FR.
CONCEICAO RODRIGUES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Electronics & Computer Science (ECS)
THE PHOTO DIODE
(a) Operating Principle of Photo Diode :-
Photodiode is the two terminal electronic device which, when exposed to light the current starts flowing in the diode. It is
operated in reverse biased mode only. It converts light energy into electrical energy. When the ordinary diode is reversed
biased the reverse current starts increasing with reverse voltage the same can be applied to the photodiode. But in the case
of photo-diode the current can flow without application of reverse voltage, the PN junction of the photo-diode is illuminated
by light. This incident light (optical) energy dislodges valence electrons & the photo-diode starts conducting.
(b) Construction & Structure of Photo Diode :-
Fig. 1 – Structure & Construction of Photo Diode
The photodiode is made up of two layers of P-type and N-type semiconductor. In this, the P-type material is formed from
diffusion of the lightly doped P-type substrate. Thus, the layer of P+ ions is formed due to the diffusion process. And N-type
epitaxial layer is grown on N-type substrate. The P+ diffusion layer is developed on N-type heavily doped epitaxial layer.
The contacts are made up of metals to form two terminal cathode and anode. The front area of the diode is divided into two
types that are active surface and non-active surface. The non-active surface is made up of SiO2 (Silicon dioxide) and the
active surface is coated with anti-reflection material. The active surface is called so because the light rays are incident on it.
While on the non-active surface the light rays do not strike. The active layer is coated with anti-reflection material so that the
light energy is not lost and the maximum of it can be converted into current. The entire unit has dimensions of the order of
2.5 mm.
Electronic Devices (ED) – ECC 302 for S.E. (Electronics & Computer Science) – Semester III
Module No. 2 – Special Semiconductor Devices (Unit No. 2.1 – The Photo Diode)
FR. CONCEICAO RODRIGUES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Electronics & Computer Science (ECS)
(c) Working / Operation of Photo Diode :-
Fig. 2 – Working / Operation of Photo Diode
When a photon of sufficient energy strikes the diode, it creates an electron-hole pair. This mechanism is also known as the
inner photoelectric effect. If the absorption occurs in the junction's depletion region, or one diffusion length away from it,
these carriers are swept from the junction by the built-in electric field of the depletion region. Thus holes move toward the
anode, and electrons toward the cathode, and a photocurrent is produced. The total current through the photodiode is the
sum of the dark current (current that is generated in the absence of light) and the photocurrent, so the dark current must be
minimized to maximize the sensitivity of the device.
(a) Photo-voltaic Mode :- When used in zero bias or photo-voltaic mode, the flow of photocurrent out of the device is
restricted and a voltage builds up. This mode exploits the photo-voltaic effect, which is the basis for solar cells – a traditional
solar cell is just a large area photodiode.
(b) Photo-conductive Mode :- In this mode the diode is often reverse biased (with the cathode driven positive with respect
to the anode). This reduces the response time because the additional reverse bias increases the width of the depletion
layer, which decreases the junction's capacitance. The reverse bias also increases the dark current without much change in
the photocurrent. For a given spectral distribution, the photocurrent is linearly proportional to the luminance (and to the
irradiance). Although this mode is faster, the photoconductive mode tends to exhibit more electronic noise.
Electronic Devices (ED) – ECC 302 for S.E. (Electronics & Computer Science) – Semester III
Module No. 2 – Special Semiconductor Devices (Unit No. 2.1 – The Photo Diode)
FR. CONCEICAO RODRIGUES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Electronics & Computer Science (ECS)
(d) V-I Characteristics of Photo Diode :-
Fig. 3 – Photo Diode V – I Characteristics in Forward & Reverse Bias
It is true that there are always some minority charge carriers in the semiconductor crystal even in extreme dark conditions –
these minority charge carriers in the semiconductor crystal present due to unavoidable impurities and natural thermal
excitation of the crystal. So even in dark condition, there would be a tiny and constant reverse saturation current in the
diode. This current is fixed for a photodiode, and the current is known as dark current. The ratio of maximum withstand able
reverse voltage to the dark current of a photodiode is called dark resistance of that diode. When we apply light to the diode,
the reverse current increases. This relation is linear. The value of reverse current is directly proportional to the intensity of
incident light energy. If we go on increasing the light intensity, after a certain value of reverse current. The current will not
increase further with increasing light intensity. We call this maximum value of reverse current as saturation current of the
photodiode.
(e) Symbol of Photo Diode :-
Fig. 4 – Symbolic Notation of Photo Diode
Electronic Devices (ED) – ECC 302 for S.E. (Electronics & Computer Science) – Semester III
Module No. 2 – Special Semiconductor Devices (Unit No. 2.1 – The Photo Diode)
FR. CONCEICAO RODRIGUES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Department of Electronics & Computer Science (ECS)
(f) Applications of Photo Diode :-
Light detection (both visible & invisible)
Measuring light intensity for residential, commercial, sporting & industrial applications
Consumer electronics like compact disc (CD) players, digital cameras, smoke detectors, burglar alarms etc.
Medical applications like pulse oximeter & detectors for computed tomography
Optical fiber communication (OFC)
Receivers for remote control of air-conditioners (AC), TV & audio / video equipment etc.
Optical character recognition (OCR)
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Electronic Devices (ED) – ECC 302 for S.E. (Electronics & Computer Science) – Semester III
Module No. 2 – Special Semiconductor Devices (Unit No. 2.1 – The Photo Diode)
