Control Engineering Laboratory

School of Mechanical, Materials and Energy Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
Rupnagar 140001, INDIA

MEP 305
Control Engineering Laboratory

Experiment Number - TR_6

Experiment Name - Light Sensors

Experiment Performed on : 8st September, 2017

Date of File Submission : 15th September, 2017

Name Rushit Virani

Entry No. 2015MEB1111
Group No. - Fr_group_B

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INCANDESCENT LAMP

1. Aim of the experiment-

To describe the construction, principle and characteristics of Incandescent lamp.

2. Theory related to experiment-

The light source to be used in the experiments is a tungsten filament lamp. The filament glows more
brightly as the power feeding the lamp is increased. Two factors will be affected as the lamp voltage is
increased:
1. The temperature of the filament is proportional to the input power. Power varies with the square of the
voltage, and is also affected by the resistance of the lamp, which increases as the filament temperature
increases (it has a positive temperature coefficient).
2. The spectral response of the lamp varies with the filament temperature. At low temperatures the light is in
the infra-red region of the visible spectrum and the light output gradually increases in frequency as the
temperature is raised.
These factors make it difficult to be too precise about the response of the sensors which will be
investigated. In order to determine the response of the filament lamp an acceptable reference must be
established. The photovoltaic cell is a linear device, the output short circuit current being directly proportional
to the luminous flux being received.

3. Equipment Specifications-
DIGIAC 1750 Transducer and Instrumentation Trainer.
4mm Connecting Leads.
Digital Multimeter.

4. Observation Table

Lamp Filament Lamp filament Lamp filament

Lamp filament resistance
Voltage(Volts) current power
0 0.05 0 0
1 25.98 25.98 0.038491147
2 33.34 66.68 0.059988002
3 40.06 120.18 0.074887668
4 44.63 178.52 0.089625812
5 50.26 251.3 0.09948269
6 56.23 337.38 0.106704606
7 60.62 424.34 0.115473441
8 65.83 526.64 0.121525141
9 70.24 632.16 0.128132118
10 74.96 749.6 0.133404482

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5.Observation and Plots

Incandescent Lamp
800 0.16

700 0.14

Lamp Resistance(ohm)
600 0.12
Lamp Power(mW)

500 0.1

400 0.08

300 0.06

200 0.04

100 0.02

0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Lamp Voltage(V)
Lamp filament power
Lamp filament resistance
Linear (Lamp filament resistance)

Fig. Variation of lamp voltage with lamp power and lamp resistance.

6. Comparison with theory-

Theory says power is directly proportional to square of voltage and voltage is directly proportional to
resistance which is verified by our graphs.

7. Conclusion and Discussion-

The relation between power and voltage is quadratic as the resistance of filament vary with temperature
almost linearly.

8. Additional information
Earlier incandescent lamps was used as a source of light, but they consumes a lot of energy and are
gradually replaced by LED lights which are able to produce the light of same frequency regardless the voltage
across it and also uses very low power and have high intensity.

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PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

1. Aim of the experiment-

To describe the construction, principle and characteristics of a Photovoltaic Cell.

2. Theory related to experiment-
A photovoltaic cell is a semiconductor device that generates emf when light falls on it. One of the
region is made very thin (1micro meter). Light can easily pass through this without much loss of energy. When
the light reaches the junction, at the depletion layer, it is absorbed and released energy creates hole-electron
pairs which diffuses across junction.
The thin layer which is only lightly doped, rapidly becomes saturated and charge carriers can be
released into external circuit to form a current pushed around the circuit by the force(EMF) of the surplus of
charge carriers released by the energy absorbed
If the output of the cell is short circuited there will be no output voltage. Since there will be drop across the
internal resistance of cell. The short circuit output current obtained will vary from 0 to maximum according
to incident light.

The device can be used either as a voltage source or as a current source. To increase the output voltage
cells may be connected in series. Parallel connection allows a greater current to be drawn. When used as
energy source they are called solar cells since the incident light is suns light.

