MAHALASHMI VIDHYA

MANDHIR AVADI

INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
ON

LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTER

PROJECT DONE
BY
R. KRITHIKA
XII A
11102
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very glad to have the opportunity to make this

project & express my profound gratitude and deep
regards to my guide Mrs. Beulah Ebenezer for her
exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant
encouragement throughout this project. I would like to
thank the people who helped me directly or indirectly
to complete the project. I would also like to extend my
gratitude Principal Mrs. Beulah Ebenezer , for their
valuable encouragement and approval of the project
work. Lastly, I thank The Almighty, my parents and
friends for their constant encouragement.

Internal Signature External Signature

Principal signature
 CERTIFICATE

This project entitled “ LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTER “, is

the investigatory project work in physics , successfully

completed by Miss Krithika.R, sudent of class – XII,

MAHALASHMI VIDHYA MANDHIR AVADI, under the

supervision of Mrs. Beulah Ebenezer, for the partial

fulfillment of requirements for Central Board of Secondary

Education leading to the award of annual examination of the

year 2022 - 2023

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Principal Signature
 CONTENT
S.NO TOPICS

1 INTRODUCTION

2 TYPES OF LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR (LDR’s)

3 LDR / PHOTORESISTOR SYMBOL

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOTOCONDUCTIVE CELLS

5 AIM

6 Apparatus required

7 Procedure

8 Observation

9 Precautions

10 Bibliography
 INTRODUCTION

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. There are
two common types of materials used to manufacture the
photoconductive cells. They are Cadmium Sulphide
(CdS) and Cadmium Selenide (CdSe). Extrinsic devices
have impurities added, which have a ground state
energy closer to the conduction band - since the
electrons don't have as far to jump, lower energy
photons (i.e. longer wavelengths and lower frequencies)
are sufficient to trigger the device. Two of its earliest
applications were as part of smoke and fire detection
systems and camera light meters. The structure is
covered with glass sheet to protect it from moisture
and dust and allows only light to fall on it
 Types Of lIghT-DepeNDeNT
ResIsTORs(lDR’s)
 The various types of LDRs can be classified
based on linearity or photosensitive materials.
Materials often used in their design include
cadmium sulfide, thallium sulfide, cadmium
selenide & lead sulfide. LDRs generated with
cadmium sulfide chemicals are very
responsive to all kinds of light radiation that is
noticeable within the spectrum of human
beings. LDRs made of lead sulfate chemicals
are particularly responsive to IR radiation.
However, the most frequent classification of
LDR is linear and nonlinear.

Linear LDR: These types of LDRs are
called photodiodes but it is used as
photoresistors in some applications due to the
linear performance during operation.
 Nonlinear LDR: the nonlinear LDRs are
mostly used but their behavior does not
depend on the polarity through which it unites.
 TRANSISTOR

LED

RESISTORS

LDR (LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR)

 lDR / phOTOResIsTOR symbOl
The LDR symbol used in electronic circuits is
based around the resistor circuit symbol, but
shows the light, in the form of arrows shining on
it. In this way it follows the same convention used
for photodiode and phototransistor circuit
symbols where arrows are used to show the light
falling on these components.
The light dependent resistor / photoresistor
circuit symbols are shown for both the newer
style resistor symbol, i.e. a rectangular box and
the older zig-zag line resistor circuit symbols.
Often the light dependent resistor symbol may be
shown without the circle around it. This is often
done on the electronic circuit schematic to save
space and reduce the number of lines and circles
ont he diagram to redice complication.
 ChaRaCTeRIsTICs Of
phOTOCONDUCTIve Cells

Now when the device is kept in darkness, its

resistance is called as dark resistance. This
resistance is typically of the order of 1013 ohms.
When light falls on it, its resistance decreases up
to several kilo ohms or even hundreds of ohms,
depending on the intensity of light, falling on it.
The spectral response characteristics of two
commercial cells were compared in our
laboratory. And we found that there is almost no
response to the radiation of a wavelength which
was shorter than 300nm. It was very interesting to
note that the Cadmium Sulphide cell has a peak
response nearer or within the green color of the
spectrum within a range of 520nm. Thus it can be
used nearer to the infra-red region up to 750nm. It
was found that the maximum response of Cadmium
Sulphoselenide is in the yellow-orange range at
615nm and also it can be used in the infra-red
region up to about 970nm.
Sensitivity
The sensitivity of a photo detector is the
relationship between the light falling on the
device and the resulting output signal. In the
case of a photocell, one is dealing with the
relationship between the incident light and the
corresponding resistance of the cell.

Spectral Response
Like the human eye, the relative sensitivity of a
photoconductive cell is dependent on the
wavelength (color) of the incident light. Each
photoconductor material type has its own
unique spectral response curve or plot of the
relative response of the photocell versus
wavelength of light.
 aIm Of pROJeCT

The aim of the project is to demonstrate the

underlying principles of electrical conduction
under the influence of light. Various applications
are possible by employing this simple principle
such as
(a) Automatic switching of street lamps
(b) Intruder’s alarm
(c) Morning wake up alarm
(d) Fire alarm
(e) Light intensity meters
(f) Automatic elevator doors
In this project, I have demonstrated the
‘Automatic light switching circuit’ in a simple
manner which is easy to understand. The heart of
the project is an LDR or Light Dependent Resistor.
This project could have been done using a photo-
voltaic cell in place of LDR but the circuit would
have become complicated in the case of photocell.
TheORy

