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Led and Laser

This document discusses optical sources used to convert electrical energy to optical energy, including LEDs and lasers. It provides details on the operation and advantages of LEDs compared to lasers. LEDs emit incoherent, non-directional light through spontaneous emission when the PN junction is forward biased. In contrast, lasers achieve coherent, highly directional beams through stimulated emission in a resonance cavity. While lasers have higher power and modulation bandwidth, LEDs have simpler construction, lower cost, and greater reliability. The document also covers band structure, carrier generation, and radiative recombination in LEDs.

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Vishnu das
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28 views

Led and Laser

This document discusses optical sources used to convert electrical energy to optical energy, including LEDs and lasers. It provides details on the operation and advantages of LEDs compared to lasers. LEDs emit incoherent, non-directional light through spontaneous emission when the PN junction is forward biased. In contrast, lasers achieve coherent, highly directional beams through stimulated emission in a resonance cavity. While lasers have higher power and modulation bandwidth, LEDs have simpler construction, lower cost, and greater reliability. The document also covers band structure, carrier generation, and radiative recombination in LEDs.

Uploaded by

Vishnu das
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LED AND LASER

Optical Sources
To convert electrical energy into optical energy

3 Types:-

 Wideband continuous spectra sources-incandescent lamps


 Monochromatic incoherent sources-LEDs
 Monochromatic coherent sources-Lasers
Considerations with Optical Sources
• Physical dimensions to suit the fiber

• Narrow radiation pattern (beam width)

• Linearity (output light power proportional to driving current)

• Ability to be directly modulated by varying driving current

• Fast response time(time delay between the application of input and the

onset of the corresponding emission)


• Adequate output power into the fiber
Narrow spectral width (or line width)

Stability and efficiency

Driving circuit issues

Reliability and cost


Semiconductor Light Sources
• When the PN junction is forward biased, electrons and holes recombine
either radiatively (emitting photons) or non-radiatively (emitting heat).
• The light output of an LED is the spontaneous emission generated by
radiative recombination.
• The semiconductor material is direct-bandgap to ensure high quantum
efficiency, often III-V semiconductors.
• An LED emits incoherent, non-directional, spontaneous photons that are
not amplified by stimulated emission
An LED does not have a threshold current. It starts emitting light as

soon as an injection current flows across the junction.


GaAs/AlGaAs material system are well tried for operation in the shorter
wavelength region
InGaAsP/InP material structure for use in the longer wavelength region
especially around 1.3 μm
• In a LASER, the photon is further processed in a resonance cavity to
achieve a coherent, highly directional optical beam with narrow linewidth.
Advantages
Simpler fabrication

Cost. The simpler construction of the LED leads to much reduced cost

Reliability

Generally less temperature dependence

Simpler drive circuitry

Linearity.
DisAdvantages
(a) generally lower optical power coupled into a fiber (microwatts);

(b) usually lower modulation bandwidth;

(c) harmonic distortion


Operation of LED
Perfect semiconductor crystal containing no impurities defects is said to be

intrinsic
VB & CB Separated by Eg = bandgap or forbidden energy gap

At a temperature above absolute zero where thermal excitation raises some

electrons from the valence band into the conduction band, leaving empty
hole states in the valence band.
These thermally excited electrons in the conduction band and the holes left

in the valence band allow conduction through the material, and are called
carriers.
Energy band structure of an intrinsic Semiconductor at a
temperature above absolute zero
FERMI LEVEL
Fermi level is at the center of the bandgap, indicating that there is a small

probability of electrons occupying energy levels at the bottom of the


conduction band and a corresponding number of holes occupying energy
levels at the top of the valence band
It is only a mathematical parameter but it gives an indication of the

distribution of carriers within the material


To create an extrinsic semiconductor the material is doped with impurity

atoms which create either more free electrons (donor impurity) or holes
(acceptor impurity).
When donor impurities are added, thermally excited electrons from the

donor levels are raised into the conduction band to create an excess of
negative charge carriers and the semiconductor is said to be n-type, with the
majority carriers being electrons
When acceptor impurities are added, thermally excited electrons are raised from

the valence band to the acceptor impurity levels leaving an excess of positive
charge carriers in the valence band and creating a p-type semiconductor where
the majority carriers are holes
The p–n junction diode is formed by creating adjoining p- and n-type
semiconductor layers in a single crystal
A thin depletion region or layer is formed at the junction through carrier

recombination which effectively leaves it free of mobile charge carriers (both


electrons and holes)
LED OPERATION
• When an external positive voltage is applied to the p-type region with respect to the
n-type, both the depletion region width and the resulting potential barrier are reduced
and the diode is said to be forward biased
• Electrons from the n-type region and holes from the p-type region can flow more
readily across the junction into the opposite type region
• The increased concentration of minority carriers in the opposite type region in the
forward- biased p–n diode leads to the recombination of carriers across the bandgap
• The energy released by this electron–hole recombination is approximately equal to
the bandgap energy Eg
Electro Luminescence
• Excess carrier population is therefore decreased by recombination which may be radiative or non radiative

• In non radiative recombination the energy released is in the form of heat

• In radiative recombination , energy is released with the creation of a photon where the energy is
approximately equal to the bandgap energy Eg, given by
• Eg = hf = hc/ λ;

λ = optical wavelength; c = velocity of light in a vacuum; h= plancks constant

• Substituting values for h & c we get : λ(µm) = 1.24/Eg(eV)


• This spontaneous emission of light from within the diode structure is known as electroluminescence
Direct and Indirect Bandgap Semiconductors
In order to encourage electroluminescence it is necessary to select an appropriate

semiconductor material
Direct band gap semiconductors,

 in which electrons and holes on either side of the forbidden energy gap have the

same value of crystal momentum and thus direct recombination is possible


 the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band occur at the

same value of momentum


 an electron can directly emit a photon(eg:-InAs,GaAs)
InDirect bandgap semiconductors

 maximum and minimum energies occur at different values of crystal momentum

  a photon cannot be emitted because the electron must pass through an intermediate

state
 For electron–hole recombination to take place it is essential that the electron loses

momentum such that it has a value of momentum corresponding to the maximum


energy of the valence band
 eg:-Si,Ge,GaP

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