Hall effect in p-germanium TEP

Principle
The resistivity and Hall voltage of a rectangular germanium sample are measured as a
function of temperature and magnetic field. The band spacing, the specific conductivity, the
type of charge carrier and the mobility of the charge carriers are determined from the
measurements.
Related topics
Semiconductor, band theory, forbidden zone, intrinsic conductivity, extrinsic conductivity,
valence band, conduction band, Lorentz force, magnetic resistance, mobility, conductivity,
band spacing, Hall coefficient.
Equipment
1 Hall effect module, 11801-00
1 Hall effect, p-Ge, carrier board 11805-01
2 Coil, 600 turns 06514-01
1 Iron core, U-shaped, laminated 06501-00
1 Pole pieces, plane, 30×30×48 mm, 2 06489-00
1 Hall probe, tangent., prot. cap 13610-02
1 Power supply 0-12 V DC/6 V, 12 V AC 13505-93
1 Tripod base -PASS- 02002-55
1 Support rod -PASS-, square, l = 250 mm 02025-55
1 Right angle clamp -PASS- 02040-55
3 Connecting cord, l = 500 mm, red 07361-01
2 Connecting cord, l = 500 mm, blue 07361-04
2 Connecting cord, l = 750 mm, black 07362-05
1 Teslameter, digital 13610-93
1 Digital multimeter 07134-00

Figure 1: Experimental set-up

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 TEP Hall effect in p-germanium

Task
1. The Hall voltage is measured at room temperature and constant magnetic field as a
function of the control current and plotted on a graph (measurement without
compensation for defect voltage).
2. The voltage across the sample is measured at room temperature and constant
control current as a function of the magnetic induction B.
3. The voltage across the sample is measured at constant control current as a function
of the temperature. The band spacing of germanium is calculated from the
measurements.
4. The Hall voltage UH is measured as a function of the magnetic induction B, at room
temperature. The sign of the charge carriers and the Hall constant RH together with
the Hall mobility μ and the carrier concentration p are calculated from the
measurements.
5. The Hall voltage UH is measured as a function of temperature at constant magnetic
induction B and the values are plotted on a graph.

Fig. 2: Hall effect in sample of rectangular section.

The polarity sign of the Hall voltage shown applies
when the carriers are negatively charged.

Set-up and Procedure

The experimental set-up is shown in Fig.1. The test piece on the board has to be put into
the hall-effect-module via the guide-groove. The module is directly connected with the
12 V~ output of the power unit over the ac-input on the backside of the module.
The plate has to be brought up to the magnet very carefully, so as not to damage the
crystal in particular, avoid bending the plate.
The Hall voltage and the voltage across the sample are measured with a multimeter.
Therefore, use the sockets on the front-side of the module. The current and temperature
can be easily read on the integrated display of the module.
The magnetic field has to be measured with the teslameter via a hall probe, which can be
directly put into the groove in the module as shown in Fig. 1. So you can be sure that the
magnetic flux is measured directly on the Ge-sample.

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 Hall effect in p-germanium TEP

Task 1
Set the magnetic field to a value of 250 mT by changing the voltage and current on the
power supply. Connect the multimeter to the sockets of the hall voltage ( UH) on the front-
side of the module. Set the display on the module into the “current-mode”. Determine the
hall voltage as a function of the current from −30 mA up to 30 mA in steps of nearly 5 mA.
You will receive a typical measurement like in Fig. 3.
Task 2
Set the control current to 30 mA. Connect the multimeter to the sockets of the sample
voltage on the front-side of the module. Determine the sample voltage as a function of the
positive magnetic induction B up to 300 mT. You will get a typical graph as shown in Fig. 4.
Task 3
Be sure, that the display works in the temperature mode during the measurement. At the
beginning, set the current to a value of 30 mA. The magnetic field is off. The current
remains nearly constant during the measurement, but the voltage changes according to a
change in temperature. Set the display in the temperature mode, now. Start the
measurement by activating the heating coil with the “on/off”-knob on the backside of the
module. Determine the change in voltage dependent on the change in temperature for a
temperature range of room temperature to a maximum of 140 °C. You will receive a typical
curve as shown in Fig. 5.
Task 4
Set the current to a value of 30 mA. Connect the multimeter to the sockets of the hall
voltage (UH) on the front-side of the module. Determine the Hall voltage as a function of
the magnetic induction. Start with −300 mT by changing the polarity of the coil-current and
increase the magnetic induction in steps of nearly 20 mT. At zero point, you have to change
the polarity. A typical measurement is shown in Fig. 6.
Task 5:
Set the current to 30 mA and the magnetic induction to 300 mT. Determine the Hall voltage
as a function of the temperature. Set the display in the temperature mode. Start the
measurement by activating the heating coil with the “on/off”- knob on the backside of the
module. You will receive a curve like Fig. 7.
Theory and evaluation
If a current I flows through a conducting strip of rectangular section and if the strip is
traversed by a magnetic field at right angles to the direction of the current, a voltage – the
so-called Hall voltage – is produced between two superposed points on opposite sides of
the strip.
This phenomenon arises from the Lorentz force: the charge carriers giving rise to the
current flowing through the sample are deflected in the magnetic field B as a function of
their sign and their velocity v:
⃗
F = e (⃗v ×B)

(F = force acting on charge carriers, e = elementary charge).