A light dependent resistor works on the principle of

photo conductivity. Photo conductivity is an electro-
optical phenomenon in which the material’s
conductivity is increased when light is absorbed by the
material. Modern light dependent resistors are made of
materials such as lead sulphide, lead selenide, indium
antimonide and most commonly cadmium sulphide
(CdS) and cadmium selenide. When light falls i.e. when
the photons fall on the material, the electrons in the
valence band of the semiconductor material are excited
to the conduction band. These photons in the incident
light should have energy greater than the band gap of
the semiconductor material to make the electrons jump
from the valence band to the conduction band. Hence
when light having enough energy strikes on the device,
more and more electrons are excited to the conduction
band which results in large number of charge carriers.
The result of this process is more and more current
starts flowing through the device when the circuit is
closed and hence it is said that the

resistance of the device has been decreased. This is the

most common working principle of LDR
This can be clearly seen from the graph. The resistance
of the LDR falls rapidly with the increasing intensity of
the incident light. The converse is also true when light
intensity is reduced or cut off
 appaRaTUs ReQUIReD

The project consists of the following

apparatus:
1. Light source (white, ultra-violet and laser)
2. LDR (light dependent Resistor)
3. Resistors
4. Transistor
5. PCB Board
6. Battery And Connector
 pROCeDURe
An empty cardboard box was used to mimic a house. An
opening was cut on the box to present a door. Behind
the door, a light source is placed and in the line of
vision of the light source, an LDR is also placed. A
circuit is connected to the LDR which switches on a
relay when the light beam is intercepted. A schematic
diagram of the set-up is shown below:

As seen in the above diagram, a light source is

positioned behind the door on the right-hand side and
an LDR is placed in the same line of vision at the
opposite end of the door. When the light beam falls on
the LDR, it lowers the resistance of the same and this
activates the switching transistor circuit. The transistor
circuit (described later) is connected to a relay which is
in turn connected to an external LED. The relay is a
special type of switch which is driven by its magnetic
coil. The relay has two positions. In de-energized
condition, position-1 will be active and in energized
condition, position-2 will be active. When the circuit is
powered, the relay goes to position-1 to which the LED
is connected. Thus, the LED will start glowing. But
when the light source is switched on, the resistance of
LDR falls and this drives the transistor switching circuit
and the relay gets energized. This puts the relay switch
in position-2, which cuts off the LED. In this condition,
whenever the light beam is intercepted by an opaque
object, the LDR stops receiving the incident light and its
resistance becomes high. This de-energizes the relay
and puts it to position-1 and the LED starts glowing.
Thus, to summarize, we can say that the as long as the
light source is on and the LDR is illuminated, the LED
will not light up. But the moment, the light source is
interrupted, the LED will start glowing. We can
Imagine the interruption of the light beam to be caused
by an intruder and hence this arrangement can
automatically detect any intruder by turning on the
LED. The LED is just one of the devices we have
connected to the relay. As such we can connect many
devices to the relay such as sirens, flashing lights,
buzzer or even an automatic dialer to the nearest police
station. This intruder alarm can be easily set up in
houses, banks, schools etc. The same circuit can be
rewired to reverse the effect of light. Viz. we can make
the LED glow whenever, light is present and
interestingly this set up can be used in other places as
required.
 OBSERVATION
In the set up described, the following observations were
made by
(a) varying the nature of light source.
(b) varying the translucency of the interceptor object.

Table of observations
S.No Types of light Material of Result
source Interceptor

White light Opaque LED Glows

1.
Transparent LED does not
Glow
Near ultra- violet Opaque LED Glows

2.
Transparent LED does not
Glow
Low intensity red Opaque LED Glows
laser
3.
Transparent LED does not
Glow
pReCaUTION
The project uses certain devices that can be harmful to
humans and animals if proper caution and care are not
observed.

1. Laser diode: Although we have used a low intensity laser,

this can be harmful if aimed accidently at the eyes or if the
reflected beam is seen through naked eye. It is suggested to
wear protective sun-glasses while assembling / positioning
the light source.

2. Ultraviolet LED: UV LED with wavelengths between 315

and 400 nm, which emits the least energetic and harmful
type of UV light. However, prolonged exposure should be
avoided which can damage the skin and eyes.

3. Buzzer: This device emits high frequency audio sounds that

can damage the ears when put close to the ears or heard
for prolonged period.

4. The LDR: Should a need arise to destroy the project; care

should be taken to dispose of the LDR properly as it
contains harmful chemicals that can damage the
environment.
lIghT DepeNDeNT ResIsTOR(lDR)
applICaTIONs

1. LDRs are used in Light Sensors

2. LDR is also used in some cameras to detect the
presence of the light.
3. LDRs are used Ligh Intensity measurement
meters.
4. LDRs are used in Street Lights which are
automatically turn ON in the night time.
5. LDRs are used in Burglar Alarm Circuits.
6. LDRs are used in Photosensitive Relays
7. LDR can be used in simple Fire alarm circuits.
8. The Light Dependent Resistors are used in
modern televisions, computer screens for
automatic brightness and contrast control.
Advantages of LDR

1. LDRs are very low-cost devices.

2. LDRs are very smaller in sizes.
3. LDR is a very simple device.
4. The connection of LDR is also very simple.

Disadvantage of LDR

1. LDR gives inaccurate result if working

temperature changes.
2. LDR is not so much sensitive device
 Conclusion
 The LDR resistance decreases with increase in
intensity of light and hence there is an increase
in the flow of current.
 There is an increase in the current as the
distance from the source decreases.
 The intensity decreases as the distance from
the source increases
 The error lies within the experimental limit.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.wikipedia.com

2. www.electrical4u.com

3. PHYSICS LAB MANUAL