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Working Principle of Photodiode

A photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. There are two main types, PN and PIN photodiodes. PN photodiodes operate unbiased while PIN photodiodes must be reverse biased to increase their depletion region and decrease capacitance, allowing for more electrons and holes to be generated. When photons strike the photodiode's p-n junction, electrons and holes are created in the depletion region, generating a photocurrent that flows in the opposite direction of the diode's dark current. Common materials used include silicon, germanium, and indium gallium arsenide.

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Ata Ur Rahman Khalid
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4K views

Working Principle of Photodiode

A photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. There are two main types, PN and PIN photodiodes. PN photodiodes operate unbiased while PIN photodiodes must be reverse biased to increase their depletion region and decrease capacitance, allowing for more electrons and holes to be generated. When photons strike the photodiode's p-n junction, electrons and holes are created in the depletion region, generating a photocurrent that flows in the opposite direction of the diode's dark current. Common materials used include silicon, germanium, and indium gallium arsenide.

Uploaded by

Ata Ur Rahman Khalid
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Working Principle of Photodiode

Photodiode is a kind of diode which generates current proportional to the incident light energy. It is a light to voltage/current converter that finds applications in security systems, conveyors, automatic switching systems etc. The photodiode is similar to an LED in construction but its p-n junction is highly sensitive to light. The p-n junction may be exposed or packaged with a window to enter light into the P-N junction. Under the forward biased state, current passes from the anode to cathode, while in the reverse biased state, photo current flows in the reverse direction. In most cases, the packaging of Photodiode is similar to LED with anode and cathode leads projecting out from the case.

There are two kinds of Photodiodes PN and PIN photodiodes. The difference is in their performance. The PIN photodiode has an intrinsic layer, so they must be reverse biased. As a result of reverse biasing, the width of the depletion region increases and the capacitance of the p-n junction decreases. This allows the generation of more electrons and holes in the depletion region. But one disadvantage of the reverse biasing is that, it generates noise current that may reduce the S/N ratio. So reverse biasing is suitable only in applications that require higher band width. The PN photodiode is ideal for lower light applications because the operation is unbiased. The Photodiode has a p-n junction or PIN structure. The P-N junction is made up of a light sensitive semi conductor. When the photon energy excites the p-n junction, the electrons will be mobilized and the holes are produced. This process occurs in the depletion region of the p-n junction. The holes then move towards the anode and the electrons towards the cathode. This generates the photocurrent in the Photodiode. Silicon (190-1100 nm), Germanium (400-1700 nm), Indium Gallium Arsenide (800-2600 nm), Lead Sulphide (10003500 nm) etc are the semiconductors used for making different types of photodiodes.

The photodiode works in two modes namely Photovoltaic mode and Photoconductive mode. In the photovoltaic mode (also called Zero bias mode), the photocurrent from the device is restricted and a voltage build up. The photodiode is now in the Forward biased state and a Dark current starts flowing across the p-n junction. This flow of dark current occurs opposite to the direction of the photo current. Dark current generates in the absence of light. The dark current is the photocurrent induced by the background radiation plus the saturation current in the device. The Photoconductive mode occurs when the photodiode is reverse biased. As a result of this, the width of the depletion layer increases and leads to a reduction in the capacitance of the p-n junction. This increases the response time of the diode. Responsivity is the ratio of the photocurrent generated to the incident light energy. In the Photoconductive mode, the diode generates only a small current called Saturation current or Back current along its direction. The photocurrent remains same in this condition. The photocurrent is always proportional to the luminescence. Even though the Photoconductive mode is faster than the Photovoltaic mode, the electronic noise in higher in photoconductive mode. Silicon based photodiodes generate less noise than germanium based photodiodes since the silicon photodiodes have greater band gap.

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