PHYSICS PROJECT

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INTRODUCTION
A photoresistor or light dependent resistor (LDR) is
a resistor whose resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity. It can
also be referred to as a photoconductor or device, which is the material from which
the device is made and that actually exhibits the variation in resistance with light
level.
A photoresistor (or light-dependent resistor, LDR, or photocell) is a lightcontrolled variable resistor. The resistance of a photoresistor decreases with

increasing incident light intensity; in other words, it

exhibits photoconductivity. A photoresistor can be
applied in light-sensitive detector circuits, and light- and
dark-activated switching circuits.
A photoresistor is made of a high
resistance semiconductor. In the dark, a photoresistor
can have a resistance as high as several megohms (M),
while in the light, a photoresistor can have a resistance
as low as a few hundred ohms. If incident light on a photoresistor exceeds a
certain frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give
bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting free
electrons (and their hole partners) conduct electricity, thereby lowering resistance.
The resistance range and sensitivity of a photoresistor can substantially differ among
dissimilar devices. Moreover, unique photoresistors may react substantially differently
to photons within certain wavelength bands.

SYMBOL OF A PHOTORESISTOR

#OBJECTIVE/AIM
To determine the response of a photoresistor to the varying intensity of
light falling on it and deduce the spectral sensitivity of the semiconductor
material

#APPARATUS (PHOTORESISTOR SET-UP):

The setup is a compact kit which is a portable top model. The circuit
including different components is shown in the figure.
The setup is comprised of the following components:
DC regulated power supply fixed to 10v output, voltmeter, LDR, Tungsten
lamp, ammeter, Photovoltaic cell and a luxmeter.

LDR Circuit

It stands for Light Dependent Resistor or Photoresistor, which is a passive

electronic component, basically a resistor which has a resistance that
varies depending of the light intensity. A photoresistor is made of a high
resistance semiconductor that absorbs photons and based on the quantity
and frequency of the absorbed photons the semiconductor material give

bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The
resulting free electrons conduct electricity resulting in lowering resistance
of the photoresistor. The number of electrons is dependent of the photons
frequency.
The resistance is very high in darkness, almost high as 1M but when
there is light that falls on the LDR, the resistance is falling down to a few
K(10-20k @ 10 lux, 2-4 Omega; @100 lux) depending on the model.

[A fixed DC supply (0-15V) furnishes the applied potential to LDR and is

usually fixed around 10V. The resistor of 1k is connected in series to the
limit the current, which is measured by micro ammeter. This circuit
consists of a photoresistor or Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) which is an
opto-electronic device. The LDR used in this experiment is CdS
semiconductor whose resistance falls with increasing intensity of light
influx. The variation of resistance of LDR is owing to greater thermal ionpair generation caused by incidence of light flux. ]

Lux Meter:
The lux (symbol: lx) is the SI unit of illuminance and luminous emittance, measuring luminous flux per unit area

Illuminance (lux)
0.0001

Surfaces illuminated by
Moonless, overcast night sky (starlight)[3]

0.002

Moonless clear night sky with airglow[3]

0.271.0

Full moon on a clear night[3][4]

3.4

Dark limit of civil twilight under a clear sky[5]

2050

Public areas with dark surroundings [6]

50

Family living room lights (Australia, 1998)[7]

80

Office building hallway/toilet lighting[8][9]

100

Very dark overcast day[3]

320500

Office lighting[7][10][11][12]

400

Sunrise or sunset on a clear day.

1000

Overcast day;[3] typical TV studio lighting

10,00025,000

Full daylight (not direct sun)[3]

32,000100,000
Direct sunlight
Lux Meter is a simple light meter for measuring illuminances (lux, fc) by using the light sensor of the
device

Tungsten Lamp :
The tungsten lamp of power rating 12V and 21W is used to illuminate the
LDR as well as photovoltaic cell. the lamp is placed in such a manner that

it is equidistant from LDR as well as photovoltaic cell so that light flux

falling on two is same and measurement of incident flux can be made
through the photovoltaic cell. The voltage applied across the lamp can be
varied to change the light intensity of the lamp. The arrangement of
tungsten lamp, LDR and photovoltaic cell are placed in light tight
enclosure to avoid any stray light incidence.

