Hall effect

By Pavani Vaddineedi(Z090)

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Aim:
➢ To determine the Hall Coefficient of a Semiconductor

➢ To determine the sign of majority carries in the semiconductor

➢ To determine the concentration of majority carriers

➢ To determine the mobility of majority carriers in the material.

Apparatus:

➢ An extrinsic semiconductor wafer ➢ An ammeter

➢ A constant current source ➢ Gauss meter

➢ An electromagnet ➢ Hall probe

➢ A voltmeter having high input impedance .

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Formulae
:
➢ The sign of the majority carriers is found from the polarity of Hall voltage, VH.

➢ The Hall Coefficient RH is calculated from

R H = VH t / B I .

➢ The concentration of charge carriers is obtained from

p = 1 / RHe or n = 1 / RH e .

➢ The mobility of the carriers is calculated from

μ = σ RH.
Where VH= hall voltage,
t=thickness of the sample,
I=current passing ,B=applied
magnetic
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field n=carrier concentration,
Theory:
If metal or semiconductor carrying a current I is placed in transverse magnetic field B,
a potential difference VH is produced in direction normal to the both the magnetic field
and the current direction. This is known as Hall Effect.

Let a p-type semiconductor wafer of thickness t and area of cross section A carrying a
current I be acted upon by a transverse magnetic field B. The magnetic field tends to
deflect charge carrier in the semiconductor wafer towards one of its faces leading to an
accumulation of charges there. This in turn produces an electric field EH in a direction
which opposes to Lorentz force due to magnetic field. The electric field builds till it exactly
compensates the effect of magnetic field. The potential difference VH arising due to EH is
given by
VH = B I / p e t ………………(1)

The ratio 1/pe is known as Hall Coefficient, RH. Thus

RH = 1/pe ………………..(2)

therefore, RH = VH t/ B I ……………………(3) 4
 Knowing the thickness ‘t’ of semiconductor wafer, the magnetic field B and by
measuring the Hall voltage VH produced in a wafer for given current I, the Hall Coefficient
RH can be determined with the help of equation (3).

Knowing the Hall coefficient, the concentration of charge carriers in the semiconductor
material can be determined

p = 1/ RH e ……………..(4)

Knowing the conductivity σ of the semiconductor material, The mobility of charge

carrier μ in the material can be obtained from following relation

μ = σ RH ……………………(5)

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Experimental setup:

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Procedure :

(1). The semiconductor crystal is carefully mounted on the probe strip and electrical
contacts are provided. The assembly known as Hall probe is available in ready-made from.
The Hall probe is connected into the circuit as shown in figure.

(2). The widthwise contacts of Hall probe are connected to the voltage terminals of the
Hall effect set up. Without connecting the current terminals, the set up is switched off.

(3). The lengthwise contacts of the probe are connected to the current terminals of the
set up.

(4). The probe is held in position in the air gap of the electromagnet. The power supply is
switched on and the magnetic field is adjusted to a suitable value (say 3 kilogauss). Hall
effect set up is switched on the Hall probe is rotated in vertical plane till the Hall voltage
generated is maximum.

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(5). The current through the semiconductor is adjusted to a suitable value. The Hall
voltage and its polarity are noted down.

(6). The current is varied and at different settings of current, the corresponding Hall
voltage is noted down. The observations are recorded in TABLE – I.

(7). The current is kept at a constant value say 3mA. The magnetic field is varied insteps
of 500 gauss. At each setting of the magnetic field, the corresponding Hall voltage is
noted. The observations are entered in TABLE – II.

(8). Using the above observations, graphs are plotted. In one graph, the Hall voltage is
plotted as function of current at a constant magnetic field. In the second, the Hall voltage
is plotted as a function of magnetic field at a constant current. In both the cases straight
line plots are obtained, as shown in Fig. 5.3, and Fig. 5.4. The slope of the straight line
is determined in each case.

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(9). Using the values of slope into equation (3), the value of RH in each case is calculated.
The mean of the two values is taken as the value of RH.

(10). Substituting the value of RH into equation (4) the concentration of charge carriers is
determined.

(11). From the manufactures data, the resistivity of the semiconductor sample is noted and
using the value in equation (5), the carrier mobility is evaluated.

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Observation Tables :

TABLE I :
S.No. Current through Magnetic Field
electromagnet (A) (wb/m2)

1. 0 100 X 10-4

2. 0.5 960 X 10-4

3. 1 1880 X 10-4

4. 1.5 2880 X 10-4

5. 2 3730 X 10-4

6. 2.5 4590 X 10-4

7. 3 5510 X 10-4 14
TABLE II :
S. Current Hall Voltage in mV
No. Magnetic Current through sample
through Field
electro (wb/m2) i=1mA i=2mA i=3mA
magnet

1. 0.5 960 X 10-4 5.8 10.3 16.2

2. 1 1880 X 10-4 9.8 16.3 26.6
3. 1.5 2880 X 10-4 13.2 22.5 35.7
4. 2 3730 X 10-4 16.3 27.3 43.5
5. 2.5 4590 X 10-4 19.3 32.2 49.2
6. 3 5510 X 10-4 22.0 36.7 55.9

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TABLE III :
Hall voltage in mV
Current Current through electromagnet
through
S.No. I=1A I=2A I=3A
sample
B=1880X10-4 B=3730X10-4 B=5510X10-4
(mA)

1. 1 mA 9.6 15.6 19.5

2. 2 mA 18.1 29.0 37.6
3. 3 mA 25.5 42.6 56.1
4. 4 mA 33.6 56.6 73.3
5. 5 mA 41.0 69.1 90.1 16
THE GRAPH WITH TAKING MAGNETIC FIELD CONSTANT AND VARYING CURRENT

THROUGH SAMPLE B = 960 X 10-4

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GRAPH BY KEEPING CURRENT CONSTANT AND VARYING THE MAGNETIC FIELD I = 1 mA

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RESULTS :

•From graph one we calculated concentration of majority carriers The value of

hall coefficient RH for graph1 is 2.5 and for graph 2 is 0.1 X 106 m^3 C we
take the mean of it hence RH = 5 X 10^5 and hence p is coming out to be 1.24
X 10^15 m^

Precautions :

1.The current through the Hall probe should not exceed the specified
value.

2.The gap between the pole pieces should be kept constant throughout
the experiment.

3.Do not switch ON or OFF the constant current power supply

for electromagnet unless it is brought to a minimum value. 19