Experiment 5

Object: Hall Probe Method for measurement of magnetic Field.

Apparatus:

electromagnet with power supply, Hall probe, voltmeter etc., connecting wires .

Circuit diagram:

Figure 1: Simplified Diagram of Hall Effect Apparatus The

three probe resistance network is shown.

Theory:-
If a current carrying conductor placed in a perpendicular magnetic field, a potential difference will
generate in the conductor which is perpendicular to both magnetic field and current. This phenomenon is
called Hall Effect. In solid state physics, Hall effect is an important tool to characterize the materials
especially semiconductors. It directly determines both the sign and density of charge carriers in a given
sample.

Consider a rectangular conductor of thickness t kept in XY plane. An electric field is applied in X-

direction using Constant Current Generator (CCG), so that current I flow through the sample. If w is the
width of the sample and t is the thickness. There for current density is given by
 Jx=I/wt (1)

Fig.1 Schematic representation of Hall Effect in a conductor.

CCG – Constant Current Generator, JX – current density

ē – electron, B – applied magnetic field
t – thickness, w – width
VH – Hall voltage

If the magnetic field is applied along negative z-axis, the Lorentz force moves the charge carriers (say
electrons) toward the y-direction. This results in accumulation of charge carriers at the top edge of the
sample. This set up a transverse electric field Ey in the sample. This develop a potential difference along
y-axis is known as Hall voltage VH and this effect is called Hall Effect.

A current is made to flow through the sample material and the voltage difference between its top and
bottom is measured using a volt-meter. When the applied magnetic field B=0,the voltage difference will
be zero.
We know that a current flows in response to an applied electric field with its direction as conventional
and it is either due to the flow of holes in the direction of current or the movement of electrons
backward. In both cases, under the application of magnetic field the magnetic Lorentz force,
causes the carriers to curve upwards. Since the charges cannot escape from the material, a
vertical charge imbalance builds up. This charge imbalance produces an electric field which counteracts
with the magnetic force and a steady state is established. The vertical electric field can be measured as a
transverse voltage difference using a voltmeter.
In steady state condition, the magnetic force is balanced by the electric force. Mathematically we can
express it as
(2)

Where 'e' the electric charge, 'E' the hall electric field developed, 'B' the applied magnetic field and 'v' is
the drift velocity of charge carriers.
And the current 'I' can be expressed as,
(3)

Where 'n' is the number density of electrons in the conductor of length l ,breadth 'w' and thickness 't'.
Using (1) and (2) the Hall voltage VH can be written as,

(4)

by rearranging eq(4) we get

(5)

Where RH is called the Hall coefficient.

RH=1/ne (6)

Measurement of the B-field using a Hall probe In the third part of the experiment, the magnetic
induction is to be determined by means of a Hall probe. The device used consists of the Hall probe itself
and a calibrated display device on which the measured magnetic induction can be read directly.
Attention: When handling the Hall probe use extreme caution, since it is a fragile and very expensive
instrument. • Calibrate the Hall probe for two well-known magnetic fields (B = 0 and B = 0.55 T). The
instructions for this are available in the laboratory. • Mount the Hall probe in the center between the pole
shoes of the electromagnet. Make sure that the flat side of the probe is exactly parallel to the poles
edges. • Bring the electromagnet as in the first part of the experiment into saturation by adjusting the
magnet current for about one second to 10 A and then immediately reduce to 8 A. • Measure with the
Hall probe and plot the induction field B as a function of the solenoid current, IM, while reducing the
current from 8 A down to 0 A in steps of 1 A. • Determine and plot the measurement uncertainty as error
bars (the error of the probe amounts to ±1.5% of the measuring range, the error of the amplifier and
display amounts to ±0.25% of the measuring range). • Finally, compare the results obtained in the three
parts of the experiment.
The Hall Effect can be used to illustrate the effect of a magnetic field on a moving charge to
investigate various phenomena of electric currents in conductors and especially semi-‐
conductors. When a current-‐carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field of magnitude B
that has its direction perpendicular to the current, a voltage difference will appear as a result of
the magnetic field. This voltage is called the Hall voltage and is the discovery of E.H. Hall in
1879. This Hall voltage is proportional to the product of the current and component of normal
to the current. More recently, the Hall Effect is widely employed throughout industry in
modern Hall Effect gauss-‐meters.

Consider the simplified case shown in Fig. 1, where the current through the sample is in the
positive y-‐direction. The sample has dimensions a, b, b’, and c. Dimension b’ is the distance
between the probe tips in the y-‐direction on Fig. 1 and is not labeled therein. The magnetic field
is perpendicular to and is in the positive x-‐direction

This experiment is difficult because the Hall voltage is usually very small, typically a few
hundred microvolts in the present apparatus. Therefore, special precautions have to be taken to
minimize stray voltages. One problem is that, due to the large current which flows along the
sample in the x-‐direction, there is a large potential gradient in the x-‐ direction. If the probes on
opposite sides of the sample are not exactly opposite each other, the voltage measured between
the probes will be due in part to this potential gradient, rather than due to the Hall effect. In the
present apparatus a resistance network has been incorporated to cancel out this effect. The
apparatus is diagrammed in Fig. 2.

