SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Mukka, Mangaluru – 574 146

LAB ON ENGINEERING PHYSICS OF

MATERIALS LABORATORY MANUAL

B.Tech – I/II SEMESTER

NAME
SEMESTER
USN/
ROLL NUMBER

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 SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Mukka, Mangaluru – 574 146

LAB ON APPLIED PHYSICS IN

ENGINEERING LABORATORY MANUAL

B.Tech – I/II SEMESTER

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 DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
SRINIVAS UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Mukka, Mangaluru – 574 146

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 LABORATORY INSTRUCTIONS
 Students must report the lab in time.
 Come to the lab wearing prescribed college uniform.
 While coming to the practical class, students must bring record, observation book, graph
sheets and other equipment.
 Always come prepared for the experiments.
 Set the apparatus systematically and before switching on the experimental kits, verify the
circuit connections.
 Note down the important instructions given by the faculty members regarding
experiments during the lab session.
 Students should complete the experiments assigned to them within the stipulated time.
 Conduct the experiment carefully and honestly. Record the observations in an
observation book neatly.
 If something goes wrong with the experimental kit, inform the same to faculty in charge
or lab instructor immediately.
 If the experimental results are not satisfactory, try to find out the cause of failure and
repeat the experiment once again to tackle the problem.
 Always keep your working table clean and tide.
 Students are expected to attend all the practical classes regularly.
 Before entering the lab, students must submit duly completed practical record of the
previous experiments to the faculty in charge.
 As per the University regulation, students must score minimum 25 Marks out of 50
Marks in Internal Assessment (Continuous evaluation and an internal test). Students
fails to score the minimum marks are likely to be detained and are not allowed to attend
the University practical examination.

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 LIST OF EXPERIMENTS

PAGE
SL.NO. NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT
NO.
1 Fermi energy

2 Planks constant

3 Dielectric constant

4 Numerical aperture

5 Stefan’s law

6 Tortional pendulum

7 Hall effect

8
Newton’s rings

9 Photo diode I-V characteristics

10 Semiconductor LASER

Viva Questions

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Figure (1)

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 1. FERMI ENERGY

AIM: To determine the Fermi Energy of the copper.

APPARATUS: DC Regulated power supply, Milliammeter, Voltmeter, Thermometer,

Heating arrangement and Copper wire.

PRINCIPLE:
The energy of the highest occupied level by an electron at absolute zero temperature is called
Fermi Energy. Electrons are fermions and by the Pauli’s Exclusion Principle cannot exist in
identical energy states. So at absolute zero they pack into the lowest available energy states
and build up a “Fermi sea” of electron energy states. The Fermi level is the surface of that
sea at absolute zero where no electrons will have enough energy to rise above the surface.
Fermi energy is given by, 2 4
r
E = 3.4 x 10-2 [T ][∆R]2..........................(1)
F
L2 ∆T

Where ‘r ‘is the radius of the coil,’L’ is the length of the coil,’T’ is the lab temperature and
[∆R] is the slope of the Temperature-Resistance graph.
∆T

Further, in metals, Fermi energy gives us information about the velocities of the electrons
which participate in ordinary electrical conduction. The Fermi velocity of electrons is the
velocity associated with it with respect to its Fermi energy. The Fermi temperature s also
defined as the temperature at which the energy of the electron is equal to the Fermi energy.
The Fermi velocity VF of these conduction electrons can be calculated from the Fermi energy
EF using the relation,
2EF
VF = √
m

Where m = 9.1 x 10-31 kg is the mass of electron. E F is Fermi Energy and VF is Fermi
Velocity.
PROCEDURE:
A Copper wire of known radius and length is taken. The circuit arrangement is made as
shown in fig (1).The copper wire is wound over an insulating tube to form the coil which is
immersed in water. The two ends of the coil are connected to DC power supply and a
milliammeter. A milli voltmeter is connected across the coil. Voltage and current values are
noted for the room temperature. The water is heated till it boils. When a thermometer attains
steady temperature, the temperature is noted. Voltage and current are noted for different
temperatures while cooling. A graph can be plotted with temperature (in degree Kelvin)
along X-axis and resistance along Y-axis. The slope of the graph is calculated. Fermi energy
of the copper is calculated using eq(1).

