DETERMINATION OF PLANCKS

CONSTANT BY MULTIPLE LIGHT

EMITTING DIODES
C H A N , N E R I , PA G D AT O , T O L E N T I N O
PHYSICS 73.1 X4

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS A LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE (LED)?

A semiconductor device that emits light when

voltage is applied across it.

A p-n junction diode
Consist of p-doped and n-doped regions in its
simplest form
Conductor material is typically aluminum-galliumarsenide (AlGaAs)

PARTS OF A LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE

OPERATION OF AN LED
A. No applied voltage
The p- and n-doped regions are misaligned creating a

potential barrier that blocks the flow of charge carriers

Results to no current flow

B. Applied voltage
Conduction and valence bands align and the potential

barrier height decreases

Results to little current flow

OPERATION OF AN LED
C. Applied voltage exceeds turn-on voltage Vo
The conduction and valence bands align and the potential

barrier becomes low enough to allow charge carriers to

move across the pn-junction
Results to a current flow

MAX PLANCK
Proposed that atoms absorb and emit radiation in

discrete quantities.
Mathematically expressed as E = nhf
In this experiment, the Vo of the diode is related to

Eband gap and photon frequency by

eVo = Eband gap = hf

OBJECTIVES
This experiment aims to determine Plancks

constant by plotting the turn-on voltage vs

frequency of the LEDs wired in a parallel circuit;
and
To investigate the mechanism of LEDs and relate

it to the concepts encountered in the course.

METHODOLOGY

24V POWER SUPPLY

D i re c t C u rre n t

connected to a printed circuit board

1k RESISTOR
in series

LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES (LEDs)

in parallel with each other

VOLTMETER
also in parallel

AMMETER
in series

R E C O R D VO LTAG E ( V ) a n d C U R R E N T ( m A ) R E A D I N G S
a t m o s t 1 5 d i ff e r e n t r e a d i n g s

*Voltage was not allowed to exceed 4V

P LO T C U R R E N T v s . VO LTAG E

CURRENT (mA)

e s t i m a t e t h e t u r n - o n v o l t a g e f r o m t h e b e s t - fi t l i n e

Vo
V O LTA G E ( V )

*just an illustration

6 POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS
3!

P LO T T U R N - O N VO LTAG E v s . F R E Q U E N CY
frequency of the LED with higher V o

P L A N C K S C O N S TA N T

RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION

VOLTAGE DROP
*amount of voltage lost in the LED when operated at the
certain reference current
RED, ORANGE, YELLOW AND YELLOW-GREEN (1.8V)
PURE GREEN, BLUE, WHITE, UV (3.3V)

PARALLEL CIRCUITS
Same voltage throughout
Different current
Connecting several LEDs in parallel with one

resistor is generally not a good idea

Current will take the path of the least resistance
Hence, LED with less Vo steals the current from the higher

Vo

COLOR COMBINATIONS
WHAT WORKED:
Red and Orange
Orange and Blue
Orange and Violet
Blue and Violet
WHAT DIDNT:
Red and Blue
Red and Violet

WHY DIDNT IT WORK?

DIFFERENT ELECTRIC PROPERTIES
Different colors
Different sizes and manufacturers
Manufactured in different batches
COMPONENTS CHANGE
Change in characteristics because of aging
HEATING
Different characteristics
Heat increases, Vo decreases.

I vs V (RED + ORANGE)
0.02
0.01

f(x) = 0.03x - 0.05

R = 0.98

0.01
0.01

Current, I (mA)

0.01
0.01
0
0
0
1.7

1.8

1.9

2
Voltage, V (V)

2.1

2.2

2.3

I vs V (BLUE + VIOLET)
0.02
0.01

f(x) = 0.05x - 0.15

R = 0.97

0.01
0.01

Current, I (mA)

0.01
0.01
0
0
0
2.75

2.8

2.85

2.9

2.95

Voltage, V (V)

3.05

3.1

I vs V (ORANGE + BLUE)
0.02
0.01
0.01

f(x) = 0.01x - 0.02

R = 0.94

0.01

Curent, I (mA)

0.01
0.01
0
0
0
2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3.2

Voltage, V (V)

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.2

I vs V (ORANGE + VIOLET)
0.02
0.01
f(x) = 0.04x - 0.12
R = 0.93

0.01
0.01

Current, I (mA)

0.01
0.01
0
0
0
2.7

2.75

2.8

2.85

2.9
Voltage, V (V)

2.95

3.05

3.1

COLOR

FREQUENCY
(X1014 HZ)

SLOPE

YINTERCEPT

Turn-on
voltage (V),
experimental

Turn-on
voltage (V),
theoretical

RED-ORANGE

4.90

0.0302

0.0535

1.771523

2.026150

ORANGE-BLUE

6.53

0.0086

0.0217

2.523256

2.700155

ORANGEVIOLET

7.43

0.0436

0.1203

2.759174

3.072305

BLUE-VIOLET

7.43

0.0544

0.153

2.8125

3.072305

Vo vs FREQUENCY
3

2.5

f(x) = 0x - 0.16
R = 0.99

Turn on voltage(V)

1.5

0.5

0
400000000000000

500000000000000

600000000000000
Frequency (Hz)

700000000000000

800000000000000

Slope (eV.s)

3.9994x10-15

y-intercept (eV)

-1.6197x10-1

Theoretical
Plancks Constant (eV.s)

4.135x10-15

PERCENT DEVIATION (%)

3.2793%

SOLUTION
Separate resistors in parallel
Calculate resistance
If goal is to light all the LEDs, connect in series
Needs higher working voltage
Not the scope of the study

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION
Determination of Plancks constant is still feasible

with multiple LEDs in parallel

Only a certain combination of LEDs will light
The LED with the higher theoretical turn-on

voltage should be used

RECOMMENDATIONS
Higher voltage of power supply
More LEDs in parallel
More accurate measuring devices (more decimal

places)
Account for differences (better experimental

procedure)
Explore how the Plancks constant will be

determined by connecting in series

QUESTIONS?