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3. Equipment Specifications-
DIGIAC 1750 Transducer and Instrumentation Trainer.
4mm Connecting Leads.
Digital Multimeter.

4. Observation Table

Lamp Filament Short circuit output

Open circuit output voltage
Voltage(Volts) current
0 0 0.025
1 0.1 0.089
2 2.5 0.248
3 16.4 0.311
4 54.7 0.346
5 127.7 0.377
6 242.4 0.402
7 402.2 0.423
8 591.2 0.44
9 868.8 0.456
10 1230 0.469

5.Observation and Plots

Photovoltaic Cell
1400 0.5
Short circuit output current(uA)

Open circuit output voltage(V)

1200
0.4
1000
800 0.3
600
400 0.2

200
0.1
0
-200 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0
Lamp Filament Voltage(V)

Short circuit output current Open circuit output voltage

Fig. Variation of Lamp filament voltage with short circuit output current and open circuit output
voltage.

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6. Conclusion and Discussion-

From the results, it is clearly observed that the short circuit output current and open circuit output
voltage increases with an increase in the lamp filament voltage.

7. Additional information
Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert
energy from the sun into a flow of electrons by the photovoltaic cell.

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PHOTOTRANSISTOR

1. Aim of the experiment-

To describe the construction, principle and characteristics of a Phototransistor.

2. Theory related to experiment-

Phototransistor is an N-P-N three layers semiconductor device similar to a normal transistor, the
regions being called emitter base and collector. Circuit is shown is figure.

The device differs from the natural transistor in allowing light to fall onto the base region, focused
there by a lens.
The photodiode supplies base current to the transistor and the transistor multiplies the base current by
its gain. The deice responds to wide range of wavelength varying from infrared to ultra-violet.
When no light falling on the device, there will be a small leakage current flowing due to thermally
generated hole-electron pairs and the output voltage from the circuit will be slightly less than the supply
voltage due to the voltage drop across the load resistor R.

When light falls on base region, leakage current increases with the base connection open circuit, the
current flows via base-emitter junction and is amplified by normal transistor action to given a large charge in
the collector leakage current.
With increased current in load resistor R, output voltage reduces and is dependent on the light falling
on the device
Vout = V - Iceo R
where: V = Supply voltage, Iceo = Collector leakage current, R = Collector load resistance

3. Equipment Specifications-
DIGIAC 1750 Transducer and Instrumentation Trainer.
4mm Connecting Leads.
Digital Multimeter.

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4. Observation Table

Phototransistor Cell
Lamp Filament Voltage(Volts)
Output(Volts)
0 5.0115
1 5.0014
2 4.965
3 4.586
4 3.412
5 1.403
6 0.843
7 0.818
8 0.803
9 0.741
10 0.78

5.Observation and Plots

Phototransistor Cell Output(Volts)
6
Phototransistor Output Voltage(V)

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Lamp filament voltag(Volts)

Fig. Variation of Lamp filament voltage with Phototransistor output voltage.

6. Comparison with theory-

Phototransistor output voltage decreases with increasing lamp filament voltage because as filament
voltage increases current also increases, by the formula it is clear output voltage should decrease which is also
verified.

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7. Conclusion and Discussion-

Varying the lamp filament voltage from 1V to 10V, it has been observed that the phototransistor output voltage
and lamp filament voltage decreases.

8. Additional information
1. Phototransistors produce a higher current than photo diodes.
2. Phototransistors are very fast and are capable of providing nearly instantaneous output.
3. Phototransistors are used in security system, punch card readers, highway lighting control, IR detectors
photo etc.

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PHOTOCONDUCTIVE CELL (LDR)

1. Aim of the experiment-

To describe the construction, principle and characteristics of a Phototconductive cell .

2. Theory related to experiment-
A Light Dependent Resistor(LDR) is a device whose resistivity is a function of the incident
electromagnetic radiation. Hence they are light sensitive devices. They are made up of semiconductor material
having high resistance. A cadmium sulphide photo-conducting cell is used because its wavelength is 400-
700nm.