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OBSERVATIONS:
Radius of the wire (r) = 0.26 mm
Length of the wire (L) = 4.5 m

Temperature(°C) Temperature(°K) Voltage(mV) Current(mA) Resistance(Ω)

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CALCULATIONS:

Figure (2)
∆𝑅
Slope of the graph [ ]= AB/BC = …………………
∆𝑇
𝑻𝟐 𝒓𝟒 ∆𝑹 𝟐
EF = 3.4 x 10-2 ][ ]
[ 𝑳𝟐 ∆𝑻

=........................J

= eV.

1.6 x 10 -19

=........................eV.

RESULTS:
Fermi Energy of the given material =...........................eV

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 Circuit diagram:

R=1KΩ

P
Peak
LEeD reading
voltmeter
a
k

Observations:

colour Wavelength λ (nm) Knee voltage (V) λV (x 10-9)

Yellow 590
Green 560
Blue 360
Red 620

Average value, λV =…..........................10-9

Calculations:

h = 𝒆𝜆𝐕(𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞) =...............Js
𝒄

Result:
Experimentally determined value of Planck’s constant =.................................Js

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 2. PLANCK’S CONSTANT

Aim: To determine the Planck’s constant using LED

Apparatus: Sine wave generator, digital peak reading voltmeter, different known wavelengthLEDs,
resistance etc.
Principle: LED is a two terminal solid-state lamp, which emits light with very low voltage andcurrent.
The light energy radiated by forward biasing is given by equation
E= hc/ λ..............................(1)
Where c is the velocity of the light, λ is the wavelength of the light emitted and h is Planck’s
constant
If V is the forward voltage applied across the LED terminals that makes it emit light (it is alsocalled
forward knee voltage) then the energy given to the LED is given by
E = eV.....................(2)
Where e is charge of an electron Then
equating equations 1 and 2,eV = hc/ λ
.....................................(3)

From which Planck’s constant is given by h = eV λ / c ……(4)

In this equation for different wavelength light, the forward knee voltage is determined and thevalue of
h is calculated.

Procedure:
The circuit is constructed as shown in fig. the input to the LED is an ac signal. Using a digitalpeak
reading voltmeter, the voltage across LED is measured and recorded. For a given different colour
LEDs the corresponding knee voltage value is noted. The product of wavelength and knee voltage is
determined and its average value is calculated. Planck’s constant is calculated using eqn (4).

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Figure 1: Charging and discharging of a Capacitor electrical connections

Figure 2: Charging and discharging curves

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 3. DIELECTRIC CONSTANT
AIM: To determine the dielectric constant of the dielectric material of the given capacitor
APPARATUS:
DC power supply 5V, stop clock, dc voltmeter 0-20V, resistors and capacitors.
PRINCIPLE:
A capacitor is a device used to store large amount of charges and hence the electrical
energy. A parallel plate capacitor consists of two metallic plates kept parallel to each other. By
applying a potential across the two plates an electric field is produced inside the space between
the two plates. By placing an electrically insulated material (dielectric medium) within the plates
the capacitance can be increased. The resulting capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor is given
by, ε0
C=K A --------(1)
d

Where, C is the capacitance in Farad.

K is dielectric constant

ε0 is the permittivity 8.85×10-12 Fm-1.

A is the area of the plate

d is the distance between the plates or thickness of the dielectric material.

