Module – 7

Laser diode

Photodetector
Dr. Pankaj Sheoran
SAS
 Introduction to semiconductors

 Semiconductors can be compounds such as gallium

arsenide or pure elements, such as germanium or silicon.
 Silicon is used in electronic circuit fabrication and
gallium arsenide is used in solar cells, laser diodes, etc.
 Energy band gap in materials
Metals: have no energy gap (i.e. valence band
and conduction band overlap)
 Types of Semiconductors
Semiconductors can be classified as:

● Intrinsic Semiconductor

● Extrinsic Semiconductor
 Intrinsic Semiconductor
An intrinsic type of semiconductor material is made to be very pure
chemically. It is made up of only a single type of element.
Germanium (Ge) and Silicon (Si) are the most common type of intrinsic
semiconductor elements. They have four valence electrons (tetravalent).
They are bound to the atom by covalent bond at absolute zero temperature.
When the temperature rises, due to collisions, few electrons are unbounded
and become free to move through the lattice, thus creating an absence in its
original position (hole). These free electrons and holes contribute to the
conduction of electricity in the semiconductor. The negative and positive
charge carriers are equal in number.
The thermal energy is capable of ionizing a few atoms in the lattice, and
hence their conductivity is less.
 The Lattice of Pure Silicon Semiconductor at
Different Temperatures
 At absolute zero Kelvin temperature: At this temperature, the covalent bonds are very strong
and there are no free electrons and the semiconductor behaves as a perfect insulator.
 Above absolute temperature: With the increase in temperature few valence electrons jump into
the conduction band and hence it behaves like a poor conductor.
 Extrinsic Semiconductor
The conductivity of semiconductors can be greatly improved by introducing a small number of
suitable replacement atoms called IMPURITIES. The process of adding impurity atoms to the pure
semiconductor is called DOPING. Usually, only 1 atom in 107 is replaced by a dopant atom in the
doped semiconductor. An extrinsic semiconductor can be further classified into:
N-type Semiconductor
P-type Semiconductor
Classification of Semiconductor by Bandgap

Semiconductor
 Direct and Indirect band gap
●
Based on the their band structure, materials are characterised with a direct band gap or indirect
band gap.
●
In the free-electron model, “k” is the momentum of a free electron and assumes unique values
within the Brillouin zone that outlines the periodicity of the crystal lattice.
●
If the momentum of the lowest energy state in the conduction band and the highest energy state
of the valence band of a material have the same value, then the material has a direct bandgap.
●
If they are not the same, then the material has an indirect band gap and the electronic transition
must undergo momentum transfer to satisfy conservation. Such indirect "forbidden" transitions still
occur, however at very low probabilities and weaker energy.
●
For materials with a direct band gap, valence electrons can be directly excited into the
conduction band by a photon whose energy is larger than the bandgap.
●
In contrast, for materials with an indirect band gap, a photon and phonon must both be involved
in a transition from the valence band top to the conduction band bottom, involving a momentum
change.
●
Hence, direct bandgap materials tend to have stronger light emission and absorption
properties and tend to be better suited for photovoltaics (PVs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and
laser diodes; however, indirect bandgap materials are frequently used in PVs and LEDs when the
materials have other favorable properties.
E-K Diagram
 Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

●
The LED structure consists of three semiconductor layers
deposited over the substrate. The top layer is a P-type region,
the bottom layer is the n-type region, and the central layer is
called the active region of the LED.
●
The P-layer is deposited above the N-layer because the
electron-hole pair recombination takes place towards the p
region
●
The P-type layer is covered with the thin metallic layer
which provides the anode connections, and the N-type region
is coated with the thin gold layer, which provides the
cathode connection. The gold film also acts as a reflective
layer in the LED structure.
 Semiconductor materials used for the construction of
LEDs

2eV - 3eV
Semiconductor Bandgap (eV)
? Silicon 1.1
Germanium 0.7
Gallium 1.4
2014 Arsenide
Nobel Prize
in Physics Gallium 2.3
phosphide
Gallium nitride 3.4
The semiconductor materials that are
commonly used for the construction of
LEDs are Gallium Phosphide, Gallium
Arsenide, or Gallium Arsenide
Phosphide.
Working of LED
Typical structure of LED
Material used in the LEDs
Applications of LEDs
 developed by Robert Semiconductor LASER Diodes
N. Hall in early
1960s

A Laser Diode is a semiconductor device similar to a LED that emits monochromatic coherent
(same frequency and phase) light. It uses p-n junction and the coherent light is produced by the
“Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”.
 LASER Diode: Construction
 The construction of laser diodes is similar to LED.
 It is made by an n-type and a p-type semiconductor of
gallium arsenide (GaAs) doped with aluminium or silicon.
 Generally, both p-type and n-type regions are heavily doped to
increase the amount of electron-hole recombination
 The lasing action takes place in the active region (depletion
layer) of the laser diode.
 The end faces of the junction diode are well-polished and
reflective surface Highly reflective surface parallel to each
other. They act as optical resonators through which the emitted
light comes out.
 One side is fully reflective, and the other side is partially
reflective for the laser to out from the device.
 Metal contacts on both sides are made to supply the voltage.
 LASER Diode: Working Principle
• When the applied voltage exceeds the threshold voltage, the
current starts flowing in the diode LASER.
• The electron-hole recombination results in a photon
generation: this is spontaneous emission.
• This light travels between two reflecting surfaces in the active
region hundreds of times.
• These radiations interact with other electron-hole pairs in active
regions, and cause stimulated emission.
• Like this, the subsequent chain of stimulated emission results in
lasing action.
Light traveling in other directions will not contribute to LASER
output.
LASER Working Principle by Band diagram
 Characteristics of LASER Diodes
Type: It is a solid state semiconductor laser.

Active medium: A PN junction diode made from single crystal of gallium

arsenide is used as an active medium.

Pumping method: The direct conversion method is used for pumping action.

Power output: The power output from this laser is 1mW.

Nature of output: The nature of output is continuous wave or pulsed output.

Wavelength of Output: gallium arsenide laser gives infrared radiation in

the wavelength 830 to 850 nm .
 I-P characteristics of LASER Diodes

The important characteristic of a laser diode is its approach or the threshold. The laser diode
doesn’t operate until a minimum power is applied. If the light is below its energy, then the
emission is weaker than the threshold compared to the full energy.
LASER Diodes and its Applications
Difference between LED and LASER diode

LASER is more monochromatic than LED, i.e. it produces a

narrower band of wavelengths.
 Photodetector
These are the semiconductor devices are used to detect light.
or
Semiconductor devices are implemented to detect the photon.
 Photodetector: Construction
A photodiode is a PN-junction diode that consumes light energy to produce an
electric current. Sometimes it is also called a photo-detector, a light detector, and a
photo-sensor. These diodes are particularly designed to work in reverse bias
conditions. This diode is very sensitive to light, so when light falls on the diode it
easily changes light into an electric current
Typical Design of a PN photodiode
Photo Detector: Working Principle
I-V Characteristics of Photodiode
Drawbacks of
PN Photodiode
 PIN Photodetector: Construction & working Principle
A p–i–n photodiode, also called PIN photodiode, is
a photodiode with an intrinsic (i) (i.e., undoped) region
in between the n- and p-doped regions. Most of
the photons are absorbed in the intrinsic region, and
carriers generated therein can efficiently contribute to
the photocurrent.
PIN Photodetector: Construction & working Principle
Typical Design of a PIN photodiode
PN vs PIN Photodiode