1. Special resistors as Sensors: thermistor and photo-resistor
Purpose
• To demonstrate that some special resistors can be used as sensors • Use a thermistor (a thermal resistor) to sense
the temperature variations.
• Use a photoresistor to detect light intensity.
• More examples for applications of thermistors and photoresistors.
Equipments: ELVIS ι ι , PTC thermistor, NTC thermistor, photoresistor, jump wires, cables with banana plugs,
banana-to-minigrabber cables
Sensor is a device that convert a physical quantity into an electrical signal. In this Lab, you will gain experiences
with two types of sensors; thermistor and photo-resistor. A thermisor is also known as a thermal resistor. The
resistance value of a thermistor changes as function of temperature. Therefore it can be used as a temperature
sensor. You will also see other applications of a thermistor such as protection from over-current in a circuit. A photo-
resistor is a device whose resistance varies when the light intensity on the device varies. A simple motion detector
can be constructed using the photoresistor.
Pre-Lab exercises
Thoroughly read through the brochure. For experiment ι ι , practice the wirings and placement of components on the
picture (next page) of the prototyping board.
Review the procedures for measuring a I – V curve of a light bulb in one of the previous Labs. You will measure the I –
V curve for a thermistor in this Lab.

2. You have measured I – V curve of a light bulb. In this Lab, you will measure the I – V curve of a PTC thermistor.
From what you have read in the brochure. Compare the similarities and differences between a light bulb and a
PTC thermistor.

4. Experiment : Introduction to Thermistors
Thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance varies as a function of temperature. It is widely used as temperature
sensors. The temperature measurement is reduced to the resistance measurement of a calibrated thermistor.
To the first order approximation, the change of resistance and the change of temperature is described as:
∆R=k∆T
∆R: change of resistance of the thermistor; ∆T: change of temperature; k: first order temperature coefficient
If k > 0, the thermistor is called a Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) thermistor
If k < 0, the thermistor is called a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC)
thermistor.
For a PTC thermistor, the resistance increases when the
temperature increases, for a NTC thermistor, the
resistance decreases when the temperature
increases. You are given a PTC and a NTC thermistor in
this Lab.
PTC thermistor NTC thermistor
Connect the PTC thermistor to the DMM using the banana-to-minigrabber cables. Activate the DMM and display
the resistance of the thermistor. Do not touch the thermistor (because the temperature may change) and allow the
resistance to stabilize. Record the resistance value. Ask the TA what is the room temperature in degree Celsius

5. today. If the TA does not know, just assume 20 degree Celsius in the room. This resistance is associated with the
temperature value.
Use two fingers to firmly pinch the thermistor. Observe how the resistance value changes on the DMM display.
Why does the resistance rises? Because the temperature of the thermistor increases from room temperature
toward your body temperature. Wait until the resistance value stops increasing. Record the resistance value. Your
body temperature is ~ 36 degree Celsius. Calculate the temperature coefficient k.
Switch the NTC thermistor. Repeat the above measurements. Calculate the temperature coefficient k for the NTC
thermistor.
Experiment: Use PTC thermistor for over-current protection
PTC thermistor can be used as a over-current protector.
The circuit diagram on the left shows you how a PTC
50 Ω at 25 degree Celsius thermistor can be used for
over-current protection.
In this example circuit diagram, a PTC is put in series
with a Load resistor, and d.c. power (e.g. 1 V) is applied.
The rated current for the load is 50 mA. This means that
serious damage will occur if it is exposed to a current >
50 mA for more than a few seconds. Under normal
operation condition, a 10 mA current is flowing through
the Load and the PTC.
If a voltage surge (e.g. 10 V) is coming from the power
supply. Instantaneously the current in the circuit
increases to 100 mA. This current will produces 100
times more heat in the thermistor, because the Joule heating power is I2R. The temperature of the PTC rises
PTC
1 V power supply Load
R = 50 Ω

