LCD

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is an flat display screen used in electronic devices such
as laptop, computer, TV, cellphones and portable video games. As the name says liquid
crystal is a material which flows like a liquid and shows some properties of solid. These
LCD are vey thin displays and it consumes less power than LEDs.

As the name says the

molecular structure of liquid
crystal is in between solid
crystal and liquid isotropic. In
Liquid crystal display (LCD)
nematic type of liquid cyrstal
molecular arrangement is
used in which molecules are
oriented in some degree of
alignment. For example when we increase the temperature the ice cube melts and liquid
crystal is like the state in between ice cube and water.

Construction and Working

Construction of LCD consists of two

polarized glass pieces. Two electrodes are
used, one is positive and the other one is
negative. External potential is applied to
LCD through this electrodes and it is made
up of indium-tin-oxide. Liquid crystal layer of
about 10µm- 20µm is placed between two
glass sheets. The light is passed or blocked by changing the polarization.

The basic working principle of LCD is blocking of light. It does not produce light on its
own. So external light source is used. When the external light passes from one polarizer
to the next polarizer, external supply is
given to the liquid crystal ,the polarized
light aligns itself so that the image is
produced in the screen. The indium
oxide conducting surface is a
transparent layer which is placed on
both the sides of the sealed thick layer
of liquid crystal . When no external bias is applied the molecular arrangement is not
disturbed.

. If a voltage (for commercial units the threshold level is usually between 6 and 20 V) is
applied across the conducting surfaces, the molecular arrangement is disturbed, with the
result that regions will be established with different indices of refraction.

The incident light is

therefore reflected in
different directions at the
interface between regions
of different indices of
refraction (referred to as
dynamic scattering ) with
the result that the scattered
light has a frosted glass
appearance. The frosted
look occurs only where the
conducting surfaces are
opposite each other and
the remaining
areas remain translucent.

The black area is actually a clear conducting surface connected to the terminals below
for external control. Two similar masks are placed on opposite sides of a sealed
thick layer of liquid-crystal material.

Advantages:

• It is thin and compact

• Low power consumption
• Less heat is emitted during operation
• Low cost
Disadvantages:

• Speed of operation is low

• Lifespan is less
• Restricted viewing angles
Applications:

• Used in digital wrist watch

• Display images in digital cameras
• Used in numerical counters
• Display screen in calculators
• Mainly used in television
• Used in mobile screens
 • Used in video players
• Used in image sensing circuits

LED
Light emitting diode or LED is similar to the semiconductor PN Junction diode. When it is
forward biased the holes from P type and electrons from N type combine with each other
and it emits energy in the form of light and when reverse biased the current does not
flow. The colour of the LED depends on the nature of the semiconductor material used
in the manufacturing of the diode. Available LED colours are red, green , blue , yellow ,
amber and white.
Looks like tiny bulb. LED’s are directional devices and it is connected in the specified
direction only. It has 2 leads Anode and Cathode.

The structure and the construction of LED

differs from the normal semiconductor diodes. PN junction is formed by material which
have low energy band gap like gallium antimonide, gallium arsenide, indium antimonide
and indium arsenide. The PN junction is then covered with hemispherical shaped shell
body made up of transparent solid plastic epoxy resin.

Some are made with rectangular or cylindrical shaped dome also. This protects the LED
from atmospheric disturbances , vibration and thermal shock. The LED is constructed in
such a way that the light emiited by the photons in the junction is focused at the top of the
dome.

The P type material is the surface of LED. The anode is deposited at the edge of the P
type material. Below the P type material N type material is placed and the cathode is made
of gold film which is placed below the N type material. Gold film is used for better reflection.
 Working
When it is forward biased, that is when P type is
connected with positive terminal and when N
type is connected to negative terminal the
current starts to flow. So the majority carriers
and minority carriers combine each other and it
neutralizes the charge carriers in the depletion
region which is the junction of P and N type
semiconductors.

