PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

Photoelectric effect is the phenomenon of emission of electrons from a metal surface when light
of suitable frequency falls on it. The electrons emitted are called photoelectrons.
This effect was discovered by hertz in 1887, when he observed that a high voltage spark passed
across the metal electrodes more easily if ultraviolet light was allowed to fall upon the cathode.
Zinc and magnesium show photoelectric effect with ultraviolet radiation. Alkali metals namely
sodium, potassium, caesium, rubidium show remarkable photoelectric effect with visible light.
Further all substances show photoelectric effect when they are irradiated by Gamma rays or Xrays.

Experimental study of photoelectric effect

Figure shows an experimental setup for studying the photoelectric effect. A and
B are two plates inside an evacuated tube T.A and B are respectively connected to ve
and +ve terminals of a variable DC source with a microammeter in series. Plate A is
photoemissive and plate B is the collector plate. W is a quartz window sealed to the tube
and it allows visible and also UV radiation to pass through and fall on the plate A. When
light of suitable frequency falls on the plate A, electrons are ejected from the plate. These
electrons are attracted by the collector plate B
and a current flows through the circuit as
indicated by the microammeter.
This apparatus can be used to study the
dependence of current on 1) the intensity of
light, 2) the frequency of light, 3) the voltage
between the plates and 4) the effect of different
photo emissive metals.
One of the important measurements is the
determination of stopping potential. If the plate
B is made ve with respect to A, the electrons
are retarded or slowed down. The retarding
potential just sufficient to stop the electrons from reaching the plate B is called the stopping
potential.
The results obtained from the experimental study of photoelectric effect are stated in the form of
laws called laws of photoelectric effect.
1) Photoelectric effect is an instantaneous process. Photoelectric are emitted out as soon
8
as the light falls on the emitter. The time lag is less than 10 s .
2) For every photoemissive surface there is a certain frequency below no photoelectric
effect occurs. This minimum frequency is called threshold frequency( v ) .
3) For a given frequency greater than the threshold frequency, the strength of
photoelectric current is directly proportional to the intensity of the incident radiation.
4) The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons increases with the frequency of the
incident radiation. It is independent of the intensity of the incident radiation.

M.N.Sharath kumar

Work function
Since the electrons are bound to the metal, a certain amount of work has to be done to
release them.
The minimum energy which is just sufficient to liberate electrons from a photoemissive surface is called photoelectric work function.
The photoelectric work function(W) and the threshold frequency( v ) of a photoemissive
material are related as

Stopping potential and its relation with maximum kinetic energy of

photoelectrons
Stopping potential is the negative potential on the collector plate at which the
photoelectric current just becomes zero.
The workdone by the stopping potential on the fastest electrons related must be equal to
their kinetic energy. If m is the mass of the photoelectron, vmax the maximum velocity of the
electrons emitted and V is the stopping potential then

Or

Einsteins explanation of photoelectric effect ( Einsteins photoelectric equation)

In 1905 Einstein explained photoelectric effect on the basis of plancks quantum theory of
radiation.
According to plancks quantum theory, the emission or absorption of radiation is in the form of
packets of energy known as quanta or photons. Einstein further assumed that light travels as
quanta. The energy of photon is hv, where h is the plancks constant and v is the frequency of
light.
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When a photon of energy hv is incident on a metal surface, its

energy is transferred to a single electron. A part of this
energy called work function is used in liberating the electron
and the rest appears as kinetic energy of the emitted electron.
Thus if W is the work function of the metal and vmax is the
maximum velocity of the emitted electron, the energy
equation is

1
2
hv W mvmax
2

This equation is called Einsteins photoelectric equation.

Note 1: W hv

1
2
mvmax
eV
2
Where v is the threshold frequency of the photoemissive material and V is the stopping
potential. Using these relations Einsteins photoelectric equation
can be written in different form as

1
2
mvmax
h(v v ) or Kmax hv hv
2
h
h
eV h(v v ) or V v v
e
e
Graph of K max versus v is a straight line. Slope = h, y intercept= hv .v = y intercept/slope.
h
h
Graph of V versus v is a straight line. Slope= , y intercept = v . v y intercept/slope.
e
e
Note 2: Photoelectrons which originate from depth below the metal surface have to spend
energy greater than W to come out of the metal. Thus photoelectrons are emitted with velocities
or kinetic energies from zero upto a definite maximum.