The dielectric constant (K) of the dielectric material of the given capacitor can be
determined,
-6
DT ×10
1/2 (2)
K= 0.693ε 0AR-------------------

Where, A is area of the plates, D is the separation between the plates, R is the resistance used in
the circuit (Ω). T1/2 is time (in seconds) required for the capacitor either to charge or discharge to
50% of its maximum value. o is the permittivity of free space (8.85×10-12 F/m)

A capacitor can be charged using a resistor and a DC source. The capacitor will charge
exponentially. When the switch is thrown to the discharge position the capacitor loses its charge
hence it discharges through R. Therefore, the voltage across capacitor starts decreasing until it
becomes zero. The charge-discharge curve intersects at a point P. At this instant of time T 1/2 the
voltage across the condenser is the same during charge and discharge process.

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OBSERVATIONS:
Resistance of the resistor, R = Ω
Distance between the plates, D = m
Length of the plate, L = m
Breadth of the plate, B = m
Area of the plate, A = L×B = =________m2

Voltage across the capacitor C (Volt)

Time (s)
Charging Discharging

From the graph T1/2 = s

CALCULATIONS:
-6
DT1/2×10
K =
0.693ε0AR

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PROCEDURE:
The circuit connections are made as shown in Figure. A suitable resistor ‘R’ and Capacitor ‘C’ is
selected and connected to the circuit using patch cords. The digital stop clock is reset by pressing
reset button.

Charging the capacitor: The switch S1 is set to the charge position. Now the capacitor begins to
charge to higher voltage and simultaneously the timer is switched ON. The voltage reading
across the capacitor is noted at every 5 seconds interval, until voltage across the capacitor
becomes practically constant.

Discharging of the capacitor: Now the switch S2 is set to the discharging mode and the timer is
reset again from 0 seconds. As soon as the switch S 2 is set to discharge position the capacitor
begins to discharge. The voltage across the discharging capacitor is noted at every 5 seconds
interval until the capacitor is discharged fully becomes practically constant.

A graph is drawn taking time on X-axis and voltage along the Y-axis as shown in Figure-2. The
charging and discharging curve intersects at a point P. The corresponding value of time is noted
as T1/2.

RESULT: The dielectric constant of the material =

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Observations:

D (mm) f (mm) Tan θ θ NA= Sin θ

8
10
12
14
16

Avg NA=

Calculations:

tanθ = 𝑫/𝟐𝒇

NA= sinθ
θ=tan-1(D/2f)
Result: Numerical aperture of the optic fiber cable , NA = …………..

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 4. NUMERICAL APERTURE OF AN OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

Aim: To determine the numerical aperture of an optical fiber cable.

Apparatus: OFC 1.5m, diode laser red 625 nm, travelling microscope bed carrying fixedscreen
and a movable chuck.
Principle:
Numerical aperture of a cable is defined as sine of the half angle of the cone generateddue to
the divergence of rays.
NA= sinθ
Light coming out of the OFC falls on a screen kept at a distance ’L’ from it. An image ofthe laser
spot is seen. This spot and the emerging light forms a cone. If ‘D’ is the diameter of the circular
spot and ‘f’ is distance between screen and rthe OFC then
Tanθ =𝑫/𝟐 = 𝑫
f 2f
By measuring D and f, tanθ can be determined; hence the numerical aperture can becalculated
from the equation

NA= sinθ = tan-(D/2f)

Procedure:
1. The optical cable is coupled to the laser and the laser light coming through other endof the
cable is verified.
2. The other end of the cable is coupled to the chuck fixed on the transverse motionbench
3. The chuck carrying the OFC is brought close to the graduated screen and the laserspot is
seen on the graduated screen.
4. By adjusting the fine motion screw of the microscope bench the spot size is reduced to8mm.
5. The distance between the fixed screen and chuck carrying OFC is noted on
the graduated scale fixed along the X- axis. Tan θ and NA is calculated.
6. The trial is repeated by increasing the size of the spot to 10mm and the corresponding‘f’ is
noted. This is done until the spot is sufficiently bright and clear.