When the energy of electrons decreases from

higher level to lower level it emits energy in the
form of photons. So the movement of majority and minority charge carriers releases some
amount of photons in the form of monochromatic light. Its wavelength is in nm which
resembles the colour of the LED.

The LED colours depends on the materials used, so depending on the application where
it is used the wavelength specifications are customized. This is because of the different
energy gaps of different semiconductor materials and the amount of photons emitted with
varying frequencies. LED needs very low voltage of about 0.3v to turn on the device.

When reverse biased current does not flow. When the applied external voltage is
increased, it permanently damages the device.

Initially only red colour LED was used.

After some research the different
colour LED was formed by using
different types of semiconductor
material. Each colour have particular
wavelength.
Application of LED:

• Used in general
lighting as bulbs
• Used in traffic light
signal
• Used in vehicles
used to dim the light
• Used in remote
controls
• Used in camera
flashes
• Used in lighted
wallpaper
• Used in horticulture
grow lamps

Solar cell

Solar cell is also called as photovoltaic cell and this is a device which converts light
energy into electrical energy by using photovoltaic effect. Solar cell is basically a normal
PN Junction diode.
Construction and Working
It consists of N type and P type semiconductor material. N type is
highly doped and P type is lightly doped. Top and bottom is of
conducting electrode to collect the current. The bottom is fully
covered with the conductive layer and top layer is not fully covered
because the sun rays should not be fully blocked. Since semiconductors are reflective in
nature, antireflective coating is used. The whole arrangement is kept inside a thin glass
to avoid mechanical shock.
 The working of solar cell is
based on photovoltaic effect. It
is a effect in which current or
voltage is generated when
exposed to light. Through this
effect solar cells convert
sunlight into electrical energy.

A depletion layer is formed at

the junction of the N type and P
type semiconductor material.
When light energy of the sun
rays falls on the solar panel, the
photons which is the small
bundle of energy whose energy
is higher than the energy gap
gives energy to the electrons and holes in the depletion region. The electrons and holes
move to the higher level which is the conduction band. The electrons move towards N type
and holes move towards P type and they act as a battery. So this movement of electrons
and holes forms the electric current.

Isc is the short circuit current

and it is measured by short
circuiting the terminals. Voc is
the open circuit voltage and it
is measured when no load is
connected. Pm is maximum
power, Im is maximum
current, Vm is maximum
voltage and it occurs at the
bend of the characteristic
curve.
Solar cell is the basic building
module and it is in octagonal
shape and in bluish black colour. Each cell produces 0.5 voltage. 36 to 60 solar cells in 9
 to 10 rows of solar cells are
joined together to form a
solar panel. For commercial
use upto 72 cells are
connected. By increasing
the number of cells the
wattage and voltage can be
increased. The thickness of
solar panel is in the range
2.5 to 4cm. Many modules
together form the solar
array.

Phototransistor

A Phototransistor is an electronic switching and current amplification component which

relies on exposure to light to operate. When light falls on the junction, reverse current flows
which are proportional to the luminance. Phototransistors are used
extensively to detect light pulses and convert them into digital
electrical signals. These are operated by light rather than electric
current. Providing a large amount of gain, low cost and these
phototransistors might be used in numerous applications.
Phototransistor Symbol
It is capable of converting light energy into electric energy.
Phototransistors work in a similar way to photoresistors commonly
known as LDR (light dependent resistor) but are able to produce both current and voltage
while photoresistors are only capable of producing current due to change in resistance.