#THEORY:
Semiconductors often have the ability to respond to various spectral
regions of electromagnetic radiation. Silicon, Germanium, GalliumArsenide and Cadmium Sulphide are materials which exhibit optoelectronic effects, thereby implying that their electrical properties are
responsive to light. The conductivity of these materials increases as they
are exposed to the increasing intensity of radiation. This is because of the
fact that valence electrons in these materials are excited to conduction
band on absorption of incident photons from radiation flux. The
conductivity of material is proportional to the concentration of charge
carriers. Radiant energy causes the dissociation of covalent bonds
thereby leading to thermal ion-pair generation (i.e. electron-hole pair),
which results in increased free charge carriers and hence fall in overall
resistance of materials. This is basic principle on which photoresistor
works. Such devices working on this principle are called photoconductive
cells or Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs). The carriers generated by
photo-excitation move under the influence of applied electric field and if
they survive electron-hole recombination and reach ohmic contacts, then
they constitute device current. The resistance of LDR constantly falls with
the intensity of incident radiations while current increases non-linearly
with the intensity of incident radiation. Small amount of current flows in
the LDR circuit even when no light is incident on it and is referred to as
Dark current. The origin of this current is owing to the thermal ion-pair
generation caused by incident flux of radiation.
The response of a photoresistor with varying light intensity is non-linear is
given by:
RLDR RDARKL-b
where RLDR is the resistance at light intensity at the surface of LDR, R dark is
the LDR resistance without light and b is the material constant of

photoresistor used. The spectral sensitivity of the photoresistor also

depends upon the wavelength of the incident radiation.
There are two types photoresistor:
1) Intrinsic Photoresistor:
This type of photoresistor uses a
photoconductive material that involves excitation of charge carriers
from the valence bands to the conduction band.
2) Extrinsic Photoresistor: This type of photoresistor uses a
photoconductive material that involves excitation of charge carriers
between an impurity and the valence band or conduction band. It
requires shallow impurity dopants that are not ionised in the presence
of light.
Extrinsic photoresistor or photocells are generally designed for long
wavelength radiation - often infra-red, but to avoid thermal generation
they need to be operated at low temperatures.
Basic photoresistor structure
A typical structure for a light dependent or photo resistor uses an active
semiconductor layer that is deposited on an insulating substrate. The
semiconductor is normally lightly doped to enable it to have the required
level of conductivity. Contacts are then placed either side of the exposed
area.

One form of photoresistor structure

Within the basic photoresistor or photocell structure, the resistance of the
material itself is a key issue. To ensure the resistance changes resulting
from the light dominate, contact resistance is minimised. To achieve this,
the area around the contacts is normally heavily doped to reduce the
resistance in this region.
In many instances the area between the contacts is in the form of a zig
zag, or interdigital pattern. This maximises the exposed area and by
keeping the distance between the contacts small it reduces the spurious
resistance levels and enhances the gain.

Photoresistor or photocell with interdigital contact pattern

#PROCEDURE:
1) Keep the lamp supply control to minimum. Switch ON the power. Note
that the DC supply is 10V. Select A range for LDR ammeter. If there is
no deflection in ammeter, it implies LDR exhibits high resistance in
dark. Otherwise not the value of dark current.
2) Select lowest step for lamp intensity. Increase the intensity by means of
lamp voltage in steps of 0.2klux and note the corresponding flowing
through the LDR current for a current deflection with readable intensity.
Change the ammeter range accordingly.
3) Keep in changing the lamp voltage level to higher steps and further
note the variation of LDR current with intensity.
4) Plot the light intensity vs current curve from the observations. Find out
the linear region and calculate the spectral sensitivity from the linear
rising portion of the curve.
=
Where L = change in illumination
I = corresponding change in LDR current
5) The resistance of LDR is calculated by applying Ohms law R=V/I, where
I is LDR current and V is the applied DC potential. Keep in view that
current limiting 1K resistance be subtracted from these results.
6) Also plot light intensity vs resistance curve.

#PRECAUTIONS AND SOURCES OF ERROR:

1) A large resistance of 1k should be connected with LDR to limit the
current through it, thereby avoiding the risk of damage.
2) Do not keep the set up ON for ling time as it heats the LDR circuit.
3) Equal amount of light must fall in LDR and photovoltaic cell so as to
accurately measure incident light intensity.
4) Current at dark should be measured carefully and in perfect dark
conditions.

OBSERBATION TABLE
*Least count of voltmeter: 0.2 V
*Least count of luxmeter: 0.05 klux
*Least count of ammeter: 0.2 mA (Range = 0-10 mA)
*Voltage applied across LDR: 10 V

S
No

Intensity
(in klux)

0.25

Current
LDR(I)
(in mA)
3.0

0.50

in Total Resistance = R = (V/I)

(in k)

Resistance of LDR
R = [(V/I)-1)] (in k)

3.3

2.3

4.4

2.3

1.3

0.75

5.0

2.0

1.0

1.00

5.6

1.8

0.8

1.25

6.0

1.7

0.4

1.50

6.2

1.6

0.6

1.75

6.6

1.5

0.5

2.00

6.8

1.5

0.5

2.25

6.8

1.5

0.5

10

2.50

7.0

1.4

0.4

11

2.75

7.4

1.3

0.3

12

3.00

7.6

1.3

0.3

#RESULT:

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THANK YOU