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OBSERVATIONS:
The radius of the black body radiator, r = 1.3x 10-2m

Surface area of the blackbody, A= 4πr2 = =______________m2

Voltage Current I E=VI t (0C) T (K) E

T4 σ=
V (ampere) (watt) AT4
(volts) (Wm-2K-4)
3.4
3.6
3.8

Mean value of σ =_______________Wm-2K-4

CALCULATIONS:
E
(1) σ= = = Wm-2K-4
AT4

E
(2) σ= = = Wm-2K-4
AT4

E
(3) σ= = = Wm-2K-4
AT4

RESULT:

Stefan-Boltzman Constant, σ =

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 5. STEFAN’S LAW

AIM: To determine Stefan-Boltzman constant using a black body radiator.

APPARATUS:

Black body radiator experimental setup, digital temperature indicator, digital dc voltmeter, digital
dc ammeter.

PRINCIPLE:
An object which absorbs radiations of all frequency incidents on it is called a black body. A
black body, on heating, can emit radiations of all frequency it has absorbed and is called
blackbody radiation. According him the energy radiated per unit area form a black body is
directly proportional to fourth power of surface temperature.

i.e., E ∝T4
A

or, E = σT4
A
E
i.e., σ=
AT (1)
4

Where E is thermal energy, A is the total surface area of the black body and T is the surface
temperature in Kelvin and σ is the Stefan’s constant

PROCEDURE:
The circuit connections are made as shown in Figure. The voltage is set to 3.4volts. The rise in
temperature of the black body radiator is observed. Time is allowed until the temperature reaches
a steady state (about 10 minutes). Once steady temperature is reached for given value of V and I,
the temperature is noted. The input power to the radiator and hence energy radiated is calculated
using the relation P=VI=E watt. Trails were repeated by varying voltage in steps of 0.2 volts up
to a maximum of 4.2 volts (In each step, ten minutes’ time is given to attain steady temperature).
The corresponding readings are noted and in each case Stefan’s constant are calculated.

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Figure: Torsional pendulum

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 TORSIONAL PENDULUM:
DETERMINATION OF TORSIONAL CONSTANT AND RIGIDITY MODULUS
OF A WIRE
AIM:
To determine the moment of inertia and rigidity modulus of the given wire (string)using Torsional pendulum.

APPARATUS:
Torsional pendulum, stand, circular disc, chuck nuts, specimen wire, measuring scale, stop clock,
spirit level.

PRINCIPLE:
A Torsional pendulum or Torsional oscillator consists of a circular metallic disk with sufficient
weight suspended with a thick wire. When the mass is twisted about the axis of the wire, the wire
exerts a torque on the mass, tending to rotate it back to its original position. If twisted and
released, the mass will oscillate back and forth, executing simple harmonic motion. From the
study of the period of the oscillation, with its length from where it is suspended provide
information about rigidity modulus of the wire twisting the mass.

If ‘τ’ is the torque generated by the angular force then we can

write τ = − cθ- -(1)

Where ‘c’ is couple per unit twist

Thus the Torque (moment of the force) is required to overcome the inertia for rotational motion
and to produce angular acceleration. The magnitude of the torque required to produce a certain
angular acceleration is determined by the mass and the axis of rotation. The quantity which
represents inertia for rotational motion is called Moment of Inertia.

If ‘I’ is the moment of inertia of the suspended disc, then the torque τ is given by

d2θ
τ = I dt2 -----(2)

From equations (1) and (2) we get

d 2θ cθ
=− -----(3)

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dt2 I

OBSERVATIONS:
Determination the moment of Inertia of the disc
The mass of the given disc, M=1.22Kg

The diameter of the disc, D= 0.125m

Hence the radius of the disc, R= m

2
The Moment of Inertia is I= MR
2

I=__________Kg m2

The radius of the wire, r= m

Determining the period of the Torsional pendulum

Time for 10
Sl Length l oscillations (s) Period T T2 (s2) 𝒍
No (m) (s)
T𝟐
1 2 Mean

𝒍
Mean = ms-2
T𝟐

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This is equation represent the simple harmonic motion with angular frequency
2π
ω = √c = 2πf =
I T

I
Hence the period of oscillation is given be T = 2π √ -----(4)
c

The constant c is also known as torsional constant which can be determined by observing shear
taking place in the wire.

