ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CIRCUITS LAB

MINI PROJECT

LIGHT SENSOR AND DARKNESS DETECTOR

CIRCUIT USING LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR
AND TRANSISTOR

BY:
ABDUL RAHMAN S
The important thing in this light and dark sensor circuit
is Light Dependent Resistor (LDR). So let’s see some
facts about LDR. LDR is made from a semiconductor
material preferably Cadmium Sulphide. It changes
resistance with the change in intensity level. Like if the
intensity which falls on the surface of the material is
less, then the resistance is high. And vice versa if the
intensity is high.

LDR

LDR is a commonly used Photoconductive cell. A

Photoconductive cell is the one which doesn’t produce
electricity but the one which changes the physical
properties when subjected to light energy. In other
words, it controls the flow of current in this circuit. The
resistance of the cell when unilluminated is very high at
about 100MΩ’s which falls to 100Ω’s when fully
illuminated. To increase the dark resistance and to reduce
the dark current the resistive path forms a zigzag pattern
around ceramic substrate. Cadmium sulphide is used in
the manufacture of photoconductive cells because its
spectral response curve closely matches that of human
eye and can even be controlled using a simple torch as
light source.
This graph shows the relation between the resistance and intensity level.

Explanation of Voltage dividers:

A voltage divider is a simple circuit which
turns a large voltage into a smaller one. Using just two
series resistors and an input voltage, we can create an
output voltage that is a fraction of the input.

The voltage divider equation assumes that you know

three values of the above circuit: Input voltage (Vin), and
both resistor values (R1 and R2). Given those values, we
can use the equation to find the output voltage (Vout):
Vout= Vin×R2/(R1+R2)
Components Used:
S.No Components Specifications Quantity
1 Resistors 1KΩ 1
47KΩ 1
470Ω 2
2 LDR 2
3 LED 5mm, Bright 2
4 Breadboard 1
5 Battery 9V 2
6 Transistor NPN, BC547 2
7 Breadboard 1
8 Connecting As
wires required

Explanation of the Circuit:

 Light Sensor:

In a Light Sensor Circuit, the transistor is connected with

LED, a fixed resistance and LDR. We know that for a
BJT(npn),
Ib+ Ic = Ie (Ic>>Ib)
And the collector current will exists only when there is a
base current.
The transistor turns ON only when Vbe≥0.7V. In the
circuit we did, contains 1KΩ,LDR(equivalent to a
variable resistance),LED(which is connected with a
resistance) and a transistor. If we turn on the flashlight,
and as per Voltage divider formula,
R2=1KΩ,R1=LDR(400Ω approx.),Vin=9V,Vout=Vbe.
Vbe=9×(1000/1400)V=6.428V which tells us that
transistor would turn ON as Vbe≥0.7V and LED will glow.
Whereas if we turn off the flashlight, LDR(1MΩ approx),
again using voltage divider formula,
Vbe=9×(1000/1001000)V=0.0089V which tells us that
transistor would be at OFF condition as Vbe≤0.7V and
LED will not glow.
Hence, we conclude that in a light sensor if we turn on
the flashlight in front of LDR then the LED will glow but
the LED will not glow if we turn off the flashlight.

Dark Sensor:
In a dark sensor circuit, we replace the positions of LDR
and the resistance and the value of the resistance is made
higher for doing this task. Using the same formula for this
circuit. We know that R1=47KΩ, R2=LDR(equivalent to a
variable resistance),Vin=9V,Vout=Vbe. If we turn on the
flashlight, LDR would take the value of 400Ω as we seen
in the last case.
Using Voltage divider formula,
Vbe=9×(400/47400)V=0.076V which is less than 0.7V so
that the transistor would be off and LED will not glow. If
we turn off the flashlight, LDR would take the value of
1MΩ. Using voltage divider formula,
Vbe=9×(1000000/1000400)V=8.99V which is greater than
0.7V and let transistor to turn ON and the LED will glow.
Hence, we conclude that in a light sensor if we turn on
the flashlight in front of LDR then the LED will not glow
but the LED will glow if we turn off the flashlight.

APPLICATIONS:
1. Control Brightness of computer and TV screens to a
comfortable level.
2. Street light.
3. Barcode scanners- light from scanner illuminates
code which is read and decoded by a sensor.
4. Infrared technology: warm blooded animals
(including humans) which emit heat which can be
seen as infrared light. Infrared sensors can detect
human movement.
5. Robots-see and navigate through a room by
detecting objects by sensing how light is bouncing
off them.