2013 - 2014

LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTORS

Pooja Pai, Samantha Dsouza, Subiksha Reddy, Tanzeela Shuja and Wynola Williams
XII D

INDEX
S.NO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. TOPIC INTRODUCTION functions applications Advantages & Uses Experiment bibliography PAGE NO. 1 2 4 6 7 10

Our sincere and heartfelt thanks to our principal, Mr. Srinivas K. Naidu, our vice principal, Mr. Deep Wilson, head of the department of Physics, Mr. Vetri Selvan, our subject teacher, Mrs. Manju and our laboratory teacher, Mrs. Prathiba without whose help and guidance our project would never have materialized. I also extend my sincere gratitude to my parents and my project partners for their immense love and support.

We Pooja Pai, Samantha Dsouza, Subiksha Reddy, Tanzeela Shuja and Wynola Williams of class XII D hereby declare that this project is purely an outcome of our hard work and research. The content is not plagiarized. Information of the experiment is a firsthand one. Referral is mentioned and this project is genuine.

The general purpose photoconductive cell is also known as LDR light dependent resistor. It is a type of semiconductor and its conductivity changes with proportional change in the intensity of light. The complete principle of an LDR is as follows. In a semiconductor an energy gap exists between conduction electrons and valence electrons. As an LDR is also known as semiconductor photo-conductive transducer, when light is incident on it, a photon is absorbed and thereby it excites an electron from valence band into conduction band. Due to such new electrons coming up in conduction band area, the electrical resistance of the device decreases. Thus the LDR or photoconductive transducer has the resistance which is the inverse function of radiation intensity. Here we must note that any radiation with wavelength greater than the value obtained in above equation CANNOT PRODUCE any change in the resistance of this device.

The photoresistor or light dependent resistor is attractive in many electronic circuit designs because of its low cost, simple structure and rugged features. While it may not have some of the features of the photo-diode and phototransistor, it is ideal for many applications. The properties of photo resistors can vary quite widely dependent upon the type of material used. Some have very long time constants, for example. Light dependent resistors are a crucial part in any electric circuit which is to be turned off and on automatically in accordant to the level of ambient light for instance in night security lighting or solar powered garden lights.

Light dependent resistors are usually used in circuits where it is necessary to detect the presence or the level of light. They are commonly used in photographic light meters and they are sensitive to light. This device is made from semiconductor materials like cadmium sulphide.

Light dependent resistors are used to re-charge a light during different changes in the light or they are made to turn a light on during certain changes in lights. One of the most common uses for light dependent resistors is in traffic lights.

Analog Applications :
Camera Exposure Control Auto Slide Focus - dual cell Photocopy Machines - density of toner Colorimetric Test Equipment Densitometer Electronic Scales - dual cell Automatic Gain Control modulated light source Automated Rear View Mirror

Digital Applications
Automatic Headlight Dimmer Night Light Control Oil Burner Flame Out Street Light Control Absence / Presence (beam breaker) Position Sensor

Photo resistors are most often used as light sensors. They are often utilized when it is required to detect the presence and absence of light or measure the light intensity. Examples are night lights and photography light meters. An interesting hobbyist application for light dependent resistors is the line following robot, which uses a light source and two or more LDRs to determine the needed change of course. Sometimes, they are used outside sensing applications, for example in audio compressors, because their reaction to light is not instantaneous, and so the function of LDR is to introduce a delayed response.

Light sensor circuit example

1)Light sensor :

If a basic light sensor is needed, an LDR circuit such as the one in the figure can be used. The LED lights up when the intensity of the light reaching the LDR resistor is sufficient. The 10K variable resistor is used to set the threshold at which the LED will turn on. If the LDR light is below the threshold intensity, the LED will remain in the off state. In real-world applications, the LED would be replaced with a relay or the output could be wired to a microcontroller or some other device. If a darkness sensor was needed, where the LED would light in the absence of light, the LDR and the two 10K resistors should be swapped.

2)Audio compressors :

Audio compressors are devices which reduce the gain of the audio amplifier when the amplitude of the signal is above a set value. This is done to amplify soft sounds while preventing the loud sounds from clipping. Some compressors use an LDR and a small lamp (LED or electroluminescent panel) connected to the signal source to create changes in signal gain. This technique is believed by some to add smoother characteristics to the signal because the response times of the light and the resistor soften the attack and release. The delay in the response time in these applications is on the order of 0.1s.

The LDR is made of a piece of exposed semiconductor material such as CdS photoconductive cells with spectral responses similar to that of the human eye. That changes its electrical resistance from several thousand ohms in the dark to only a few hundred ohms when light falls on it by creating a holeelectron pairs in the material. The net effect is an improvement in its conductivity with a decrease in resistance for an increase in illumination. Also, photoresistive cells have a long response time requiring many seconds to respond to a change in the light intensity. These CdS cells are inexpensive, and hence used extensively in camera light meters, street lights, clock radios, alarm devices solar street lamps, etc. They are also used in some dynamic compressors together with a small light emitting diode to control gain reduction. Ge:Cu LDRs are among the best far-infrared detectors available, and are used for far-infrared astronomy and infrared spectroscopy Connecting a LDR in series with a standard resistor across a single DC supply voltage has one major advantage, a different voltage will appear at their junction for different levels of light.

AIM : To study the variation of current through a LDR with the intensity of the incident
radiation.

APPARATUS : 12 V bulb, LDR, Milliammeter, Battery (6 v or 9 v ), a meter scale, bulb

holder, key.

DIAGRAM :

PROCEDURE :
The LDR was connected in series as shown in the circuit diagram. Initially the LDR was covered using the hand. The reading in the milliammeter was measured to be very low due to high resistance in the LDR. Then the reading in the milliammeter was noted with the room light alone.

Later the given bulb was kept at 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm, 6 cm, 7 cm, 8 cm, 9 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm and 25 cm from the LDR right in front of it and the corresponding readings were noted. A graph was plotted with l along Y Axis and distance along the X axis. It was observed that as the intensity of illumination of LDR increases, its resistance decreases and therefore current through the circuit increases. The graph obeyed inverse square law.

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS :
Reading shown by the ammeter when LDR was covered = 0 mA Reading shown by the ammeter when the room was illuminated = 10mA

OBSERVATION :
S.NO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. DISTANCE OF LDR FROM THE CURRENT THROUGH LDR BULB D CM 1 mA 25 10 20 10 15 10 10 10 9 10 8 10 7 10 6 20 5 30 4 50 3 80 2 120

ROUGH DIAGRAM :

I (Ma)

d (cm)

RESULT :
1. The variation of current through LDR with the intensity of incident radiation was studied. 2. From the graph it was observed that as intensity of illumination of LDR increases, its resistance decreases and therefore current through the circuit increases. The graph obeyed inverse square law.

PRECAUTIONS :
1. If ordinary light is used the intensity of light decreases rapidly with distance. 2. Use uA if mA is not suitable.

SOURCES OF ERROR :
1. There may not be variation of current in the circuit if LDR resistance is very high. 2. Avoid loose connection. 3. Avoid laser source because its intensity does not vary too much over a large distance.

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