The Torque (moment of the force) is required to overcome the inertia for rotational motion and to
produce angular acceleration. The quantity which represents inertia for rotational motion is called
Moment of Inertia.

MR2
I= 2 -----(5)

Where M is the mass of the circular disc and R the radius of the disc.

The ratio of stress to strain is called the modulus of elasticity. Since the strain produced due to
rotational effect or the torque, the modulus of elasticity is called rigidity modulus (n). The
rigidity modulus is defined as the ratio of the tangential stress to the shearing strain.

Substituting Equation (5) in Equation (4),

1 I 1 I 2𝑙
The period of oscillation T= √ = √
2π c 2π πnr3

8πI𝑙
or T2 = nr4

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 𝑙-----------------
Thus, the rigidity modulus of the material of the wire n = 8πI (6)
r4 T2

Hence determining period of the Torsional oscillations for different length, rigidity modulus n
can be determined.

PROCEDURE:
Determination the moment of Inertia of the disc

The dimensional parameter like mass of the circular disc fitted with the chuck nut and pointer
fitted to the disc, the radius of the disc are determined. Thus from these parameters the moment
of inertia of the given disc can be calculated.

CALCULATION:
2
MR
Moment of Inertia is I =
2

I=

I=__________Kg m2

Rigidity modulus, n = 8πI 𝑙

r4 T2

=_________________N/m2

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Determining the period of the Torsional pendulum
The Torsional pendulum disc is fitted to the wire (iron) whose rigidity modulus has to be
determined. The other end of the wire is fitted to the stand top using a chuck nut. The length of
the shearing wire inside the both chuck nuts are measured using meter scale. Now the pendulum
is set to oscillate by giving a torque and the pointer fitted to the circular disc moves. The time for
10 oscillations is determined using a stop clock. The experiment is repeated another length by
lifting the disc.In each case, the time taken for 10 oscillations is noted for each length and period
is calculated.

RESULT:

The rigidity or the shear modulus of the material of the given wire is____________N/m2

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Diagram :

Observations :
Ix = 2 mA t = 0.58 mm

Magnetic Magnetic Voltage across Hall voltage VH VH/B

current flux the slab

I B
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
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 0.8
0.9
1.0
Avg:

Calculations :
Hall voltage VH = VNegative potential – Vohmic

Hall coefficient RH = (VH/B) avg x

Ix
Result : The Hall coefficient RH determined to be..................................m3/C

6. HALL EFFECT
Aim: To determine the Hall coefficient
Apparatus: An electromagnet of 2K Gauss field strength, a constant current powersupply,
digital gauss meter and n type germanium semiconductor sample.
Principle:
When a piece of semiconductor material carrying a current is placed in a transverse magnetic
field, an electric field is produced inside the conductor in a direction perpendicular to both the
current and the magnetic field. This phenomenon is known asthe Hall effect.
Consider a uniform thick semiconductor or metal strip placed with its length parallel toX- axis. A
current Ix is passed through the conductor along X- axis. A magnetic field B is applied along Y-
axis, the charge carriers experience a force (F) perpendicular to X-Yplane i.e. along Z axis as per
the Fleming’s Left hand rule.
If electrons are the charge carriers, they accumulate at the upper surface. This surface acquires
negative charge while the lower surface gets positive charge and some potentialdifference is
developed between these two surfaces. This is electrostatic field. This voltage is called Hall
Voltage (VH) and the electric field is called Hall electric field (EH). In this case the Hall voltage
VH is negative, this -ve sign indicates the charge carriers arenegatively charged i.e., electrons. If
it is +ve the charge carriers are holes.
The Hall voltage is given by

VHall= V negative potential – V ohmic

The Hall co-efficient is given by

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 𝑹𝑯 = 𝑉𝐻⁄𝐵 𝑎𝑣𝑔𝑥𝑡

𝑰𝒙

Where thickness t = 0.58 mm

Ix = 2 mA
Procedure:
Set the current value in digital dc milliammeter as 2 mA. The ohmic voltage must be noted for 0A.
Then keep the value of current in the constant current power supply as 0.1 A and note down the
corresponding voltage across the slab. Then increase thecurrent and note down the corresponding
voltage values.

