Submitted by:

➢ Name: Ayush Thakur

➢ Class: XII
➢ Roll No.:
➢ Topic: Photodiode
 certificate

This is to certify that the project reported

here has been successfully completed and
submitted by Ayush Thakur of class XII

according to the syllabus prescribed by

Central Board of Secondary Education

(C.B.S.E), under the guidance of Mr.

Hemraj for academic session 2022-2023.

Subject Teacher’s Signature External Teacher’s Signature

 Acknowledgement

It gives me immense pleasure to present the

‘PHOTODIODE’ would not have been possible without
the kind support of my Physics teacher, MR. HEMRAJ
under whose guidance and constant supervision the project
was brought to the present state and which also helped me
in doing lot of Research and I came to know about so
many things, I am really thankful to them.
I would also like to express my gratitude towards my
parents for their kind cooperation and encouragement
which helped me in the completion of this project. I am
also thankful to PANCHSHEEL PUBLIC SCHOOL for
giving me such an amazing opportunity for making this
project, and giving suitable instructions and guidelines for
the project. Last but not the least, I thank my friends who
shared necessary information and useful web links for
preparing this project within the limited time frame.
 Content

▪ What is Photodiode?
▪ Materials Required
▪ Circuit Symbol of Photodiode
▪ Working principle of Photodiode?
▪ Types of Photodiodes
▪ I-V characteristics of Photodiode
▪ Applications of Photodiode
▪ Bibliography
 What is PHOTODIODE?

A Photodiode is a two-terminal electronic component

of p-n or PIN semiconductor structure (hence a
diode) that functions as a passive
transducer of light into an electrical current. The
current is generated when photons are absorbed in
the photodiode. Photodiodes may contain optical
filters, built-in lenses, and may have large or small
surface areas. Photodiodes usually have a slower
response time as their surface area increases.

The common, traditional solar cell used to generate

electric solar power is a large area photodiode.

Photodiodes are similar to regular semiconductor

diodes except that they may be either exposed (to
detect vacuum UV or X-rays) or packaged with a
window or optical fiber connection to allow light to
reach the sensitive part of the device. Many diodes
designed for use specially as a photodiode use a PIN
junction rather than a p–n junction, to increase the
speed of response. A photodiode is designed to
operate in reverse bias.
Photodiodes function in reverse of light-emitting
diodes (LEDs). The two combined together can be
used to form an opto-isolator, used to
achieve galvanic isolation between electrical
circuits, with immunity to high voltage spikes.
 Materials Required

The material used to make a photodiode is critical to

defining its properties, because only photons with
sufficient energy to excite electrons across the
material's bandgap will produce significant
photocurrents.
Materials commonly used to produce photodiodes
are listed in the table below.

Electromagnetic spectrum
Material
wavelength range (nm)

Silicon 190–1100

Germanium 400–1700

Indium gallium arsenide 800–2600

Lead(II) sulfide <1000–3500

Mercury cadmium telluride 400–14000

 Circuit symbol Of Photodiode

The symbol of the photodiode is similar to that

of an LED but here the arrow points inwards. It
has two terminals- anode and cathode and the
arrows here striking the diode represent light
or photons.
.
 Working principle of
Photodiode

When the photodiode is illuminated with light

(photons) with energy (hv) greater than the energy
gap (Eg) of the semiconductor, then electron-hole
pairs are generated due to the absorption of
photons. The diode is fabricated such that the
generation e-h pairs take place in or near the
depletion region of the diode.
Due to electric field of the junction, electrons
and holes are separated before they
recombine. The direction of the electric field is
such that electrons reach n-side and holes
reach p-side giving rise to emf. When an
external load is connected, the current flows.
The magnitude of the photocurrent depends on
the intensity of incident light (photocurrent is
directly proportional to incident light intensity).
It’s easier to observe the change in current
with change in the light intensity, if a reverse
bias is applied. Thus, photodiode can be used
to detect optical signals .
 Types of Photodiodes

➢PN Photodiode: The first photodiode to be

developed was PN photodiode. Here within the
depletion area, the detection of the photo takes
place. This photodiode is used in low light
applications as the diode doesn’t require reverse
bias. This is the reason why the noise produced by
the photodiode is less.

➢PIN Photodiode: These days PIN photodiode

finds wide applications. It collects the light
photons more efficiently than PN photodiode.
This photodiode provides a large area for the
collection and conversion of the light photons.

➢Avalanche Photodiode: Avalanche process is

used for providing extra performances. The
structure of avalanche photodiode is similar to PN
and PIN photodiode. This photodiode works in
higher reverse bias condition enabling
multiplication of holes and electrons.
➢Schottky Photodiode: This photodiode is a
combination of many Schottky diodes which
provide high speed and long-wavelength
detection.

Avalanche Photodiode
 I-V Characteristics of
Photodiode

Photodiodes operates in reverse bias condition.

➢ Reverse voltages are plotted along
X-axis in volts.
➢ Reverse current is plotted along Y-axis in
microampere (does not depend on reverse
voltage).
➢When there is no light illumination, reverse
current will be almost zero.
➢The minimum amount of current present is
called Dark current.
➢Once the light illumination increases, reverse
current also increases linearly.
 Applications of Photodiode

➢Photodiodes are used in simple day-to-day

applications. The reason for their prominent
use is their linear response of photodiode to
light illumination.
➢Photodiodes with the help of optocouplers
provide electric isolation. When two isolated
circuits are illuminated by light, optocouplers
are used to couple the circuit optically.
Optocouplers are faster compared to
conventional devices.
➢Photodiodes are used in safety electronics
such as fire and smoke detectors.
➢Photodiodes are used in numerous medical
applications. They are used in instruments
that analyze samples, detectors for
computed tomography and also used in
blood gas monitors.
➢Photodiodes are used in solar cell panels.
➢Photodiodes are used in logic circuits.
➢Photodiodes are used in the detection
circuits.
➢Photodiodes are used in character
recognition circuits.
➢Photodiodes are used for the exact
measurement of the intensity of light in
science and industry.
➢Photodiodes are faster and more complex
than normal PN junction diode and hence are
frequently used for lighting regulation and
optical communication.
 Bibliography

The following books were used in completion of this project:

▪ NCERT Textbook of Physics class 12th

▪ Pradeep fundamentals of physics class 12th
Also following websites were consulted for relevant material:

▪ https://www.google.com/
▪ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode
▪ https://byjus.com/physics/light-emitting-diode/