Hall effect

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 Hall Effect for Resistivity Measurement

Aim:
(i) To study the Hall Effect and to determine (a) Hall voltage and (b) Hall coefficient
(ii) To determine the type of the majority carriers
(iii) To determine the charge carrier density
(iv) To determine the Hall angle

Apparatus:

It consists of
1. Power Supply for electromagnets, 0-16 V, 5 Amps
2. Constant current source, 0-20 mA
3. Gauss meter with Hall probe
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4. Semiconductor chip mounted on PCB
5. MultiMate for measuring Hall voltage
6. Hall Effect apparatus

Introduction:

In 1879, E.H. Hall observed that on placing a current carrying conductor perpendicular magnetic
field, a voltage is observed perpendicular to both the magnetic field and current. It was observed
that the charge carriers, which were assumed to be electrons, experienced a sideways force
opposite to what was expected. This was later explained on the basis of band theory. The number
of conducting charges and the sign of the charge carriers cannot be determined by the
measurement of the conductivity of a specimen. In metals/conductors, the current carriers are
only electrons whereas in semiconductors, both electrons and holes act as current carriers.
Therefore in semiconductors, it is quite necessary to determine whether a material is of n-type or
p-type. The Hall Effect can be used to distinguish between two types of charge carriers and also
to determine the density of charge carriers.

Theory:

The variation of electrical conductivity with temperature does not provide adequate information
regarding the type of carriers and their concentration. Hall Effect is electromagnetic effect. A
specimen (Ge n-type crystal lightly doped) rectangular slab of solid in which Hall effect is to be
studied is shown. When such a current carrying semiconductor is placed in a transverse magnetic
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field, an electric field is established perpendicular to both, direction of current and direction of
magnetic field. This electric field is called Hall electric field, potential difference is called Hall
Voltage and phenomenon is known as Hall Effect in a honor of E.H. Hall, the physicist who
discovered it in 1879.

Let us consider rectangular plate of a p-type semiconductor. When potentials difference is

applied across it’s ends, a current of strength I flows trough it along the x-direction. (see figure
above). The current in the semiconductor is given by,

I = n A e νd

Where n = Concentration of electrons

A = Cross section area of end face

e = Charge of electron & νd = drift velocity of electrons.

Therefore current density

I
Jx   n e vd
A

The origin of Hall voltage is as follows. Before the application of magnetic field electron moves
in a straight line along x-axis. Upon the application of magnetic field , charge carriers will
experience force FL  Bevd . Because of this force holes will be deflected towards front face and
electrons are deflected towards back face and pile up there. As a result an electric field is
produced across FF’. The direction of electric field is such that it will oppose further pile up of
charge carriers. A condition of equilibrium is established when transverse electric field balances
the Lorentz force. In the equilibrium condition,

FE = FL

The Hall voltage is given as,

BI
VH 
net

The Hall coefficient is defined as Hall field per unit current density per unit magnetic induction,
i.e.

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 EH 1
RH  
J x B ne

Thus Hall voltage will be +Ve if majority care carriers are holes and –Ve if they are electrons in
the semiconductor.

We can also calculate concentration of charge carriers from following:

1 1
RH  or RH 
ne pe

We can also find mobility of charge carrier if conductivity of the material or vice-a-versa.
  RH 

Procedure:

1. Mount the PCB (with mounted crystal) on one of the pillars and hall probe on the pillars.
2. Complete all connections as shown on the figure above.
3. Switch ON the gauss meter and place the hall probe away from the electromagnet. Select the
range of the gauss meter as X1 and using the adjustment knob of the Gauss meter, adjust the
reading of the gauss meter to zero.
DO NOT SWITCH ON THE ELECTROMAGNET AT THIS STAGE
4. Switch ON the constant current source and set the current, say at 5 mA in constant current
source. Keep the magnetic field at zero as recorded by gauss meter.
DO NOT SWITCH ON THE ELECTROMAGNET AT THIS STAGE
5. Set the voltage range of the multimeter at 0-200 mV. If needed set the voltage as recorded by
multimeter to be zero by adjusting the zero set pot as shown in figure below provided on
PCB using screw driver. When a current of 5 mA is passed through the crystal without
application of magnetic field the hall voltage as recorded by the multimeter should be zero.
The zero set should be adjusted carefully and gradually.
DO NOT SWITCH ON THE ELECTROMAGNET AT THIS STAGE

