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E6F02

CIRCUIT COMPONENTS · Electro-optical technology: photoconductivity; photovoltaic devices; optical sensors and encoders; optically isolated switching

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What happens to photoconductive material when light shines on it?

  1. AResistance decreases
  2. BResistance increases
  3. CReflectivity increases
  4. DReflectivity decreases
Why Photoconductive materials are semiconductors whose valence electrons can be knocked into the conduction band by incoming photons. More light means more free electron-hole pairs, which means more charge carriers available to carry current, so conductivity rises and resistance falls. That is exactly how a CdS photocell (light-dependent resistor) in a streetlight controller works: dark means high resistance, bright means low resistance.
Watch out The choice saying resistance increases has it backwards, and reflectivity is a surface optical property, not what photoconductivity describes.
Photo-CONDUCTIVE: light raises conductivity, so resistance goes down. More light, less ohms.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
← E6F01 All of E6F E6F03 →

The rest of E6F

  1. E6F01 What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?
  2. E6F02 What happens to photoconductive material when light shines on it?
  3. E6F03 What is the most common configuration of an optoisolator or optocoupler?
  4. E6F04 What is the photovoltaic effect?
  5. E6F05 Which of the following describes an optical shaft encoder?
  6. E6F06 Which of these materials is most commonly used to create photoconductive devices?
  7. E6F07 What is a solid-state relay?
  8. E6F08 Why are optoisolators often used in conjunction with solid-state circuits that control 120 VAC circuits?
  9. E6F09 What is the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell?
  10. E6F10 What is the most common material used in power-generating photovoltaic cells?
  11. E6F11 What is the approximate open-circuit voltage produced by a fully illuminated silicon photovoltaic cell?
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