Phototransistors are transistors with the base terminal exposed. Instead of sending current
into the base, the photons from striking light activate the transistor. This is because a
phototransistor is made of a bipolar semiconductor and focuses on the energy that is
passed through it. These are activated by light particles and are used in virtually all
electronic devices that depend on light in some way. All silicon photosensors
(phototransistors) respond to the entire visible radiation range as well as to infrared. In
fact, all diodes, transistors, Darlington’s, TRIACs, etc. have the same basic radiation
frequency response.
The structure of the phototransistor is specifically optimized for photo applications.
Compared to a normal transistor, a phototransistor has a larger base and collector width
and is made using diffusion or ion implantation.
Construction

A phototransistor is nothing but an ordinary bi-polar transistor in which the base region
is exposed to illumination. It is available in both the P-N-P and N-P-N types having different
configurations like common emitter, common collector, and common base but generally,
common emitter configuration is used. It can also work while the base is made open.
Compared to the conventional transistor it has more base and collector areas.
Ancient phototransistors used single semiconductor materials like silicon and germanium
but now a day’s modern components use materials like gallium and arsenide for high-
efficiency levels. The base is the lead responsible for activating the transistor. It is the gate
controller device for the larger electrical supply. The collector is the positive lead and the
larger electrical supply. The emitter is the negative lead and the outlet for the larger
electrical supply.

Photo Transistor Construction

With no light falling on the device there will be a small current flow due to thermally
generated hole-electron pairs and the output voltage from the circuit will be slightly less
than the supply value due to the voltage drop across the load resistor R. With light falling
on the collector-base junction the current flow increases. With the base connection open
circuit, the collector-base current must flow in the base-emitter circuit, and hence the
current flowing is amplified by normal transistor action.

The collector-base junction is very sensitive to light. Its working condition depends upon
the intensity of light. The base current from the incident photons is amplified by the gain of
the transistor, resulting in current gains that range from hundreds to several thousand. A
phototransistor is 50 to 100 times more sensitive than a photodiode with a lower level of
noise.

How Does a Phototransistor Work?

A normal transistor includes an emitter, base, and collector terminals. The collector
terminal is biased positively relating to the emitter terminal & the BE junction is reverse
biased.

A phototransistor activates once the light strikes the base terminal & the light triggers the
phototransistor by allowing the configuration of hole-electron pairs as well as the current
flow across the emitter or collector. When the current increases, then it is concentrated
as well as changed into voltage.
Generally, a phototransistor doesn’t include a base connection. The base terminal is
disconnected as the light is used to allow the flow of current to supply throughout the
phototransistor.

Types of Phototransistor

Phototransistors are classified into two types namely BJT and FET.
BJT Phototransistor

In the deficiency of light, BJT phototransistor allows leakage among collectors as well as
an emitter of 100 nA otherwise low. Once this transistor is exposed to the beam, it
performs upto 50mA. This distinguishes it from photodiode which cannot allow much
current.

FET Phototransistor

This kind of phototransistor includes two terminals that connect inside through its
collector & emitter otherwise source & drain within FET. The transistor’s base terminal
reacts to light & controls the current flow among the terminals.

Phototransistor Circuit

A phototransistor works just like a normal transistor, where the base current is multiplied
to give the collector current, except that in a phototransistor, the base current is controlled
by the amount of visible or infrared light where the device only needs 2 pins.

Phototransistor Circuit Diagram

In the simple circuit, assuming that nothing is connected to Vout, the base current
controlled by the amount of light will determine the collector current, which is the current
going through the resistor. Therefore, the voltage at Vout will move high and low based on
the amount of light. We can connect this to an op-amp to boost the signal or directly to an
input of a microcontroller.
The output of a phototransistor is dependent upon the wavelength of the incident light.
These devices respond to light over a broad range of wavelengths from the near UV,
through the visible, and into the near IR part of the spectrum. For a given light source
illumination level, the output of a phototransistor is defined by the area of the exposed
collector-base junction and the dc current gain of the transistor

Phototransistors are available in different configurations like optoisolator, optical switch,

retro sensor. Optoisolator is similar to a transformer in that the output is electrically isolated
from the input. An object is detected when it enters the gap of the optical switch and blocks
the light path between the emitter and detector. The retro sensor detects the presence of
an object by generating light and then looking for its reflectance off of the object to be
sensed.