A LDR works on the principle of photo conductivity. Photo conductivity is an optical phenomenon in
which the material conductively is increased when light is absorbed by the material. When light fall i.e. when
the photons fall on the device the electrons in the valence band of the semiconductor material are excited to
the conduction band. These photons in the incident light should have energy greater that the band gap of the
semiconductor material to make the electrons jump from the valance band to conduction band. Hence when
light having enough energy strikes on the device more and more electrons are excide to the conduction band
which result in large number of charge carrier. As a result more and more current starts flowing through the
device when the circuit is closed and hence if is said that the resistance of the device has been decreases.
LDRs have low cost and simple structure. They are often used as light sensors.

3. Equipment Specifications-
DIGIAC 1750 Transducer and Instrumentation Trainer.
4mm Connecting Leads.
Digital Multimeter.

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4. Observation Table

Lamp Filament Photoconductive Cell

Voltage(Volts) Output(Volts)
0 5.01
1 5.007
2 4.981
3 4.756
4 4.243
5 3.438
6 2.669
7 2.018
8 1.506
9 1.156
10 0.906

5.Observation and Plots

Photoconductive Cell Output(Volts)
6
Photoconductive Cell output voltage(V)

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Lamp filament Voltage(V)

Fig. Variation of Lamp filament voltage with Photoconductive Cell output voltage.

6. Comparison with theory-

Electrical resistance to the current flow varies as the light intensity striking in it. Wwhen the photocell
has appropriate light is incident upon it, its resistance is low and the current flow through the relay is high to
operate the relay. When the light is interrupted shutoff partially or completely, resistance of the photocell
increases, thereby reducing the current through the relay.

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7. Conclusion and Discussion-

Varying the lamp filament voltage from 1V to 10V, it has been observed that the photoconductive cell
output voltage decreases.

PIN PHOTODIODE
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1. Aim of the experiment-

To describe the construction, principle and characteristics of a PIN Photodiode. .

2. Theory related to experiment-

PIN photodiode is a kind of photo detector. It can convert optical signal into electrical signals. There
are three regions in this diode. There is a p-region, an intrinsic region and an n-region. The p and n region are
comparatively heavily doped than that of usual p-n diodes. The width of the intrinsic region should be larger
than the space charge width of a normal p-n junction. The PIN photodiode operates with an applied reverse
bias voltage and when the reverse bias is applied, the space charge region must cover the intrinsic region
completely. Electron- hole pair are generated in the space charge region by photo absorption.

The main improvement of the introduction of I region is a reduction in the capacitance of the junction
resulting in a faster response time which can be as high as 0.5 ns .

A PIN photodiode obeys the standard diode equation for low frequency signals. At higher frequencies,
the diode looks like an almost perfect (linear) resistor.

3. Equipment Specifications-
DIGIAC 1750 Transducer and Instrumentation Trainer.
4mm Connecting Leads.
Digital Multimeter.

4. Observation Table

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PIN Photodiode(Current Amplifier PIN Photodiode Output

Lamp filament Voltage(Volts)
Output Voltage(Volts)) Voltage(mV)
0 84.8 83.5
1 85.9 110.8
2 88.4 281.7
3 104.4 700
4 144.3 1617
5 229.7 2360
6 397.2 2698
7 597.5 2932
8 923.8 3072
9 1311 3102
10 1886 3225

5.Observation and Plots

PIN Photodiode
3500
PIN Photodiode Output Voltage(V)

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Lamp Filament Voltage(V)

Fig. Variation of Lamp filament voltage with PIN Photodiode output voltage.

6. Comparison with theory-

At higher lamp filament voltage, characteristic graph becomes constant. As at higher frequencies, the
diode looks like an almost perfect(linear) resistor.

7. Conclusion and Discussion-

Graph of PIN photodiode output voltage and lamp filament voltage is is first increasing but later becomes
constant with a lamp filament voltage of 1V to 10V.

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8. Additional information

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