OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES

3-53 OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES are of two basic types: light producers or light users. The LED is the most widely used light-producing device. When the LED is forward biased it emits energy in the form of light. LEDs are used in several configurations as digital equipment readout displays. The PHOTODIODE, the PHOTOTRANSISTOR, and the PHOTOCELL are all devices that use light to modify conduction through them. The SOLAR CELL uses light to produce voltage. The UNIJUNCTION TRANSISTOR (UJT) is a three-terminal, solid-state device with only one PN junction. The block diagram below shows the difference in construction between normal transistors and the UJT. The area between base 1 and base 2 of the UJT acts as a variable resister. The emitter of the UJT acts as the wiper arm. The sequential rise in voltage between the bases is called a voltage gradient. The UJT conducts when the emitter is more positive than the voltage gradient at the emitter/base contact point. There are many variations of the UJT which are used in switching circuits, oscillators, and wave- shaping circuits. The FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTOR combines the high input impedance of the vacuum tube with all the other advantages of the transistor. The elements of the FET are the gate, source, and drain, which are comparable to the base, emitter, and collector of a standard transistor. The JFET or "junction FET" is made of a solid bar of either P- or N-semiconductor material, and the gate is made of the opposite type material, as illustrated below. The FET is called P-channel or N-channel depending upon the type of material used to make the bar between the source and drain. Voltage applied to the gate controls the width of the channel and consequently controls the current flow from the source to the drain. The JFET is normally operated with reverse bias that controls the channel width by increasing or decreasing the depletion region.