15IT23C-UNIT-IV-OPTICAL MATERIALS – 2 MARKS - ANSWERS

1. Define Optical Materials.

The materials which are sensitive to light are known as Optical materials. The optical characteristics of
materials are determined by the type of interaction between the electromagnetic radiation and the electrons of
the atoms in the material.

2. Define fluorescence.

Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic
radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore
lower energy, than the absorbed radiation.

3. What is the optical absorption in semiconductor?

Optical absorption can lead to

 Excitation of crystal lattice vibrations

 Formation of Excitons
 Excitation of free electrons and holes within their allowed bands
 Excitation of free electrons and holes from one band to another of same type
 Photoconductivity

4. Define an Exciton.

The combination of an electron in an excited state (below conduction band) and the associated hole in
valence band (electron-hole pair) is known as Exciton.

5. Mention the different types of Excitons.

(i) Frenkel Excitons – Strongly bound Excitons. (ii) Mott and Wannier Exciton – Weakly bound Excitons.

6. Give the importance of an Exciton.

 The Excitons play an important role in the luminescence of solids.

 Excitons are unstable and they will separate at high temperature.
 The Excitons can move through the semiconductor and transport energy.
 The Excitons does not transport any charge as it is electrically neutral.

7. Define traps.

Traps are crystal imperfections whose energy levels are situated in the band gap. Every trap catches the
free electron and holds it for some time and then releases it. The traps increase the life time of charge carriers.

8. Give the importance of traps.

These increase the life time of charge carriers. So to get higher current amplification in a transistor, the
emitted electron should be reached to collector without recombination. Due to the presence of traps, the
electrons reach the collector without recombination and hence the current amplification factor increases. Further
there is no loss of charges by the traps.
9. Compare traps and excitons.
Traps are crystal imperfections whose energy levels are situated in the band gap. Every trap catches the
free electron and holds it for some time and then releases it. The traps increase the life time of charge carriers.

The combination of an electron in an excited state (below conduction band) and the associated hole in
valence band (electron-hole pair) is known as Exciton.

10. Define luminescence.

Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; it is thus a form
of cold-body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions or stress on
a crystal.

11. Define phosphorescence.

It is a kind of luminescence that is caused by the absorption of radiations (such as light or electrons) and
continues for a noticeable time after these radiations have stopped. Phosphorescence is also called delayed
fluorescence.

12. Write down different types of Colour Centres.

There are two important colour centres such as F-Centre which is an electronbound –ve ion vacancy and
V-Centre which is a hole bound +ve ion vacancy.

13. What are LCD and LED?

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), liquid crystals are the intermediate phases of the crystal having the
property of change of polarization during the application of electric field.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a P-N junction diode which emits light when it is forward biased.

14. How does LCD works?

Crystal Display (LCD), liquid crystals are the intermediate phases of the crystal having the property of
change of polarization during the application of electric field.

15. How does a LED works?

Light Emitting Diode (LED) emits light by injection luminescence. Due to minority carrier injection, the
excess minority carriers diffuse away from the junction recombining with majority carriers as they do so. In
LED, every injected charge carrier takes part in a radiative recombination and hence gives to an emitted
photon.

16. Compare LCD and LED.

Sl.No. LCD LED
1 Low power consumption High power consumption
2 Suitable for large area display Not suitable for large area display
3 Lesser cost More cost
4 Angle of viewing is limited Angle of viewing is not limited
5 Moderate dynamics response Fast dynamic response
6 Operating temperature is limited Operating temperature is more compare to
LCD
7 Intensity of light cannot be controlled Intensity of light can be controlled
17. What are the major advantages of LED over LCD?

1. Power consumption 4. Small size and light weighted

2. Operational temperature range is high 5. Long life
3. Fast dynamic response 6. Angle of view is not restricted.

18. Write down the drawbacks of dynamic scattering display.

1. Shorter life time 2. High power consumption

19. What is twisted nematic display?

A twisted nematic (TN) display is a common type of liquid-crystal display (LCD ) that consists of a
substance called a nematic liquid crystal that is confined between two plates of polarized glass. When we apply
electric field, the liquid crystal molecules response.

20. What is thermography?

Thermography is a non-destructive technique of resenting true thermal images of the surfaces of objects
under study. Thermography is a test that uses an infrared camera to detect heat patterns and blood flow in body
tissues also.

21. Give any four applications of thermography.

 Thermography is an effective tool for diagnostic evaluation of electronic circuit modules

 Aerospace components can be non destructively tested with high precision and accuracy
 Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) is the type of thermography that's used to diagnose
breast cancer. It is a non-contact and non-invasive method.
 Moisture content in concrete, setting of concrete and thermal heat loss from the walls and
ceilings can be evaluated in houses, auditoriums and industrial buildings.

22. Write the requirements to make a good thermogram.

Good thermographic equipment must have

1. Small scanning time 2. High resolution 3. A small size and light weight optical head
4. High sensitive wide band infrared detector 5. Interfaces for processing
6. High temperature resolution

23. What is solar cell?

A solar cell is basically a P-N junction diode which converts solar energy into electrical energy. It is
also called a solar energy converter.

24. What is the principle behind solar cell?

The basic principle is Photo-Voltaic effect. When light is incident on a photo diode, an internal voltage
is generated, it causes the current flow through internal circuit even though no external source is applied. This
generated emf is proportional to the frequency and intensity of the incident light. This phenomenon is called
photo-voltaic effect.
25. What are the factors need to design a solar cell?

In designing single junction solar cells, the principles for maximizing cell efficiency are:

 increasing the amount of light collected by the cell that is turned into carriers
 increasing the collection of light-generated carriers by the p-n junction
 minimizing the forward bias dark current
 extracting the current from the cell without resistive losses

26. What is efficiency of a solar cell?

Efficiency is defined as the ratio of energy output from the solar cell to input energy received from the
sun. In addition to reflecting the performance of the solar cell itself, the efficiency depends on the spectrum and
intensity of the incident sunlight and the temperature of the solar cell.

27. Mention any four applications of solar cell.

 Solar cells are used as secondary power source in satellites and space vehicles
 Off-Grid Power: Many traffic, emergency and construction road signs use solar cells for power,
reducing the need for gasoline-powered generators for remote and mobile uses.
 Rooftop solar panels: Many commercial and residential buildings have solar panels that produce
electricity.
 They are also used for weather monitoring and as portable power sources for televisions,
calculators, watches, computer card readers. Besides these, they are used for the energisation of
pump sets for irrigation, drinking water supply and for providing electricity in rural areas i.e.
street lights etc.,

28. What are the materials used for making LED and solar cell?

For LED, GaAs, GaP, and GaAsP. For Solar cells, Most commonly silicon. GaAs, InAs, and CdAs.