NEET-XII-Physics

14: Semiconductor Electronics: Materials Devices and Simple Circuits

  • #11
    A p-n photodiode is fabricated from a semiconductor with band gap of 2.8 eV. Can it detect a wavelength of 6000 nm?
    Ans : Energy band gap of the given photodiode, Eg = 2.8 eV

    Wavelength, λ = 6000 nm = 6000 × 10-9 m

    The energy of a signal is given by the relation:

    E =

    Where,

    h = Planck’s constant

    = 6.626 × 10-34 Js

    c = Speed of light

    = 3 × 108 m/s

    E

    = 3.313 × 10-20 J

    But 1.6 × 10-19 J = 1 eV

    ∴E = 3.313 × 10-20 J



    The energy of a signal of wavelength 6000 nm is 0.207 eV, which is less than 2.8 eV - the energy band gap of a photodiode. Hence, the photodiode cannot detect the signal.