6. rapidly and so does its resistance. Assume the resistance increases to 500 Ω. Therefore the current will be reduced
to < 20 mA.
In this manner, the Load is only exposed to the large current (100 mA) for only a short period of time (< few seconds), and
thus it is protected from serious damages.
The verify the over-current protection capability of a PTC
thermistor, you can measure the I – V curve of a PTC
thermistor. Use the +12 V VPS (Variable Power Supply).
Change the voltage from 0 V to 12 V with the increment of 1 V
each and measure the currents. After setting the voltage
value, wait for at least 60 seconds for the temperature and
the resistance value of the thermistor to stabilize.
An example I – V curve of a particular type of PTC
thermistor (not necessarily the same type as the one you
have) is shown on the right. The most striking feature of the
I – V curve is that it is not monotonic. This is a result of the
drastic increase of resistance as a function of temperature.
This non-monotonic I – V curve also set an upper limit for the current. In this particular case, the upper limit
is ~ 0.025 A. Therefore if you put this thermistor in series with load resistor. The current in the load will
never go above 0.025 A. So it is protected from a over-current, even if there is a surge of the voltage from
the power supply.
Compare the I – V curve you have measured with the example curve. You should also see the decrease of
current at higher voltages.
Calculate resistance (R) and plot the R – V curve for the thermistor. This gives you a clearer picture of how fast the
resistance increases as the voltage is increased.
Include the I –V and R – V curves in your Lab report.

7. Experiment : Photo resistors
A photo resistor is a resistive device whose resistance decreases with increasing light intensity. The photo resistor in this
Lab is made of semiconducting Cadmium Sulfide (CdCs).
A picture of active region of
Visually inspect the photoresistor. The active region of photoresistor. Not necessarily the
the photoresitor is the top side of the device with a same as the one you use in this
Zigzag pattern. This region is sensitive to the light
Lab.
intensity.
Use the banana-to-minigrabber cables to connect the photoresistor to the DMM. Activate the DMM to display the
resistance to the photoresistor.
First, use Auto range for resistance measurement. The Meter will automatically selects proper range. Let the active region
of the photoresistor facing up to receive maximum exposure of the ambient light. After the resistance value stabilizes,
record the resistance value. Then use your hand to cover the active region of the photoresistor, and observe the increase
of the resistance value. Try your best to shield the ambient light from the active region of the photoresistor, and record the
highest resistance value.
You can make a simple motion detector using the photoresistor. Keep the photoresistor connected with the DMM. But
Switch the mode to “Specify Range” and select “10 kOhm” range. Place the photoresistor on the bench with the active

8. region facing up. Move your hand slowly across the photoresistor and observe the sudden surge of resistance value
on the DMM display. It is a primitive motion detector!
Try to focus on the bar indicator underneath the digital display on the DMM (on the computer screen) instead of the
digital display itself. This gives you a more straightforward indication for the resistance changes. Adjust the speed and
the height of your hand to achieve the best results.
Now switch to other ranges, and try the same experiment. Identify which range gives the best visual indications of
resistance change.
Photoresistor, Transistor, and LED’s
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this laboratory experiment, the experimenter should be able to:
• Explain how a photoresistor works
• Describe the voltage-current relationship for an LED
• Build a circuit that includes an LED, photoresistor, and transistor and interface the circuit to a microcontroller to create
a light controlled switch
• Write a program for the ATmega16 to control and modify the functionality of a light controlled switch
Components:
Qty. Item Qty. Item
2 10 kΩ resistor 1 470 Ω resistor
1 Solder less Breadboard 1 220 to 270 Ω resistor
1 Photoresistor 1 red or green LED
1 2N3904, NPN transistor
1 STK500 with Atmel ATmega16