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 TEP Hall effect in p-germanium

Since negative and positive charge carriers in semiconductors move in opposite directions,
they are deflected in the same direction.
The type of charge carrier causing the flow of current can therefore be determined from the
polarity of the Hall voltage, knowing the direction of the current and that of the magnetic
field.
Task 1

Fig. 3: Hall voltage as a function of current.

Fig. 3 shows that there is a linear relationship between the current I and the Hall voltage
UH:
U H = α⋅I
where α = proportionality factor.

Task 2

Fig 4: Change of resistance as a function of

magnetic induction.

The change in resistance of the sample due to the magnetic field is associated with a
reduction in the mean free path of the charge carriers. Fig. 4 shows the non-linear, clearly
quadratic, change in resistance as the field strength increases.

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 Hall effect in p-germanium TEP

Task 3

Fig 5: Reciprocal sample voltage plotted as a

function of reciprocal absolute temperature. (Since
I was constant during the measurement, U–1~σ
and the graph is therefore equivalent to a plot of
conductivity against reciprocal temperature).

In the region of intrinsic conductivity, we have

−Eg
σ = σ 0⋅exp
2kT ( )
where σ = conductivity, Eg = energy of bandgap, k = Boltzmann constant, T = absolute
temperature.
If the logarithm of the conductivity is plotted against T−1 a straight line is obtained with a
slope from which Eg can be determined. From the measured values used in Fig. 5, the slope
of the regression line
E g −1
ln σ = lnσ 0 + ⋅T
2k
is
Eg 3
b =− = 4.18⋅10 K
2k
with a standard deviation sb = ± 0.07⋅103 K. (Since the measurements were made with a
constant current, we can put s ~ U−1, where U is the voltage across the sample.)

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 TEP Hall effect in p-germanium

Since
eV
k = 8.625⋅10−5
K
we get
Eg = b⋅2 k = (0.72±0.03) eV .

Task 4

With the directions of control current and magnetic field shown in Fig. 2, the charge
carriers giving rise to the current in the sample are deflected towards the front edge of the
sample. Therefore, if (in an n-doped probe) electrons are the predominant charge carriers,
the front edge will become negative, and, with hole conduction in a p-doped sample,
positive.
The conductivity σ0, the chargecarrier mobility μ, and the charge-carrier concentration p are
related through the Hall constant RH:
UH d 1
RH = ⋅ , μ = R H⋅σ 0 ; p =
B I e⋅R H

Fig 6: Hall voltage as a function of magnetic induction.

Fig. 6 shows a linear connection between Hall voltage and B field. With the values used in
Fig. 6, the regression line with the formula

U H = U 0 +b⋅B

has a slope b = 0.125 VT–1, with a standard deviation sb = ± 0.003 VT–1.

The Hall constant RH thus becomes, according to
UH d d
RH = ⋅ =b⋅
B I I
where the sample thickness d = 1・10–3m and I = 0.030 A,

m3
RH = 4.17⋅10−3
As

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 Hall effect in p-germanium TEP

With the standard deviation

−3 m3
s RH = 0.08⋅10
As
The conductivity at room temperature is calculated from the sample length l, the sample
cross-section A and the sample resistance R0 (cf. 2) as follows:

l
σ0 =
R⋅A
with the measured values

l = 0.02 m, R 0 = 35.0 Ω , A=1⋅10−5 m 2

we have

1
σ0 = 57.14
Ωm
The Hall mobility μ of the charge carriers can now be determined from

μ = R H⋅σ 0
Using the measurements given above, we get:

m2
μ = (0.238±0.005)
Vs
The hole concentration p of p-doped samples is calculated from

1
p=
e⋅RH
Using the value of the elementary charge

e = 1.602⋅10−19 As
we obtain

p = 14.9⋅1020 m−3

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 TEP Hall effect in p-germanium

Task 5

Fig 7: Hall voltage as a function of temperature.

Fig. 7 shows first a decrease in Hall voltage with rising temperature. Since the
measurements were made with constant current, it is to be assumed that this is
attributable to an increase in the number of charge carriers (transition from extrinsic
conduction to intrinsic conduction) and the associated reduction in drift velocity ν. (Equal
currents with increased numbers of charge carriers imply reduced drift velocity). The drift
velocity in its turn is connected with the Hall voltage through the Lorentz force. The current
in the crystal is made up of both electron currents and hole currents

I = A⋅e( v n⋅n+ v p⋅p).

Since in the intrinsic conductivity range the concentrations of holes p and of electrons n are
approximately equal, those charge carriers will in the end make the greater contribution to
the Hall effect which have the greater velocity or (since v = μ + E) the greater mobility.
Fig. 7 shows accordingly the reversal of sign of the Hall voltage, typical of p-type materials,
above a particular temperature.

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