Hi guys

I got a silly question, are infrared photodiode and photodiode the same thing? I got photodiode but it looks like an infrared photodiode.

Because it looks like a LED with dard red/black casing.

Hope I am making sense.

 

Yes they are the same.

 

Yes they are the same.

Which is like saying a Ford and Mercedes-Benz are the same: they are both cars.

An infrared photo diode is designed to work in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The spectral characteristics depend on the material used to fabricate them:

Materials commonly used to produce photodiodes include:

Material Electromagnetic spectrum wavelength range (nm)


Silicon 190–1100
Germanium 400–1700
Indium gallium arsenide 800–2600
Lead(II) sulfide <1000–3500

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photodiode

Timescope

 

Hello,

The following page of the EDUCYPEDIA has a lot of links with information on photo diodes:
http://educypedia.karadimov.info/electronics/composemiconductorsphoto.htm

Bertus

 

Inside they are the same thing, but the dark casing is to filter out most of the visible light.

 

Which is like saying a Ford and Mercedes-Benz are the same: they are both cars.

An infrared photo diode is designed to work in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The spectral characteristics depend on the material used to fabricate them:

Yes but they all peak in the infrared region.

 

Yes but they all peak in the infrared region.

Not all peak in the infrared region of 700nm to 1mm, for example the Sharp BS120 peaks at 560nm and is characterised for visible light.

Timescope

 

So if I want to make a proximity sensor out of infrared led and infrared photodiode, I will need a matching wavelength pare?

 

A matched pair would give the best results.

Something like this

Timescope

 

Not all peak in the infrared region of 700nm to 1mm, for example the Sharp BS120 peaks at 560nm and is characterised for visible light

Without a part number to go by, chances are the photodiode he has is infrared. As are 99.99% of photodiodes.