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7. NEWTON’S RINGS

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 DETERMINATION OF RADIUS OF CURVATURE OF PLANO CONVEX LENS
AIM:
To determine the radius of curvature of Plano convex lens using Newton’s rings method.

APPARATUS:
Newton’s rings microscope and sodium vapour lamp.

PRINCIPLE:
The arrangement consists of a Plano convex lens of large radius of curvature placed on an
optically plane glass plate, with convex surface touching the glass plate. A thin film of air of
varying thickness is formed between the lens and the glass plate. The thickness of the film is zero
at the point of contact and gradually increases towards the edge of the lens

A beam of monochromatic light is incident normally on the lens. A part of light is reflected from
the top surface of the air film and another part is reflected from the top surface of the glass plate.
These two reflected beams interfere destructively or constructively and produce dark or bright
ring. If a point appears dark, all the points along the circle through the point are dark since the
thickness of the film is same along the circle. So we gets dark ring. Similarly if the point appears
bright, we gets bright ring.
D2m − D2𝚗
R=
4(m−n)λ
Where Dm and Dn represents the diameter of mth and nth bright rings respectively. λ is the
wavelength of the sodium light source.
PROCEDURE:
Light from a sodium source is reflected by a glass plate P, inclined at an angle of 45° to the
horizontal. This falls on the lens placed over a glass plate G. The travelling microscope above the
plate P can be focused to see the alternate bright and dark concentric rings. These are Newton’s
rings.

The cross wire is made tangential to the 10th bright ring in the left side. Head Scale reading and
pitch scale reading are noted. Readings corresponding to 8th, 6th, 4th and 2nd bright rings on the left
side are noted. Now move the telescope again in the same direction and note readings
corresponding to 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th bright rings on the right side. The readings obtained
are tabulated.

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OBSERAVTIONS:
Least Count (L.C) =
Total Reading (TR) = HSR + (PSR × L.C)

Microscope Reading Diameter of

the ring 2 Dm2 – Dn2
Ring Left Side Right Side D
Number (D= a-b) cm2 cm2
HSR PSR TR(a) HSR PSR TR(b)
cm

10

Mean value of Dm 2 – Dn2 = cm2

= m2

CALCULATIONS:

R = Dm2 – D n2
4(m-n) λ

=.....................m

RESULT:
The Radius of curvature of Plano convex lens =.........................m

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 Fig.(1) : Circuit Connections

Fig.(2): Variation of Photodiode current with LED power.

Fig.(3):I-V characteristic curves of Photodiode

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 8. I-V CHARACTERISTICS OF A PHOTO DIODE
AIM:
To study the I-V characteristic by plotting graph and to study the variation of PD current
with input light power using Ga-As based photo diode (PD) in the visible range.

APPARATUS:
0-3V regulated power supply, 0-2mA digital dc current meter, 0-20V digital dc volt meter,
white light LED module, and photo diode LED type.

PRINCIPLE:
Photodiodes are semiconductor devices that respond to high-energy particles and photons.
Radiation-sensitive junction is formed in a semiconductor material whose resistivity changes
when illuminated by light photons.
A photo diode behaves like a current source when illuminated. When operated without bias,
the current is distributed between the shunt resistance and external load resistor. In this
mode, a voltage is developed which creates forward bias, thus reducing its ability to remain
as a constant current source. When operated with reverse bias, the photo diode becomes an
ideal current source.
The current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of a photodiode is a set of curves relating the voltage
across the junction to the current flowing through it. When the photodiode is forward biased,
there is an exponential increase in the current similar to rectifier diode. When a reverse bias
is applied, a small reverse saturation current appears.
IPD = IP -Ipn = IP+Isat ≈IP........................................(1)

