Write the condition for laser action

1. Population inversion
2. Stimulated emission

Write the difference between spontaneous and stimulated emissions

1. D-Excitation of atom without external energy - Spontaneous
2. D-excitation of atom by means of external triggering resulting in laser
output- Stimulated

four properties of laser

1. Highly monochromatic
2. Less divergence
3. High intense
High coherence

symbol of LED and PIN diodes

short note on principle of laser action

The principle of laser action involves the following steps:

1. Atoms absorb energy from an external source, such as light or
electricity.
2. Electrons in the atoms move to higher energy levels .
3. When these electrons return to their normal orbit (ground state), they
emit photons , which are particles of light.
4. These emitted photons are coherent and form the laser beam .

working principle of laser diodes

Working of Laser Diode
Basically, a laser emits a beam of electromagnetic nature which is coherent in
nature. The working of the laser diode is based on:
• Absorption
• Spontaneous emission
• Stimulated emission
Absorption
The laser diode has a p -n junction with holes and electrons in it. In absorption,
electrons jump to a higher energy level by absorbing the energy when a certain
voltage is applied. This means that the electron jumps from the valence band
to the conduction band as seen in the figure below. This transition is called
absorption.
Spontaneous emission
After the lifetime of the excited electrons in the upper state ends, they
recombine in the hole. The electrons move to the lower energy level to achieve
stability. While coming down to the lower energy level, electrons will release
the energy 'hv' as shown in the figure below. This energy is the difference
between the two levels which is used to determine the frequency of emission
photons. The energy released is in the form of light and thus photons will be
emitted. This process is known as spontaneous emis sion.
Stimulated Emission
In stimulated emission, electrons are hit by the photons with a high energy and
photons are produced by external light. The electron absorbs the energy and
recombines with the hole when photon reaches the electron, this lead to the
emission of more number of photons. Therefore, an incident photon causes the
release of another photon. Therefore it is called stimulated emission.

semiconductor materials are classified based on doping

There are two main types of semiconductor doping: P-type and N-type.
Together, they give rise to an extrinsic semiconductor.
1. P-type
In P-type doping, impurities create an excess of positively charged holes in the
crystal lattice, changing its conductivity. Elements from Group III of the
periodic table, like boron, aluminum, or gallium, are used. These elements have
one less valence ele ctron than the semiconductor, creating positively charged
vacancies when they replace semiconductor atoms. These holes attract free
electrons, contributing to the material’s conductivity.
2. N-type
N-type doping increases the number of mobile negative charge carriers. Group
V elements like phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony are common N -type
dopants. These elements have five valence electrons, one more than the four in
an undoped semiconductor, result ing in an extra electron. Introducing these
dopants into the semiconductor replaces some host atoms with dopant atoms.
This creates excess electrons, which are free to move and enhance
conductivity, defining N -type semiconductor material.

effect of temperature on Avalanche photo -diode

An avalanche diode is a type of semiconductor diode which is designed to
experience avalanche breakdown at a specified reverse bias voltage. The pn
junction of an avalanche diode is designed to prevent current concentration and
resulting hot spots so that the diode is undamaged by the avalanche breakdown.
The avalanche breakdown that occurs is due to minority carriers accelerated
enough to create ionization in the crystal lattice, producing more carriers which
in turn create more ionization. Because the avalanche breakdown is uniform
across the whole juncti on, the breakdown voltage is nearly constant with
changing current when compared to a non -avalanche diode.
 construction and working of Light emitting dio de

Light Emitting Diode (LED) works only in forward bias condition. When Light Emitting Diode
(LED) is forward biased, the free electrons from n -side and the holes from p -side are pushed
towards the junction.
When free electrons reach the junction or depletion region, some of the free electrons recombine
with the holes in the positive ions. We know that positive ions have less number of electrons than
protons. Therefore, they are ready to accept electrons. Thus , free electrons recombine with holes
in the depletion region. In the similar way, holes from p -side recombine with electrons in the
depletion region.

