OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES

SUBMITTED BY:
JOHN PAUL ANDREW S. ASUNCION
BRADLEY GAMAYON

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. CRISTOPHER CAPILI.
 OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
Optoelectronic devices either produce light or use light in their operation. The first of these, the light-emitting
diode (LED), was developed to replace the fragile, short-life incandescent light bulbs used to indicate on/off
conditions on panels. A LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE is a diode which, when forward biased, produces visible
light. The light may be red, green, or amber, depending upon the material used to make the diode.

LEDs are used widely as "power on" indicators of current and as displays for pocket calculators,
digital voltmeters, frequency counters, etc. For use in calculators and similar devices, LEDs are typically placed
together in seven-segment displays. This display uses seven LED segments, which can be lit in
different combinations to form any number from "0" through "9." The schematic shows a common-anode display.
All anodes in a display are internally connected. When a negative voltage is applied to the proper cathodes, a
number is formed. For example, if negative voltage is applied to all cathodes except that of LED "E," the number
"9" is produced. If the negative voltage is changed and applied to all cathodes except LED "B," the number "9"
changes to "6".

LINK: http://www.tpub.com/neets/book7/26f.htm
PHOTODIODE
Photodiodes are one of the most popular sensor types for many light-based measurements. Applications such as
absorption and emission spectroscopy, color measurement, turbidity, gas detection, etc., all rely on photodiodes
for precision light measurement. Photodiodes generate a current proportional to the light that strikes their active
area. Most measurement applications involve using a transimpedance amplifier to convert the photodiode current
into an output voltage. For example the figure below shows a simplified schematic of what the circuit could look
like.

This circuit operates the photodiode in photovoltaic mode, where the op amp keeps the voltage across the
photodiode at 0 V. This is the most common configuration for precision applications. The photodiode's voltage
vs. current curve is very similar to that of a 'regular’ diode, with the exception that the entire curve will shift up
or down as the light level changes. Current flows from cathode to anode when light strikes the photodiode’s active
area. Ideally, all of the photodiode current flows through the feedback resistor of the figure above, generating an
output voltage equal to the photodiode current multiplied by the feedback resistor.

LINK: http://www.eenewsanalog.com/content/optimizing-precision-photodiode-sensor-circuit-design

SOLAR CELLS

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly
into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. It is a form of
photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary
when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices can be combined to form modules, otherwise known as solar
panels. In basic terms a single junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of
approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts. [1]
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF SOLAR CELL

[2]

APPLICATION OF SOLAR CELL

[3]

Here we can see that the solar cells in the circuit above is used as means of voltage input. As a function of a solar
cell is to convert light being absorbed into usable electricity. From the circuit above the solar cell is used to charge
a 2.4 rechargeable battery .

LINKS: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_solar_cells

[3] http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Solar-Circuits/
OPTICAL FIBER

An optical fiber or optical fibre is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a
diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to transmit light
between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit
transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than wire cables. Fibers are used instead
of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss; in addition, fibers are immune to electromagnetic
interference, a problem from which metal wires suffer excessively. Fibers are also used for illumination and
imaging, and are often wrapped in bundles so that they may be used to carry light into, or images out of confined
spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope. Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications,
some of them being fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers. [1]

2 Types of Optical Fibers

Single-Mode Fibers: Single mode fibers are used to transmit one signal per fiber; these fibers are used in
telephone and television sets. Single mode fibers have small cores.

Multi-Mode Fibers: Multimode fibers are used to transmit many signals per fiber; these signals are used in
computer and local area networks that have larger cores.

[2]

Unlike copper wire based transmission where the transmission entirely depends on electrical signals passing
through the cable, the fiber optics transmission involves transmission of signals in the form of light from one
point to the other. Furthermore, a fiber optic communication network consists of transmitting and receiving
circuitry, a light source and detector devices like the ones shown in the figure.When the input data, in the form of
electrical signals, is given to the transmitter circuitry, it converts them into light signal with the help of a light
source. This source is of LED whose amplitude, frequency and phases must remain stable and free from
fluctuation in order to have efficient transmission. The light beam from the source is carried by a fiber optic cable
to the destination circuitry wherein the information is transmitted back to the electrical signal by a receiver circuit.
LINKS: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber

[2] https://www.elprocus.com/basic-elements-of-fiber-optic-communication-system-and-its-working/

LASER DIODES

Unlike LED light, a laser's light output is more concentrated, meaning it has a smaller and more narrow viewing
angle. This means it must be directed at its source more directly in order to be picked up. Laser light is also
monochromatic, meaning laser light isn't composed of several lights combined together, but one light of the same
wavelength and energy. Normally with LEDs, the different light outputs are based upon different colors
combined. One such example is green light. To output green light, blue and yellow lights are combined to give
green. Lasers, for the most part, do not follow this. Laser lights have a single spectral color and is almost the
purest monochromatic light available. Laser diodes are used in CD players, CD-ROM drives, and other optical
storage drives. They are used in laser printers, laser fax machines, laser pointers, measurement equipment, bar-
code and UPC scanners, and in high-performance imagers, as well as various other applications. These are just
the most popular and used aspects of them.

The circuit is actually pretty simple in nature.The first capacitor, the 0.1µF ceramic capacitor, serves to filter out
high-frequency noise from the DC power supply. The second capacitor, the 1µF electrolytic, serves as a power
load balancer to smooth out fluctuating signals. The 2 resistors R1 and R2 serve to determine the output voltage
of the LM317 regulator. Usually R1 is a fixed 240Ω resistor, as specified by the manufacturer. R2, on the other
hand, is decided by the design engineer, based on the amount of voltage he wants the regulator to output. In this
case, with the laser diode we have selected, it has an operating voltage of about 2.7V. Therefore, we want the
LM317 to output around 2.7V or a little higher. Therefore, we must choose the R2 resistor value so that it outputs
this desired voltage.

LINK: http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/Laser-diode-circuit.php