IP is photon current (current due to illumination)

Isat is reverse saturation current
Ipn is the current flowing across the junction due to
minority carriers.
Eq.(1) shows that in the reverse bias case the conduction depends entirely on the
illumination. Hence photo diode current is proportional to the incident light intensity. As the
applied reverse bias voltage increases, there is a sharp increase in the photo current and the
device will be damaged permanently. This voltage is called breakdown voltage. Responsivity
can be defined as the ratio of photo current (I PD) to the incident light power (P LED) at a
particular wavelength.
IPD
Responsivity =
PLED

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PROCEDURE:
The experiment consists of two parts, (a) Determination of Responsivity and (b) Study of I-V
Characteristics.
(a) Determination of Responsivity:
The white light LED and Photodiode are placed face-to-face 10cm apart.5V power supply and
transistor drives are provided for the LED. By varying the pot in the emitter circuit the LED
current is varied. A dial is provided for the potentiometer which directly reads the LED input
power (PLED= VLEDILED).The LED (white light) and Photodiode are placed face to face, and the
light arrangement is switched on. LED power is set to 10mW by turning the knob to its minimum
position. After ensuring that the LED is glowing and while noting the Photodiode current in the
meter, the cover is placed so that any external light will not affect the readings. Positive terminal
of the Photodiode is connected to the negative terminal of the power supply and negative
terminal of the Photodiode is connected to positive terminal of the power supply. This reverse
biases the photodiode.

The voltage across Photodiode is set to -1V (V PD = -1V) by varying 0-3V power supply. The
Photodiode current IPD is noted.
The LED power is increased to 11mW and V PD is again set to -1V and the corresponding
Photodiode current is noted. The trial is repeated by varying the input power to 12mW, 13mW
etc. reaching up to 50mW. In each case VPD is set to -1V and IPD is noted. A graph showing the
variation of LED power on X-axis and Photodiode current on Y axis is drawn. A straight line
graph is obtained, slope of which gives the value of responsivity.

(b) Study of I-V Characteristics:

In this part of the experiment Photodiode current and voltage are recorded for different LED input
powers. For this the LED power is set to 10mW on the dial and V PD is set to 0V and the
corresponding IPD is noted. The trial is repeated by increasing V PD in suitable steps up to a
maximum of -1V and the corresponding IPD values are noted.
The experiment is repeated by increasing the LED power to 10, 15 and 30mW in steps. In each
case variation in VPD and corresponding IPD are noted. A graph is drawn taking VPD along X-axis
and IPD along Y-axis.
RESULTS:
(1) The I-V characteristics of Ga-As based Photodiode are studied by plotting graph.
(2) Studied the variation of Photodiode current with input light power using Ga-As based
Photodiode in the visible range.
(3) Value of Responsivity =..............................A/W

OBSERVATIONS:
34 | P a g e
1. Photodiode current variation with LED power

35 | P a g e
VPD = -1 Volt

PLED (mW) IPD (µA)

2. I-V characteristics

VPD (V) IPD (μA)

PLED = 10 mW PLED = 15 mW PLED = 30 mW

ΔIPD
Responsivity =
ΔPLED

= A/W

36 | P a g e
1. What is a transistor?

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 VIVA VOCE QUESTIONS
Stefan’s law

1. What is a black body?

2. What is Planck’s law of black body radiation?

3. What is Stefan’s law?

4. As temperature increases what happens to the conductivity of a metal?

5. What is the drawback of Weins law?

6. What is ultraviolet catastrophe?

7. State Weins displacement law/

8. What are the assumptions of Planck’s law?

9. Explain the characteristics of black body radiation spectrum.

10. What is the unit of Stefan’s constant?

Fermi energy

1. What is Fermi energy?

2. What is electrical conductivity?

3. What is the effect of temperature on the resistance of a metallic conductor?

4. What is the effect of temperature on the resistance of a semiconductor?

5. What is Fermi temperature?

6. What is Fermi level?

7. What is relaxation time?

8. What is mean free path?

9. What is Fermi velocity?

Diffraction grating

1. What is diffraction of light? What is the conduction to occur?

2. What is diffraction grating?

3. What is the difference between glass plate and grating?

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4. What is LASER?