Because of the recombination of free electrons and holes in the depletion region, the width of
depletion region decreases. As a result, more charge carriers will cross the junction. Some of the
charge carriers from p -side and n -side will cross the p -n junction before they recombine in the
depletion region. For example, some free electrons from n -type semiconductor cross the p -n
junction and recombines with holes in p -type semiconductor. In the similar way, holes from p -type
semiconductor cross the p -n junction and recombines with free electrons in the n -type
semiconductor. Thus , recombination takes place in depletion region as well as in p -type and n-
type semiconductor. The free electrons in the conduction band releases energy in the form of light
before they recombine with holes in the valence band. In silicon and germanium diodes, most of
the energy is released in the form of heat and emitted light is too small.
In light emitting diodes, light is produced due to recombination process. Recombination of charge
carriers takes place only under forward bias condition. Hence, LEDs operate only in forward bias
condition. When light emitting diode is reverse biased, the free electrons (majority carriers) from
n-side and holes (majority carriers) from p -side moves away from the junction. As a result, the
width of depletion region increases and no recombination of charge carr iers occur. Thus, no light
is produced. If the reverse bias voltage applied to the LED is highly increased, the device may
also be damaged.
The symbol of LED is similar to the normal p -n junction diode except that it contains arrows
pointing away from the diode indicating that light is being emitted by the diode.

LED construction
One of the methods used to construct LED is to deposit three semiconductor layers on the substrate.
The three semiconductor layers deposited on the substrate are n -type semiconductor, p -type
semiconductor and active region. Active region is present in betw een the n -type and p-type
semiconductor layers.

construction and working of Injection laser diodes

The electroluminescent properties of the forward -biased p–n junction diode
have been considered in the preceding sections. Stimulated emission by the
recombination of the injected carriers is encouraged in the semiconductor
injection laser (also called the injection laser diode (ILD) or simply the
injection laser) by the provision of an optical cavity in the crystal structure in
order to provide the feedback of photons.

explain in detail the construction and working of photo diode

A photodiode is one type of light detector, used to convert the light into current
or voltage based on the mode of operation of the device.

The working principle of a photodiode is, when a photon of ample energy

strikes the diode, it makes a couple of an electron -hole. This mechanism is also
called the inner photoelectric effect. If the absorption arises in the depletion
region junction, then the carriers are removed from the junction by the inbuilt
electric field of the depletion region.
Photodiode Working Principle
Therefore, holes in the region move toward the anode, and electrons move
toward the cathode, and a photocurrent will be generated. The entire current
through the diode is the sum of the absence of light and the photocurrent. So
the absent current must be r educed to maximize the sensitivity of the device.
Modes of Operation
The operating modes of the photodiode include three modes, namely
Photovoltaic mode, Photoconductive mode, an avalanche diode mode
Photovoltaic Mode: This mode is also known as zero -bias mode, in which a
voltage is produced by the lightened photodiode.
Photoconductive Mode: The photodiode used in this photoconductive mode is
more usually reverse biased. The reverse voltage application will increase the
depletion layer’s width, which in turn decreases the response time & the
junction capacitance. This mode is too fast
Avalanche Diode Mode: Avalanche diodes operate in a high reverse bias
condition, which permits the multiplication of an avalanche Working Principle
Avalanche breakdown occurs mainly once the photodiode is subjected to
maximum reverse voltage. This voltage enhances the electric field beyond the
depletion layer. When incident light penetrates the p+ region then it gets
absorbed within the extremely resistive p region then electron -hole pairs are
generated. Charge carriers drift including their saturation velocity to the pn+
region wherever a high electric field exists. When the velocity is highest, then
charge carriers will collide through other atoms & produce new electron -hole
pairs. A huge charge carrier’s pair will result in high photocurrent. breakdown
to each photo -produced electron -hole pair.

Avalanche photodiode:

The diode which uses the avalanche method to provide extra performance as
compared to other diodes is known as avalanche photodiode.

Working Principle
APDs operate on the principle of the “avalanche effect,” which involves the
generation of a large number of electron -hole pairs through the process of
impact ionization. In an APD, a photon of light entering the device creates an
electron-hole pair. When a reverse bias voltage is applied to the device, the
generated electron and hole are accelerated by the electric field, causing them
to gain enough energy to create additional electron -hole pairs through impact
ionization. This multiplication process is kno wn as the avalanche effect and
results in a significant increase in the output signal, improving the
photodiode’s overall sensitivity.
Avalanche Photodiode Construction
The construction of both the PIN photodiode and Avalanche photodiode is
similar. This diode includes two heavily doped & two lightly doped regions.
Here, heavily doped regions are P+ & N+ whereas lightly doped regions are I
& P.

Avalanche
Photodiode Construction
In the intrinsic region, the depletion layer width is fairly thinner in this diode
as compared to the PIN photodiode. Here, the p+ region works like the anode
whereas the n+ region acts as the cathode.