Photo-Coupler and Touch Alarm Switch: Experiment #9
Photo-Coupler and Touch Alarm Switch: Experiment #9
Photo-Coupler and Touch Alarm Switch: Experiment #9
Assume a photo-transistor device as shown. Current from the source signal passes through the
input LED which emits an infra-red light whose intensity is proportional to the electrical signal
This emitted light falls upon the base of the photo-transistor, causing it to switch ON and conduct
in a similar way to a normal bipolar transistor.
The base connection of the photo-transistor can be left open (unconnected) for maximum
sensitIvity to the LEDs Infra-red light energy or connected to ground via suitable external high
value resistor to control the switching sensitivity making it more stable and resistant to false
triggering by external electrical noise or voltage transients.
When the current flowing through the LED is interrupted, the infra-red emitted light is cut-off
causing the photo-transistor to cease conducting. The photo-transistor can be used to switch current
in the output circuit. The spectral response of the LED and the photosensitive device are closely
matched being separated by a transparent medium such a glass, plastic or air. Since there is no
direct electrical connection between the input and output of an optocoupler, electrical isolation up
to 10KV is achieved.
Optocouplers are available in four general types, each one having an infrared LED source but
with different photo-sensitive devices. The four optocouplers are called the: Photo-transistor
Photo-darlington, Photo-SCR and Photo-trine as shown below.
Optocoupler Applications:
Optocouplers and opto-isolators can be used on their own, or to switch a range of other larger
electronic devices such as transistors and TRIAC’s providing the required electrical isolation between a
lower voltage control signal, for example one from an Arduino or microcontroller, and a much higher
voltage or mains current output signal.
Common applications for opto-couplers include microprocessor input output switching. DC and AC
power control. PC communications, signal isolation and power supply regulation which suffer from
current ground loops, etc. The electrical signal being transmitted can be either analogue (linear) or
digital (pulses).
In this application, the optocoupler is used to detect the operation of the switch or another type of
digital input signal. This is useful if the switch or signal being detected is within an electrically noisy
environment. The output can be used to operate an external circuit, light or as an input to a PC or
microprocessor.
Touch the sensor of the alarm with your finger and it starts beeping, goes on for some time and then
stops. Touching it again, and it goes again! This little and flexible circuit consists of touch sensor and a
directly coupled transistor amplifier with a small buzzer as the output load.
Types of touch switches:
• Capacitance switch (Capacitive Touch)
A capacitance switch needs only one electrode to function. The electrode can be placed behind a non-
conductive panel such as wood, glass. or plastic. The switch works using body capacitance. A property of
the human body that gives it great electrical characteristics. The switch keeps charging and discharging
its metal exterior to detect changes in capacitance. When a person touches it, their body increases the
capacitance and triggers the switch.
OBJECTIVE
1. Understanding the characteristics of photocouplers.
2. Understanding the characteristics of FETs.
3. Performing the photocoupler control circuit
4. Performing the FET touch alarm circuit.
DISCUSSION
Photocoupler
Light emitting devices and light sensing devices have major applications in areas where electrical
isolation between the input signal and the output is important. Fig. 17-1 shows the appearance and
circuit symbol of a photo-coupler, optical isolator, or phototransistor coupled pair.
The photocoupler is widely used as an interface between two different voltage levels. Fig.17-3 shows
the applications for the conversion between high voltage Indicator and low voltage signal. In each of
these two circuits, the electrical Isolation between high voltage signal and low voltage signal is excellent.
The resistor R the circuit of Fig 17-3(a) is used to limit the current flow in lamp. When the switch is
opened, the lamp extinguishes since no voltage applied. The resistance of photoconductor increases and
drives the transistor to conduct into saturation. Therefore, the output voltage is 0. When the switch is
closed, the lamp lights up. The resistance of photo conductor decreases and causes the transistor to cut
off. The output voltage equal to Vcc.
Due to the photocoupler is suited for AC or DC signals, it is also called the universal signal transformer.
