces avalanche gain (e.g., factor 300) Very Sensitive and Fast response (e.g., ns)

Voltage tends to be large to get enough voltage

100-400 volts are standard Newer devices run at about 30 volts or so...
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Vacuum Photodiodes

Accelerating, focused electric field acts as lens and provides avalanche gain at diode
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Photomultiplier Tubes

Most sensitive photodetector

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Use a Lens to increase sensitivity

Lens collects light over increased area Effective gain at optical wavelengths is roughly k = 0.92 (A/a)

A is area of lens, a is area of detector

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Lateral Effect Photodiodes

Also called photopots - photoelectrons create current that divides in proportion to position - Made by UDT, Hammamatsu, etc. - Somewhat expensive...

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Imagers
Large-arrayphotodetectors suitable for creating images

CCD = Charge Coupled Device CMOS = Complementary Metal Oxide SemiConductor CCD = specialized production plant and process CMOS = standard silicon production line

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Basic Mechanism of CCD Image Sensors

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CCD Image Sensor

Pixel (a) Light Photo Sensor (b) (Light-sensitive Region)

Charge (Electrons)

Vertical CCD (c)

Output Amplifier (x) Horizontal CCD (d) 32

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Light

Photo Sensor Charge (Electrons) Gate

Gate Opens

Charge Transfer from Photo Sensor to Vertical CCD Like Water Draining from a Dam

Charge (Electrons)

Vertical CCD

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Charge Transfer by CCD in a Bucket-brigade Fashion

CCD

CCD

CCD

CCD

Charge

Charge

Charge

Charge

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Amplifier of CCD Image Sensor

Voltage Generated on Surface of FD Output Amplifier Micro Wire Output Gate Horizontal CCD

Gate

Gate

Gate

Charge

Floating Diffusion (FD)

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Basic Mechanism of CMOS Image Sensors

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CMOS Image Sensor

Pixel (a) Amplifier (y) Photo Sensor (b) (Light-sensitive Region) Light Signal

ON
Pixel-select Switch (e) Pixel Row (j) Column Signal Wire (f) (Micro Wire) Column-select Switch (g) Column Circuit (h)

ON

Charge

ON

Row Signal Wire (i) (Micro Wire)

ON
Output 37

Voltage Generated on Surface of Photo Sensor Like the Rising Water Level of a Bucket

Fig. A When Charge is NOT Accumulated in Photo Sensor

Surface Voltage to Amplifier Surface Voltage 0V Voltage

Fig. B When Charge is Accumulated in Photo Sensor

Surface Voltage to Amplifier Light Surface Voltage

0V Voltage

Charge

High

Photo Sensor

High

Photo Sensor 38

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Pros and Cons of CCD and CMOS Image Sensors

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Pros and Cons

Feature
Signal out of Pixel Signal out of Chip System Noise System Complexity Sensor Complexity Relative R&D Cost Response Uniformity Dynamic Range Speed Power Vertical Smear

CCD
Electron Packet Voltage (analog) Low High Low Lower Moderate High High Moderate to high high depends poor to excellent

CMOS
Voltage Bits (digital) Moderate Higher than expected High Higher slightly better low to Moderate Moderate higher low none
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Fill Factor = sensitivity

CCD

CMOS

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Optical instrumentation
(a) General block diagram of an optical instrument. (b) Highest efficiency is obtained by using an intense lamp, lenses to gather and focus the light on the sample in the cuvette, and a sensitive detector. (c) Solid-state lamps and detectors may simplify the system.

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Light sources and detectors

Sources

Detectors

Incandescent bulb Light emitting diode (LED) Gas and solid state lasers Arc lamp Fluorescent source

Thermal detector (pyroelectric) Photodiode Phototransistor Charge-coupled device (CCD) Photoconductive cell Photomultiplier tube43

Spectrophotometer

Block diagram of a single beam spectrophotometer. The prism serves as the dispersing device while the monochromator refers to the dispersing device (prism), entrance slit, and exit slit. The exit slit is moveable in the vertical direction so that those portions of the power spectrum produced by the power source (light source)44 that are to be used can be selected.

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