9. Introduction:
A photoresistor is simply a resistor whose resistance depends on the amount of light incident upon it. Photoresistors are
used to make light-sensitive devices, and are often made from cadmium sulfide (CdS). The resistance of a CdS
photoresistor varies inversely to the amount of light incident upon it. In other words, its resistance will be higher at low light
levels (in the dark) and lower at high light levels (in the light).
A light emitting diode (LED) behaves like an ordinary diode except that when it is forward biased, it emits light. An LED’s
forward voltage drop is higher than that of an ordinary diode. Typical LEDs (the two-wire leaded “jelly bean” type) require 5
to 15mA to reach full brightness, but are not designed to handle more than about 20 mA of current (though some designed
specifically for lighting applications can handle upwards of 1A or more). You will therefore always need to provide a resistor
in series with an LED to limit the current to about 20 mA or less, or else you will burn it out. Also, don’t make the mistake of
trying to substitute an LED where a standard diode is called for! Look at the schematic diagram to see which kind of
component is needed.
Procedure
1. Measure the photoresistor’s resistance in the ambient lighting of the lab. How stable is it?
Once this is recorded, repeat the measurement, only this time, cover the cell with your hand. These two extremes will be
used in calculations later on.
2. To verify the behavior of the LED, construct the circuit shown in Figure 1. Measure the actual resistance of the 470 Ω
resistor and record your reading. Vary the supply voltage from 1 to 5 volts using 1-volt increments. At each voltage,
measure the voltage across the LED and the 470 Ω resistor using the DMM, and enter the values into the following table.
The LED current can be calculated by applying Ohm’s law across the resistor. A similar table should be entered into the lab
report with all voltage values and comments. Remember Ohm’s law for calculating the current through a resistor: I = V/R,
where V is the voltage across the resistor.
Top view
Side view
anode
+
+
VS
470Ω
LED
cathode
flat or notch
-
VR
VLED
+ -

10. (A) (C or K)
Figure 1. LED and typical circuit. Note that the anode lead is longer than the cathode. Sometimes there is a flat on the cathode side of the LED to
help you distinguish anode from cathode. With voltage sources above the maximum forward voltage of the LED, you must always use a resistor in
series to limit the current through the LED.
Table 1. LED circuit measurements (Refer to Figure 1)
VS, V VLED, V
VR, V
Current,
mA
Comment on LED
brightness
1
2
3
4
5
Figure 2 shows a simple ‘light-controlled-LED’. The circuit should turn-off the LED as the photoresistor is covered.
Explain the theory of operation of this circuit. Based on the information obtained above, what is a good supply voltage to
use? (Hint: V should be high enough so that enough current flows through the LED when the photoresistor has low
resistance, and yet should be low enough so that the current is not enough to turn on the LED when the photoresistor
has high resistance.) Build the circuit in Figure 2, and check its function. Describe its operation.
Figure 2. Light-controlled LED Figure 3. Light-controlled using a transistor “switch”
CdS
V
CdSV
RC

11. The Light-Controlled Switch Using a Transistor
A transistor can be added to the light-controlled-switch circuit to improve its sensitivity and to eliminate the ‘half-on-half-
off’ state of the LED. A rudimentary circuit to do so is shown above in Figure 3 (you don’t have to build this circuit). Here
the photoresistor controls the amount of current flowing into the base of the transistor, which in turn controls the
collector current of the transistor, thus controlling the current through the LED. Unfortunately, this circuit may not
function properly, because when the photoresistor is in the dark state, and the LED is supposed to be turned off, the
base current may be large enough that the LED may stay lit! Prove this (not now, but when you write your report), by
calculating the collector current for the circuit in Figure 3 when V=10 V, RCdS=100 kΩ, Rc=220 Ω and hfe=100.
Figure 4 shows an improved circuit. This is the circuit that you will build and experiment with next.
Figure 4. Improved light-controlled switch using a 2N3904 transistor. With the flat side of the transistor facing away from you, the pins from left to right are:
collector, base, and emitter. (Transistor pinout source: http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/2N/2N3904.pdf)
With a properly selected resistor R1, the voltage at the base of the transistor in the dark state is less than 0.7 V, and
therefore the transistor is in the cut-off state. Since the transistor is cutoff, no current flows from its collector to its emitter, so
the LED will be off. As the photoresistor’s resistance decreases (as the result of an increase in light intensity), the voltage at
the base increases due the voltage divider formed by R1 and the photoresistor. Once the base voltage reaches 0.7 V, the
base current starts to flow, and any further decrease in the photoresistor’s resistance causes an increase of base current.
This base current increment will be amplified by the current gain of the transistor up to the point that the transistor saturates.
Procedure
CdS
R1
VS
Rc
B
C
E
C
B E