Amplification

The operation range of a phototransistor mainly depends on the applied light intensity
because its operating range is dependent on the input of the base. The current of the
base terminal from the incident photons can be amplified through the transistor’s gain,
which results in a current gain that ranges from 100 to 1000. A phototransistor is more
sensitive as compared to a photodiode through a less noise level.
Extra amplification can be supplied through a photodarlington-type transistor.

This is a phototransistor including an emitter output that is connected to the base

terminal of the next bipolar transistor. It gives high sensitivity within the levels of low light
as it provides a current gain that is equivalent to the two transistors. The gain of the two
stages can offer net gains higher than 100,000A. A photodarlington transistor includes
less response as compared to a normal phototransistor.

Photodiode Vs Phototransistor
The difference between photodiode and phototransistor includes the following.
Phototransistor

Photodiode
The photodiode is a PN-junction diode, The phototransistor is used to change
used to generate electric current once a the energy of the light into an electrical
photon of light strikes on their surface. energy

It is less sensitive It is more sensitive

The output response of the

The output response of photodiode is fast phototransistor is low

It produces current It produces voltage and current

It is used in solar power generation, It is used in compact disc players,

detecting UV otherwise IR rays & also for smoke detectors, lasers, invisible light
light measuring, etc. receivers, etc.

It is more reactive to incident lights It is less reactive

The photodiode has a less dark current Phototransistor has high dark current

In this, both the biasing is used like forward

and reverse In this, forward biasing is used
The linear response range of photodiode is The linear response range of
much wider phototransistor is much lower

Photodiode allows low current as Phototransistor allows high current as

compared to a phototransistor compared to the photodiode

The photodiode is used for battery- The phototransistor is used as a solid-

powered devices that use less power. state switch, not like a photodiode.

Characteristics
The characteristics of a phototransistor include the following.
• Low-cost visible and near-IR photodetection.
• Available with gains from 100 to over 1500.
• Moderately fast response times.
• Available in a wide range of packages including epoxy-coated, transfer-molded,
and surface mounting technology.
• Electrical characteristics were similar to that of signal transistors.
Advantages of Phototransistor

Phototransistors have several important advantages that separate them from another
optical sensor some of them are mentioned below

• Phototransistors produce a higher current than photodiodes.

• Phototransistors are relatively inexpensive, simple, and small enough to fit
several of them onto a single integrated computer chip.
• Phototransistors are very fast and are capable of providing nearly instantaneous
output.
• Phototransistors produce a voltage, that photo-resistors cannot do so.
Disadvantages of Phototransistor

• Phototransistors that are made of silicon are not capable of handling voltages
over 1,000 Volts.
• Phototransistors are also more vulnerable to surges and spikes of electricity as
well as electromagnetic energy.
• Phototransistors also do not allow electrons to move as freely as other devices
do, such as electron tubes.
Applications of Phototransistors

The Areas of application for the Phototransistor include:

• Punch-card readers.
• Security systems
• Encoders – measure speed and direction
• IR detectors photo
• electric controls
• Computer logic circuitry.
• Relays
• Lighting control (highways etc)
• Level indication
• Counting systems
Optocoupler
An optoisolator or an optocoupler is a device that transfers electrical signals between
two electrically isolated circuits through light energy. Opto-isolators prevent the high
voltages in one part of the circuit from affecting or destroying other parts of the system.
Opto-isolator is a device, which has two
diodes: One is a source or emitter of light,
usually a light emitting diode (LED) and
other is photodiode acting as the
photosensor. The LED converts an
electrical input signal into light, and the
photodiode detects incoming light and
based on the incoming light either
generates corresponding electric energy.
working principle of optoisolator
The output signal of one circuit can be
controlled by varying input signal in
another circuit, where the two circuits are electrically isolated. A powerful light emitting
diode (LED) is connected across a variable voltage source. By adjusting the input voltage
across the LED, the intensity of the light emitted from the LED can be controlled. The
variable source and the LED form the input circuit of the optocoupler or optoisolator.
A photodiode is present in front of the LED so that the light from the LED directly strikes
the junction of the photodiode. The photodiode is in reverse biased condition. The
reverse biased circuit of the photodiode forms the output circuit of the system. It is also
ensured that there is no other light falling on the photodiode junction and the system is
protected from any external light, except the light coming from the LED. Initially, no
voltage is applied to the LED; hence the LED does not glow. In this condition as no light
falls on the photodiode, there would be only dark current flowing through the output
circuit. Dark current is the reverse saturation current of the reverse biased photodiode
when it entire dark. This is the unavoidable reverse leakage current of the diode. Now, if
we increase the voltage across the LED, the LED starts glowing and at same time
intensity of the light increases with increasing input voltage across the LED. With
increasing light intensity, the reverse current in the photodiode increases, since the
reverse current in a photodiode is linearly proportional to the intensity of light falling on
the photodiode junction. Also, if we decrease the intensity of light in the input, the output
photodiode current will decrease.
Applications of Optoisolator
Optocouplers or of Optoisolators are used in,

1. Lamp Ballasts
2. Light Dimmers
3. Valve or Motor Controllers
4. Microcontrollers for interfacing with High Voltage Circuits.
Charged Coupled Device

It is a device used for the movement of electrical charge within it for the charge
manipulation, which is done by changing the signals through stages within the device one
at a time.

It can be treated as CCD sensor, which is used in the digital and video cameras for taking
images and recording videos through photoelectric effect. It is used for converting the
captured light into digital data, which is recorded by the camera.
It can be defined as a light-sensitive integrated circuit imprinted on a silicon surface to form
light-sensitive elements called pixels, and
each pixel is converted into an electrical
charge.
It is termed as a discrete-time device used
for continuous or analog signal sampling at
discrete times.
Types of CCD

There are different CCDs such as electron

multiplying CCDs, intensified CCD, frame-
transfer CCD and buried-channel CCD. A
CCD can be simply defined as Charge
Transfer Device. The inventors of the CCD,
Smith and Boyle also discovered a CCD with
greatly enriched performance than a general
Surface Channel CCD and other CCDs; it is known as Buried channel CCD and is majorly
used for practical applications.

Charge Coupled Device’s Working Principle

The silicon epitaxial layer acting as a photoactive region and a shift- register-transmission
region are used for capturing images using a CCD.

Through the lens image is projected onto the photo active region consisting of capacitor
array. Thus, the electric charge proportional to the light intensity of the image pixel color in
the color spectrum at that location is accumulated at each capacitor.
If the image gets detected by this capacitor array, then the electrical charge accumulated
in each capacitor is transferred to its neighbor capacitor by performing as a shift
register controlled by the control circuit.
 Working of Charge Coupled Device
In the above figure, from a, b and c, the transfer of charge packets is shown according to
the voltage applied to the gate terminals. At last, in the array electrical charge of last
capacitor is transferred into the charge amplifier in which the electric charge is converted
into a voltage. Thus, from the continuous operation of these tasks, entire charges of the
capacitor array in the semiconductor are converted into a sequence of voltages.

This sequence of voltages is sampled, digitized and then stored in memory in case of
digital devices such as digital cameras. In case of analog devices such as analog video
cameras, this sequence of voltages is fed to a low-pass filter to produce a continuous
analog signal, and then the signal is processed for transmission, recording and for other
purposes. To understand the charge coupled device principle and charge coupled device
working in depth, primarily the following parameters need to be understood.

