6 Push buttons

Fig 2.2.6: Push Buttons

A push-button or simply button is a simple switch mechanism for controlling some aspect of a
machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal.
The surface is usually flat or shaped to accommodate the human finger or hand, so as to be easily
depressed or pushed. Buttons are most often biased switches, though even many un-biased
buttons (due to their physical nature) require a spring to return to their un-pushed state. Different
people use different terms for the "pushing" of the button, such as press, depress, mash, and
punch.

In industrial and commercial applications push buttons can be linked together by a mechanical
linkage so that the act of pushing one button causes the other button to be released. In this way, a
stop button can "force" a start button to be released. This method of linkage is used in simple
manual operations in which the machine or process have no electrical circuits for control.

Pushbuttons are often color-coded to associate them with their function so that the operator will
not push the wrong button in error. Commonly used colors are red for stopping the machine or
process and green for starting the machine or process.

Red pushbuttons can also have large heads (mushroom shaped) for easy operation and to
facilitate the stopping of a machine. These pushbuttons are called emergency stop buttons and
are mandated by the electrical code in many jurisdictions for increased safety. This large
mushroom shape can also be found in buttons for use with operators who need to wear gloves for
their work and could not actuate a regular flush-mounted push button. As an aid for operators
and users in industrial or commercial applications, a pilot light is commonly added to draw the
attention of the user and to provide feedback if the button is pushed. Typically this light is
included into the center of the pushbutton and a lens replaces the pushbutton hard center disk.

The source of the energy to illuminate the light is not directly tied to the contacts on the back of
the pushbutton but to the action the pushbutton controls. In this way a start button when pushed
will cause the process or machine operation to be started and a secondary contact designed into
the operation or process will close to turn on the pilot light and signify the action of pushing the
button caused the resultant process or action to start.

In popular culture, the phrase "the button" refers to a (usually fictional) button that a military or
government leader could press to launch nuclear weapons.

2.2.7 Push to ON button:












Fig 2.2.7: Push ON Button
Initially the two contacts of the button are open. When the button is pressed they become
connected. This makes the switching operation using the push button.
LED


A Light emitting diode (LED) is essentially a pn junction diode. When carriers are injected
across a forward-biased junction, it emits incoherent light. Most of the commercial LEDs are
realized using a highly doped n and a p Junction.
























To understand the principle, lets consider an unbiased pn+ junction. The depletion region
extends mainly into the p-side. There is a potential barrier from Ec on the n-side to the Ec on

the p-side, called the built-in voltage,V0. This potential barrier prevents the excess free electrons
on the n+ side from diffusing into the p side.When a Voltage V is applied across the junction, the
built-in potential is reduced from V0 to V0 V. This allows the electrons from the n+ side to get
injected into the p-side. Since electrons are the minority carriers in the p-side, this process is
called minority carrier injection. But the hole injection from the p side to n+ side is very less and
so the current is primarily due to the flow of electrons into the p-side. These electrons injected
into the p-side recombine with the holes. This recombination results in spontaneous emission of
photons (light). This effect is called injection electroluminescence. These photons should be
allowed to escape from the device without being reabsorbed.

The recombination can be classified into the following two kinds

Direct recombination

Indirect recombination

Direct Recombination:

In direct band gap materials, the minimum energy of the conduction band lies directly above the
maximum energy of the valence band in momentum space energy. In this material, free
electrons at the bottom of the conduction band can recombine directly with free holes at the top
of the valence band, as the momentum of the two particles is the same. This transition from
conduction band to valence band involves photon emission (takes care of the principle of
energy conservation). This is known as direct recombination. Direct recombination occurs
spontaneously. GaAs is an example of a direct band-gap material.














Indirect Recombination

In the indirect band gap materials, the minimum energy in the conduction band is shifted by a k-
vector relative to the valence band. The k-vector difference represents a difference in
momentum. Due to this difference in momentum, the probability of direct electronhole
recombination is less.

In these materials, additional dopants(impurities) are added which form very shallow donor
states. These donor states capture the free electrons locally; provides the necessary momentum
shift for recombination. These donor states serve as the recombination centers. This is called
Indirect (non-radiative) Recombination.

Figure3 shows the E-k plot of an indirect band gap material and an example of how Nitrogen
serves as a recombination center in GaAsP. In this case it creates a donor state, when SiC is
doped with Al, it recombination takes place through an acceptor level.























The wavelength of the light emitted, and hence the color, depends on the band gap energy of
the materials forming the p-n junction.

The emitted photon energy is approximately equal to the band gap energy of the
semiconductor. The following equation relates the wavelength and the energy band gap. h
= Eg

hc/ = Eg =
hc/ Eg

Where h is Planks constant, c is the speed of the light and Eg is the energy band gap. Thus, a
semiconductor with a 2 eV band-gap emits light at about 620 nm, in the red. A 3 eV band-gap

material would emit at 414 nm, in the violet.