tk@halmi
Well-known member
Sure, I have been away from GroupDIY for over ten years, but I have never left in heart. Rack gear was sold off, instruments, partial projects and parts boxed and hidden in various places to give room and time to family.
Returning I am finding that one of my favorite electronic component, the LDR, is in its death throws in Europe, and who knows what will happen next this side of the world. In a way I totally understand the concerns having been impacted by led in my home town’s water supply during my youth. On the other hand losing such a useful audio component is upsetting to the point of action.
I have been doing some research on ZnS which is a wide gap semiconductor similar to CdS, but non-toxic.
It is less ideal than Cadmium based materials due to the band gap being 60% larger. However, I think without adding a lot of complexity ZnS would be sufficiently photosensitive in the UV band given enough energy. Mid last century there were no UV LEDs or other sources that could be easily modulated so we needed materials working in the human visible region. Later LEDs showed up with fast on/off times. Today high power UV LEDs are readily available tuned down to the wavelength needed.
Has anyone had similar thoughts or critique to flaws in my reasoning ?
Returning I am finding that one of my favorite electronic component, the LDR, is in its death throws in Europe, and who knows what will happen next this side of the world. In a way I totally understand the concerns having been impacted by led in my home town’s water supply during my youth. On the other hand losing such a useful audio component is upsetting to the point of action.
I have been doing some research on ZnS which is a wide gap semiconductor similar to CdS, but non-toxic.
It is less ideal than Cadmium based materials due to the band gap being 60% larger. However, I think without adding a lot of complexity ZnS would be sufficiently photosensitive in the UV band given enough energy. Mid last century there were no UV LEDs or other sources that could be easily modulated so we needed materials working in the human visible region. Later LEDs showed up with fast on/off times. Today high power UV LEDs are readily available tuned down to the wavelength needed.
Has anyone had similar thoughts or critique to flaws in my reasoning ?