Charge Transfer Process

The charge packets can be moved from cell to cell by using many schemes in Bucket
Brigade style. There are various techniques such as two phase, three phase, four phase,
and so on. Every cell consists of n-wires passing through it in n-phase scheme. The height
of the potential wells is controlled by using each wire connected to transfer clock. Charge
packets can be pushed and pulled along the line of the CCD by varying the height of the
potential well.
 Charge Transfer Process
Consider a three-phase charge transfer, in the above figure, the three clocks (C1, C2 and
C3) which are identical in shape but in different phases are shown. If gate B goes high
and gate A goes low, then the charge will move from space A to space B.

Architecture of CCD

The pixels can be transferred through the parallel vertical registers or vertical CCD (V-
CCD) and parallel horizontal registers or horizontal CCD (H-CCD). The charge or image
can be transferred using different scanning architectures such as full frame readout, frame
transfer and interline transfer. The charge coupled device principle can be easily
understandable with the following transfer schemes:

1. Full-Frame Readout

Full Frame Readout

It is the simplest scanning architecture which requires a shutter in a number of applications
to cut off the light input and to avoid smearing during the passage of charges through
parallel-vertical registers or vertical CCD and parallel-horizontal registers or horizontal
CCD and then transferred to output in serial.

2. Frame Transfer
 Frame Transfer
By using the bucket brigade process the image can be transferred from image array to
opaque frame storage array. As it does not use any serial register, it is a fast process
compared to other processes.

3. Interline transfer

Interline Transfer
Each pixel consists of a photodiode and opaque charge storage cell. As shown in the
figure, the image charge is first transferred from light sensitive PD to the opaque V-CCD.
This transfer, as the image is hidden, in one transfer cycle produces a minimum image
smear; hence, the fastest optical shuttering can be achieved.

MOS Capacitor of CCD

Every CCD cell has metal oxide semiconductor, even though both surface channel and
buried channel MOS capacitors are used in manufacturing the CCD. But frequently CCDs
are fabricated on a P-type substrate and manufactured by using buried channel MOS
capacitors; for this a thin N-type region is formed on its surface. A silicon dioxide layer is
grown as an insulator on the top of the N-region, and gates are formed by placing one or
more electrodes on this insulating layer.
CCD Pixel
Free electrons are formed from photoelectric effect when the photons strike the silicon
surface, and because of the vacuum, simultaneously, positive charge or the hole will be
generated. Instead of choosing difficult process of counting the thermal fluctuations or heat
formed by the recombining of hole and electron, it is preferred to collect and count
electrons to produce an image. This can be achieved by attracting electrons generated by
striking photons on silicon surface towards the positively biased distinct areas.

CCD Pixel
Full well capacity can be defined as the maximum number of electrons that can be held by
each CCD pixel and, typically, a CCD pixel can hold 10ke to 500ke, but it depends on the
size of the pixel (the bigger the size more electrons can be accumulated).

CCD Cooling

CCD Cooling
Generally CCDs work at low temperature, and thermal energy can be used for exciting
inappropriate electrons into image pixels which cannot be differentiated from the real-
image photoelectrons. It is called as a dark current process, which generates noise. The
total dark current generation can be reduced by two times for every 6 to 70 of cooling with
certain limits. The CCDs do not work below -1200 and the total noise generated from the
dark current can be removed by cooling it around -1000, by thermally isolating it in an
evacuated environment. CCDs are frequently cooled by using liquid nitrogen, thermo-
electric coolers and mechanical pumps.
Quantum Efficiency of CCD
The rate of generation of photoelectrons depends on the light incident on the surface of
the CCD. The conversion of the photons into electric charge is contributed by many factors
and is termed as Quantum Efficiency. It is in the better range of 25% to 95% for CCDs
compared to other light- detection technique.

Quantum Efficiency of Front Illuminated Device

The front- illuminated device generates a signal after the light passes through the gate
structure by attenuating the incoming radiation.

Quantum Efficiency of Back Illuminated Device

The back-illuminated or back-thinned CCD consists of excess silicon on the underside of
the device, which is imprinted in a way that unrestrictedly allows generation of
photoelectrons.