The most popular type of photocouplers consisting of an LED and a phototransistor is shown in Fig. 17-
3(b). When the positive voltage is applied to LED, the light emitted is detected by the phototransistor
and converted back to an electrical signal.
The light emitting diode is p-n junction which when forward biased will emit light. The phototransistor
can operate in extremely high response. There are several inherent advantages of an LED-
phototransistor combination over conventional light sources and detectors.
The advantages of the circuit of Fig. 17-3(b) over the circuit of Fig. 17-3(a) are:
(1) Long life - The life of LED is longer than any types of lam bulb (10000-hour typical).
(2) High shock and vibration immunity - These features make LED-phototransistor combination to suit
for industrial control applications
(3) High speed-LED-phototransistor combination is suited in the application of high frequency switching
The region to the left of the dashed curve in Fig. 17-7 is replotted to an expanded scale in Fig. 17-9 and
the curves are extended into the third quadrant. The resistance at the origin is the reciprocal of the
slope of the curves at the origin. The slope of the curve for the gate voltage equal to pinch off voltage (-
3V) is zero, and the corresponding value for off resistance Ron is infinite or an open circuit. The curve for
zero gate voltage yields a value for on resistance Ron of several hundred ohms. In this region, the JFET is
useful as a voltage-controlled variable-resistance ( VVR) for the applications of automatic gain control
(AGC) and switch circuits.
1. Set range selector of ohmmeter at R x 1K range. Measure the junction resistance either G-to-D
or G-to-S to find the gate terminal. Assuming an N-channel JFET under testing, connect the black lead
(battery positive) of ohmmeter to the gate (G) and the red lead (battery negative) to either D or S, the
resistance indication should be low. If a P-channel JFET is tested, reverse the leads of ohmmeter.
2. If the range selector of ohmmeter is set at Rx1, some troubles may be encountered in the
measurement step 1 This is caused by the difference of p-n forward characteristics between JFET and
conventional transistor as shown in Fig. 17-10. The forward characteristic of conventional transistor or
diode is that the forward Voltage drop holds between 0.6V and 0.7V once the forward current flowing.
The p-n junction characteristic of JFET is like a diode series with a resistor. In other words, the junction
resistance of JFET is greater than that of a transistor. Therefore, a high resistance range of ohmmeter
should be used.
3. The resistance of drain-to-source should be several hundred ohms either forward or reverse.
Assume an N-channel JFET under testing. Set the range selector of ohmmeter to low resistance range
Connect the black lead of ohmmeter to the terminal D or S and the red lead to the other terminal. With
your finger, touch the black lead and terminal G simultaneously and record the resistance reading.
Reverse the leads and repeat the measurement. Comparing these two results, the measurement of low
reading is proper bias arrangement. That is, the terminal with the black lead is terminal D and the
terminal with the red lead is terminal S.
When the base of Q1 is connected to OV, Q1 off and phototransistor off result in Q3
off and Q4 off. Hence the relay is not energized and LED1 is on.
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
1 — Power Supply Unit KL-51001
1 — Isolation Transformer KL-58002
1 — Module KL-53008
1 — Function generator (Optional)
1 — Multimeter
PROCEDURE
1. Connect 5V and 12V DC supplies from Power Supply Unit KL-51001 KL-58002 to Module
KL-53008.
6. Repeat step 4.
VC1 = _________________________, VE1 = ________________________
VC3 = _________________________, VC4 = ________________________
8. Remove all connect plugs from the Module. Insert connect plugs in positions 3, 4, and 6.
Does the buzzer sound?
________________________________________________________________________
_________
9. Using the multimeter, measure and record the voltages at FET drain, Q3 collector, and
Q4 collector.
VD= _______________________________________________
VC3 = _______________________, VC4 = _______________________________
10. Touch the terminal "TOUCH" with your finger. Does the buzzer sound?
________________________________________________________________________
_________
Using the multimeter, measure and record the voltages at FET drain, Q3 collector, and
Q4 collector.
VD= _______________________________________________
VC3 = _______________________, VC4 = _______________________________
11. Remove your finger from the “TOUCH” terminal. Does the buzzer sound?
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CONCLUSION
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