12. The following procedure explains how to select the resistance values for R1 and RC in Figure 4. Document with calculations
in your report how you arrived at the resistance values that you ultimately used to build the light-controlled transistor
switch in Figure 4 using the procedure below.
1. Choose the supply voltage, VS. The supply voltage is often a predetermined value rather than a design choice. For example,
suppose the supply consisted of five alkaline batteries in series. Then VS = 5 * 1.5V = 7.5V.
2. Select R1. First, choose the value of the photoresistor’s resistance (call it Ron) within the range that you measured earlier at
which you would like the LED to be turned on. The resistance value can be that for when the photoresistor is covered or
somewhat “shaded”, it’s up to you. The value of R1 should be such that 0.7V = VS*R1/(R1+Ron).
Choose a nominal resistor value closest to the value you calculated for R1, or you can use a variable resistor (trim pot).
Depending on the resistor value you choose, you may want to check the equation above for RON to make sure it still
within the range that you want.
3. Select Rc, the current limiting resistor. With this resistor, the collector current is limited to
Imax=(VS - VLED - VSat)/RC , where VLED is the voltage drop across the LED (i.e., the voltage you measured across the LED
when it was ‘on’. See Table 1 above.), and VSat is the saturation voltage between the collector and emitter. A reasonable
value for VSat for the 2N3904 transistor is about 0.4V. Select RC so that the LED current is limited to be less than 20 mA
(preferably 5-10 mA). You may need to iterate this calculation depending on the limited choice of resistor values that we
have in the lab. Using Rc, construct and test the circuit.
Using the ATmega16 to Make a Programmable Light-
Controlled Switch
The circuit in Figure 4 is very simple, but it suffers from the disadvantage that once R1 is chosen and the circuit is constructed, you’re
stuck with its performance unless you physically remove R1 and replace it with a different value. That is not too serious if you are
dealing with one circuit on a breadboard, but suppose this circuit were part of a product that you were manufacturing, say 1000 per day.
If you wanted to change the performance of the device, you would have to modify the assembly drawings, circuit board artwork, and
component inventory, rework the entire work-in-process, etc. That would be a big deal! Here we will use the ATmega16 to make a light-
controlled switch whose performance can be modified by simply reprogramming the microcontroller. Procedure
1. Build the part of the circuit in shown in Figure 5 below labeled A. We are going to use the STK500 to supply power and ground to
this circuit for convenience, but don’t assume that you can power do so as a general approach to your prototyping needs! Loads

13. that draw more than a couple tens of milliamps should be powered by an external supply with a common ground to the STK500.
Connect the 10k resistor to pin PC0 on the STK500 board using a jumper from the pin to the solder less breadboard. Don’t forget
that you need to supply power to the ATmega16. The voltage on PC0 will either be 0 or 5 V. Which of these will turn the transistor
on? When the transistor turns on, is it saturated? Based on your earlier measurements on the LED and the characteristics of the
transistor, what are ib, and ic when PC0 is at 5 V?
2. Create a New Project in AVR Studio. Refer to the previous lab if you don’t remember how to do this. Also, don’t forget to
set the Configuration Options with the CPU frequency at 8 MHz, O2 optimization, and choose the proper directory
location of the hex file. Compile and run the Blink Test Program, which you can find on the ME 106 website, and see if
you can make the LED blink.
Explain how the PORTC output is toggled by using the ‘^=’ operator.
3. When you have successfully completed step 2, build the circuit in B shown in Figure 5. Create a New Project, make copies of uart.h
and uart.c from the ME 106 website, and compile and run the Photoresistor and A/D test program, which you can also find on the
ME 106 website.
Connect the microcontroller to HyperTerminal as described in the Introduction to ATmega16 lab.
Reset the microcontroller by pressing the reset button on the STK500 or by cycling the power. What happens when you cover the
photoresistor? What range of values are shown in the communications window? What voltage do these correspond to?
value.

14. 4. When you have successfully completed step 3, write a program that will turn the LED on when you cover the photoresistor with your
hand. (Hint: add a test in the While loop that compares the value of adc_level with a value approximately in the center of the voltage
range that you measured in step 3 when the photoresistor was covered. Experiment with the threshold value.) Display the state of
your LED on the terminal window.
What changes need to be made to the software (note: no need to change any hardware) if you want to have the LED stay on under ambient
light conditions and turn off when a shadow falls on the photoresistor (i.e. the opposite function to what you programmed in step 4)?
THANK YOU…….