NEET-XII-Physics
14: Semiconductor Electronics: Materials Devices and Simple Circuits
- #11A 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.