Explanation of experimental results(or laws) of photoelectric effect using

Einsteins equation
Einsteins photoelectric equation is

1
2
mvmax
h(v v )
2
1) As soon as the photon falls on the metal surface, an electron absorbs it and as such it gets
ejected. Thus photoelectric effect is instantaneous.
2) If v v then the kinetic energy of the electron would be
negative which is impossible. Therefore no emission is
possible if v v .
3) Keeping frequency of the incident radiation constant, if the
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intensity is increased, the number of photons striking the surface will increase. Thus
photoelectric current increases with intensity. But vmax remains constant.
4) According to Einsteins equation, as v increases vmax increases.

Photoelectric cells
A photoelectric cell is a device which converts light energy into electrical energy. There are
three types of photoelectric cells.

1) Photoemissive cell
It consists of a glass or quartz tube
with its inner surface coated with potassium or caesium.
This layer is light sensitive and
acts as the cathode c of the cell. A small portion of the
tube is transparent to allow the
light to enter the tube. The anode in the form of thin wire
(A) of platinum or nickel is
mounted inside the tube. C is connected to the negative
terminal and A to the positive terminal
of a variable DC voltage source of 80 to 100V through a
resistance R.
When light of frequency higher than the threshold
frequency falls on the cathode C, photelectrons are
emitted. These electrons are attracted by the anode A and so a current flows in the external
circuit.
Photoemissive cells are used in exposure meters, cinematography, etc.

2) Photovoltaic cell
It consists of a thin semiconducting Layer like
cuprous oxide( Cu 2 o ) formed
on a metal base. This layer is covered with a thin film
of silver or gold which is practically transparent.
When light falls on the oxide layer move towards the
silver film. Then silver film becomes negatively
charged and the metal base becomes positively
charged. The voltage across the resistance R is
proportional to the intensity of light.
Photovoltaic cells are used in light meters,
exposure meters, etc.

3)Photoconductive cell
The cell consists a semiconductor material like
selenium or lead sulphide provided with two electrons.
When light is incident on the cell its resistance decreases
and conductivity increases. Hence the current in the battery
circuit containing photoconductive cell changes with
change in intensity of light with a time lag. The time lag is
the main draw back of this cell and so it is used only in
automatic relays.The voltage across the resistance R is
proportional to the intensity of light.
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Applications of photoelectric cells (or photoelectric effect)

1) Photo cells are used in exposure meters and light meters.
2) They are used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources of light.
3) They are used in television cameras for converting optical images into electrical signals.
4) They are used in cinematography for reproduction of sound.
5) They are used in counting machines, identification of colours and in smoke detection.
6) They are used for automatic switching on/off of traffic signals and street lights.
7) They are used for the measurement of turbidity.
8) They are used in temperature indicator and controller.
9) They are used in the detection of minor flaws in metal sheets.
10) They are used in obtaining electric energy from sun light during space travel.

Dual nature of matter

Concepts of matter waves:
In order to explain certain phenomenon like reflection, refraction, interference diffraction
polarization etc, light is considered to be a wave. To explain phenomenon like photoelectric
effect, Raman effect, Compton effect etc, light is assumed to as particles. Thus light is taken to
behave both as a particle and a wave. This is known as dual nature of light.
Louis de Broglie (French physicist -1924) proposed a hypothesis that electromagnetic
waves exhibit particle properties and material particles exhibit wave properties(dual nature). The
wave associated with material particles in motion is called matter wave or de Broglie wave.
The energy of a photon is given by E

hc
, where is the wavelength, c is the velocity

of light and h is the Plancks constant.

Also by Einsteins mass energy relation E = mc2.
Thus E

hc
h
mc 2

mc

The product mc represents the momentum of the photon denoted by p. Thus,

h
.
p

Extending this argument to any particle of mass moving with a speed v, the de Broglie
h
wavelength is given by,
.
mv
The de Broglie wavelength is inversely proportional to the mass and the velocity of the
particle. This implies that the de Broglie wavelength is inversely proportional to the momentum
of the particle.
The kinetic energy of a particle of mass m moving with a speed v is given by
h
1
E mv 2 . Hence momentum mv 2mE . Thus
.
2
2mE

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For an electron accelerated by a potential V, the kinetic energy gained is

h
12.27 o
1

A .
E mv 2 Ve . Thus
2
2mVe
V
Matter waves are neither mechanical nor electromagnetic. Matter waves can travel in
vacuum hence they cannot be mechanical waves. Matter waves are not electromagnetic waves as
they are not produced by accelerating charges. Thus matter waves are probability waves. Matter
waves are also called pilot waves. We do not observe wave nature of matter in our daily life
because they two small for detection.
G.P Thompsons Experiment:

G.P. Thompsons experiment demonstrate the wave nature of electrons in motion.