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6. Bring the current reading of the constant current source to zero by adjusting the knob of the
constant current source.
7. Switch ON the electromagnet (say at about 17 V, 3.5 A).
8. Select the range of the gauss meter as X10 and measure the magnetic flux density at the
center between the pole pieces. The tip of the hall probe and the crystal should be placed
between the centers of the pole pieces. The pole pieces should be very close to the crystal and
the tip of the hall probe.
POLE PIECES SHOULD NOT TOUCH THE CRYSTAL OR THE TIP OF THE HALL
PROBE FOR CARRYING OUT THE EXPERIMENT THE MAGNETIC FLUX
DENSITY SHOULD BE MORE THAN 1500 GAUSS.
9. Do not change the current in the electromagnet i.e keep the magnetic field constant for the
whole of the experiment.
10. Vary the current through the constant current source in small increments. Note the current I
(mA) from the constant source passing through the sample and the hall voltage (mV) as
recorded by the multimeter. Record these values in the observation table.
11. Reverse the direction the magnetic field by interchanging the + and – connections of the
coils. (i.e by interchanging the RED and BLACK wires to the coils of the electromagnet).
Again note down the hall voltage for the same values of current as in step 10.
Take the magnitude of the flux density. In this particular case the Hall voltage should be
noted without taking care of –Ve sign of voltage.

Observation:
1. Width of the specimen b = 4 mm = 4 x 10-3 m
2. Length of the specimen l = 6 mm = 6 x 10-3 m
3. Thickness of the specimen t = 0.5 mm = 5 x 10 -4 m
4 Magnetic flux density B = _______ Gauss _______ x 10 -4 Tesla

Reading of mill voltmeter

Mean
Sr. Current (mV) VH/I
value of
No. I (mA) B & I in reverse (Ohms)
B & I in One direction VH (mV)
direction
1 2
2 4
3 6
4 8
5 10
6 12
7 14
8 16
9 18

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Formulas used

1. Hall Coefficient RH = VH b / B I m3C-1

Where VH = Hall voltage in volts
b = width of the sample in m
B = magnetic flux density in Tesla
2. Concentration of charge carriers per unit volume n = 1 / e RH carriers m-3
Where e = 1.6 x 10-19 C
3. Resistivity of the material of the sample r = 𝑽𝑯 𝒃𝒕⁄𝑰𝒍 (Ω m)
Where 𝑉 = voltage between two points situated l cm apart on one face of sample
b = width of the sample in m.
t = thickness of the specimen in m
4. Mobility μm = RH / r m2V-1S-1
5. Hall angle ФH = tan-1(μ B)

Calculation:-
𝑉𝐻
1) Mean value of =_____ohms
𝐼
𝑽𝑯 𝒃
2) 𝑹𝑯 = ………𝒎𝟑 𝒄 𝟏
𝑰×𝑩
3) Sign of hall coefficient is positive. Thus the semiconductor crystal is of p-
type.( to check whether a crystal is of p-type or n-type we have first used a
crystal of known type.)
For this the direction of magnetic field is very import ant so coils should be
put in the standard configuration and direction of current through the coil
should be as per standard configuration.
4) Concentration of charge carriers per unit volume.
𝑛= ………..carriers 𝑚
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑒 = 1.6 × 10 𝐶
5) Resistivity of the material of the sample.
𝑟= ..... ….. ….. Ωm
Where
𝑙 =Distance between two points between which potential difference is
measured 𝑙 (𝑚)
𝑙 = 0.206 × 10 𝑚
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 6) Mobility 𝜇 = …….𝑚 𝑣 𝑠
7) Hall angle ∅ = tan (𝜇 𝐵)………degree (°).

Graph:-

Sources of error:

The experiment has potential to have systematic errors which could skew the final calculations.
This may be due to slight misalignment of the magnetic field, irregularity in the grains of the Ge
crystals, stray magnetic fields generated by nearby electrical equipments.

Check points:

1. Before starting the experiment, check that the gauss meter is showing zero value. For this put
the probe away from electromagnet and switch on the gauss meter, adjusts its zero
adjustment knob.
2. Ensure that the specimen is located at the center between the pole pieces and exactly
perpendicular to the magnetic field.

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3. To measure the magnetic flux the Hall probe should be placed at the center between the pole
pieces, parallel to semiconductor sample.
4. For carrying out the experiment the magnetic flux density should be maximum.

Viva-voce questions:

1. Define Hall Effect.

2. What is hall coefficient? How it is useful in the experiment?
3. Define mobility. On which factors it depends?
4. What information all effect can provide?
5. What is the effect on Hall coefficient for metals, semiconductors and insulators?
6. Is Hall Effect applicable to conductors? Justify your answer.
7. Which has higher resistivity Ge or Si?

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