5. Define wavelength.

6. What is monochromatic light?

7. What is grating constant?

8. What is the order of diffraction?

9. What is Fresnel diffraction?

10. Explain different types of grating. Give one example for each type.

Dielectric constant

1. What is dielectric?

2. What is the difference between dielectric materials and metals?

3. What is electric dipole?

4. What is electric dipole moment?

5. What is electric polarisation?

6. What is the effect of electric field on dielectric materials?

7. Define dielectric constant of a material.

8. Define time constant of RC circuit.

9. Explain the charging action of a capacitor.

10. What is an electrolytic capacitor?

Newton’s Rings

1. What is interference of light?

2. What is a thin film?

3. What is least count?

4. How Newton’s rings are formed?

5. What is path difference?

6. What is radius of curvature?

7. What is constructive interference?

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8. What is destructive interference?

9. Why fringes are circular?

10. What is coherence?

1. What is the unit of resistance, capacitance and inductance?

2. What is an voltage divider circuit?

3. What is a function generator?

4. What is a transformer coil, inductor, resistor or capacitor?

Photodiode

1. What is a photodiode?

2. What are the applications of a photodiode?

3. Give two examples of photodiode.

4. What is the difference between photodiode and LED?

5. What is photocurrent?

6. Why photodiodes are reverse biased?

7. What is reverse biasing?

8. What responsivity?

Torsional pendulum

1. Define torque.

2. What is moment of inertia?

3. Define time period.

4. Define rigidity modulus of a material.

5. What is Hooke’s law?

6. What is stress and strain?

7. What is the difference between simple pendulum and torsional pendulum?

8. Define angular momentum.

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 Model Question Paper
First Semester B.Tech Degree Examination November/December 2019
Subject: Lab on engineering physics of materials Subject Code: 19 SPHL16/26
Max.Time:3 Hours Max.Marks:50

1. Determine the wavelength of the given laser source using a diffraction grating having
530 lines per inch. Conduct the experiment by taking the grating to screen distance of
2m.

2. Determine the Stefan's constant using Black Body Radiator experimental setup by
performing at least three trials.(Radius of the Black Body Radiator is 13mm).

3. Find the value of the dielectric constant of the dielectric material used in the
capacitor. Given Length=47mm, Breadth=5mm and Separation=0.075mm (Use 100K
Resistor and C1 Capacitor).

4. Study the I-V characteristics of a given Zener Diode and determine the reverse
breakdown voltage, forward knee voltage and forward resistance.

5 (a)Study the input characteristics of a given n-p-n transistor in CE mode for V CE= 2
Volts and determine input resistance.

(b) Study the output characteristics of a given n-p-n transistor in CE mode for I B=90μA
and 120μA and determine output resistance, d.c current gain βdc and a.c current gain βac.

6. Determine the Fermi energy of given copper wire (Length L=4.5m and Radius
r=0.26mm).

7. Determine Young’s modulus of the given bar. (Given l = 30.3 cm, x=5 cm, b = 3cm
and d= 2.05mm)

8. Determine the rigidity modulus of the given wire using torsional pendulum method.
(Given M= 1.22 kg, R= 0.0625 m, r = 4.355×10-4m)

9. Determine the radius of curvature of plano convex lens by using Newton’s rings
experiment. (Given LC = 0.001 cm, λ = 589.3 nm)

10. Study the I-V characteristics of a photodiode in reverse bias and study the variation of
photocurrent as a function of reverse voltage and intensity. Also determine the
responsivity of the photodiode.

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