Figure 2: Three-‐Probe Network Attached to the Sample

On one side of the sample there are mounted two probes, P2 and P3, at distances of
about 1 cm on either side of the point, which is truly opposite the single probe P1. Between P2
and P3 is connected a potentiometer, R1. By adjusting the potentiometer wiper arm, the
potential of the arm may be made equal to that of any point between P2 and P3. Set the
wiper arm to the potential of that point which is exactly opposite P1. A sensitive nulling-‐
microvoltmeter is connected between P1 and the arm and the current is set flowing through
the sample, which is removed from the magnetic field so that B = 0. The arm is adjusted
until nulling-‐microvoltmeter reads 0 mV. In principle, even if the current is changed, no
further adjustment of the wiper arm should be necessary.

Another source of inconsistent results is the presence of temperature differences between

the wires used in making the electrical connections in this apparatus. Such temperature
differences can cause voltages of thermoelectric origin big enough to mask the Hall voltage at
lower magnetic fields. Banana plugs or clip leads should not be allowed to touch cold metal
tabletops and should not be touched with warm fingers. This warning should be followed
particularly for that portion the circuit containing the sample, probes, and microvoltmeters.

Incorrect readings of the Hall voltage would also result if a current were allowed to flow
through the contract P1, for this would result in an additional potential drop across the sample.
The apparatus has therefore been designed so that measurements are taken when no current
flows, by matching the Hall voltage against another measurable voltage from a standard
reference source.

The apparatus for these measurements is shown in Fig. 1. A standard reference cell of
about 1.5V emf is connected in series with a 3000-‐ohm resistor and a 2-‐ohm resistor. Across
the 2-‐ohm resistor is a 10-‐turn potentiometer R2, whose wiper arm can pick off any voltage
from 0 to about 900 V. A sensitive microvoltmeter V, which draws essentially no current is
conducted to the arm of this potentiometer; this microvoltmeter is used for actually taking the
voltage readings. The nulling-‐microvoltmeter G is extremely sensitive and is used only for
detecting the null, which is the position of the wiper arm at which no current flows in the
nulling-‐microvoltmeter and at which the wiper arm must be at a potential equal to the Hall
voltage.

Procedure

1. Turn the microvoltmeters on; set the sensitivity switch to either “Direct” or “1”. Set
the potentiometer R1 to about midrange. If not, readjust the potentiometer until the
nulling-‐microvoltmeter reads zero.
2. The position of the wiper arm should now correspond exactly to the point on the
sample opposite the single probe P1. (This can be tested by changing the current ;
however, when actually taking measurements, should never be changed.)
3. Now insert the sample into the exact center of the magnet gap. Note that you may
now have a noticeable deflection on the null-‐detecting microvoltmeter. This is due to
remnant magnetization in the magnet iron.
4. Turn on the magnet power supply and increase the current. Note the effect on the
microvoltmeter. Pull the probe from the magnet and rotate the probe 180°. Then
reinsert it into the magnetic field. Does the microvoltmeter react as you would
expect?
5. Increase the magnet current and record the Hall voltage as a function of by adjusting
the potentiometer R2 until null readings are obtained, taking voltage measurements
directly from the microvoltmeter V.

6. Plot the Hall voltage versus magnetic field. Can you fit a straight line through the
points? Should the Hall coefficient vary with changes in ? Using Linfit or an
equivalent linear regression program, determine the best value of the Hall coefficient
of the sample. From this, determine the density of charge carriers in this particular
sample of Bi, and compare it with the number of atoms per unit volume of bismuth.

7. The Hall angle, which is the angle between the direction of the current in the sample
and the Hall electric field, varies as the magnetic field varies. Calculate the Hall angle
in the sample, in both radians and degrees, given a Hall voltage of 500 microvolts.
For this calculation, in Eq. (12), set equal to (0.81 ± 0.02) volts/meter at = 0.5A.

8. There is extensive literature on the Hall Effect in bismuth that indicates strong
dependences of the coefficient on temperature, impurity concentration, impurity type,
and direction of field with respect to crystal axes. Both positive and negative
coefficients are reported for very low concentrations of impurities (e.g. 0.001 %) at
room temperature.
9. Determine the polarity of charge carriers in this particular with Eq. (1). First
determine the direction of the force deflecting the charges, then examine the nulling
circuit polarity to determine the sign of the charge carriers