The electron beam required is produced by
To pump
a cathode C in a discharge tube. The electrons are
accelerated towards the anode A by applying a
high potential difference (in the order of 50,000
volt) between C and A. The electrons passing
F
through a narrow hole in A, fall on a thin gold foil
P
A
C
F. The thickness of the foil will be in the order of S
108m. The diffracted beam of electrons is received
Discharge
Camera
by a photographic plate P. The pattern can be
tube
part
visually examined on a fluorescent screen S. high
vacuum is maintained in the camera part and the discharge part contains a gas at a low pressure.
The electron beam passing through the gold foil gets diffracted and
the pattern is received by the photographic plate. The pattern is found to
consist of concentric rings. This pattern is exactly similar to the diffraction
pattern obtained by the diffraction of light through a small circular hole.
On the removal of the gold foil, only a central spot is obtained. This
confirms the diffraction of electrons at the gold foil. This indicates
electrons exhibits wave nature.
If R is the radius of the nth ring in the diffraction pattern, L is the
distance of the screen from the gold foil and d is the distance the atomic planes in the crystal,
Rd
.......... 1 .
the wavelength of the diffracted electron beam is given by
nL
If V is the voltage under which the electrons are accelerated, the de Broglie wavelength
h
12.27 o

A............... 2 .
is
2mVe
V
The values of the wavelength from (1), agrees with that from(2). This confirms the dual
nature of electron.

Electron microscope:
Principle:

Electron microscope is based on the wave nature of electrons in motion.

An electron beam accelerated under 50,000 volt will have a de Broglie wavelength of
0.0055nm, which is 105 times smallest than that of visible light. Since the resolving power of a
microscope is inversely proportional to the wavelength, the resolving power of an electron
microscope is 105 that of an optical microscope. This helps in the investigation of minute
constituents of matter.
The two common types of electron microscope are scanning electron microscope (SEM)
and transmission electron microscope(TEM).
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M.N.Sharath kumar

In principle, a SEM consists of a filament to produce focused beam of electrons.

Secondary electrons are produced when the primary beam of electrons hit the specimen. These
electrons are detected and converted to image on a suitable screen. In a TEM, the electron beam
is passed through the specimen and the transmitted electrons are used to develop an image.

In a TEM, electrons emitted from the filament F

are accelerated by a suitable high pd. The electron beam is
further concentrated with the help of magnetic lens M1.
The object under investigation O is placed in the path of
the beam is shown. Electrons are partially absorbed by the
specimen.
The transmitted electrons pass through another
magnetic lens M2, which spreads the electron beam and
forms the first enlarged image I1 of O. This image serves
as virtual object for the projector magnetic lens M3. The
final enlarged image I2 is obtained on the fluorescent
screen or on a photographic plate. The entire system is
contained in an evacuated chamber.

To vacuum pump

Working of TEM:

M1
O

M2

I1

M3

Image

Approximately a magnification of 106 is achieved

in electron microscope and particles with a size less than 10 nm can be examined. This helps in
the study of structure of crystal, fibres, polymers, bacteria, virus etc.
The resolving power of TEM is better than SEM. Hence TEM is used to determine the
internal structure of materials. SEM provides a 3-D quality images and hence are easy to
interpret. SEM can cover a larger area of the specimen.

Atomic force microscope (AFM):

AFM is a device to study the surface topography of materials in a scale from angstroms
to few microns. The device employs a probe or tip with a radius around 20 nm. The tip is held
several nanometers above the surface of the material. Using a sophisticated feed back
mechanism, it measures the surface-tip interactions. Variations in the tip height are recorded as
tip scans the material. The result of the scan are processed for a topographic image.
AFM has become a very important tool in fields like electronics, biology, chemistry etc.
It helps in modeling and understanding of abrasions, adhesions, cleaning, corrosion, etching,
friction, lubricants, plating, polishing, elasticity, shapes of DNA etc.

Uses of Electron microscope:

1. It is used in the investigation of atomic structure and sturucture of crystals.
2. It is used in the study and analysis of small particles forming colloids.
3. It is used in industry to study the structure of textile fibres, surface of metals,
composition of paper and paints etc.
4. It is used to study virus and bacteria.

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