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What is the difference between a photoconductive (PC) and photovoltaic (PV) detector?

April 26, 2017Detector difference pc photoconductive photovoltaic PV

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What is the difference between a photoconductive (PC) and photovoltaic (PV) detector?

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Both are semiconductor detectors, but a PC detector is based on measuring the change in resistance of a piece of semiconductor material when light impinges on it, while a PV detector is based on measuring the photocurrent produced when light impinges on the depletion region of a diode junction. Both types of detectors are sensitive, but PC detectors are limited by 1/f noise at low frequencies, making them unsuitable for DC operation, while PV detectors can be operated in DC mode. PV detectors also have the speed to handle operating at frequencies greater than 1 GHz, while PC detectors peak in the hundreds of MHz.