Physics Lab Report 1 (2023) Preprint 12 March 2023 SPA5201 Physics Laboratory

Hall Effect in Germanium

title should be more descriptive/specific

Hai Nguyen
S CHOOL OF P HYSICAL AND C HEMICAL S CIENCES
Q UEEN M ARY U NIVERSITY OF L ONDON

12 March 2023
should contain what you actually did and what your results are, not an outline of your paper
ABSTRACT
The Hall effect is a phenomenon that occurs when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to
a current-carrying conductor, resulting in a transverse voltage known as the Hall voltage. This
effect is widely used in electronic devices such as sensors, switches, and transistors. In this
report, we present an experimental study of the Hall effect in n-type Germanium. We start by
discussing the properties of n-type Germanium and its behavior in the presence of an electric
current and a magnetic field. We then describe the experimental setup used to produce the Hall
Effect in n-type Germanium, including the materials, equipment, and procedures used in the
experiment. Throughout the experiment, we can see the relationship between Hall Voltage with
different quantities like current, temperature, and magnetic field strength that convince us that
the Hall Effect is a power full tool that hasn’t been fully developed and will be a future for lots
of application for all scale from micro nano to quantum level because of the accurate of the
relationship. Overall, the report highlights the importance of studying the Hall Effect in n-type
Germanium and its potential applications in semiconductor physics. The experimental method
presented in the report can serve as a valuable reference for researchers and students interested
in studying the behavior of free electrons in semiconductor materials.
1 INTRODUCTION
The Hall Effect is a phenomenon in which an electric current is de-
flected by a magnetic field when it is passing through a conductor.
This effect was discovered by the American physicist Edwin Hall
in 1879. [1]. The principle behind the Hall Effect is based on the
Lorentz force, which is the force exerted on a charged particle when
it moves through a magnetic field. When a current-carrying conduc- Figure 1. Schematic timeline of the main Hall-related observed Effects.
tor is placed in a magnetic field, the moving charges experience a OHE—Original Hall Effect; AHE—Anomalous Hall Effect; SHE—Spin
force perpendicular to both the current direction and the magnetic Hall Effect; IQHE—Integer Quantum Hall Effect; FQHE—Fractional
field. This force causes the charges to accumulate on one side of the Quantum Hall Effect; ISHE—Inverse Spin Hall Effect; QSHE—Quantum
conductor, creating an electric potential difference between the two Spin Hall Effect; QAHE—Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect; PHE—Planar
sides. The Hall Effect has many applications in physics, engineer- Hall Effect; VHE—Valley Hall Effect; PIHE—Photo-Induced Hall Effect.
ing, and materials science. One of the most important applications [4]
is in the measurement of magnetic fields. By measuring the Hall
voltage, the strength, and direction of a magnetic field can be de- punctuation needed
termined. This is particularly useful in the development of magne- provide a current through the Germanium A magnet or an electro-
tometers, which are used in a variety of fields such as geophysics, magnet produces a magnetic field perpendicular to the Germanium
aerospace engineering, and medical diagnostics[2]. The Hall Effect A voltmeter to measure the Hall voltage A Hall Probe Here are the
is also used in the development of Hall effect sensors, which are steps to produce the Hall Effect in Germanium in the lab: Prepare did you do
used in automotive systems, industrial control systems, and medi- the Germanium sample by cleaning it with a suitable solvent to re- this step?
cal equipment. These sensors are able to detect changes in magnetic move any impurities. Connect the Germanium to a power supply
specify value
fields, temperature, and pressure, making them useful in a wide and set the current to a desired value. Place the Germanium in the
range of applications[3]. This experiment is designed to enhance magnetic field produced by the magnet or the electromagnet. Make
our understanding of n-type Germanium, specifically the structural sure the magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane of the Germa-
characteristics of the material and the quantum-scale behavior of nium. Measure the Hall voltage across the width of the Germanium
the Hall Effect. By studying the Hall Effect in n-type Germanium, using a voltmeter. Vary the strength of the magnetic field and vary
researchers can gain insights into the concentration and mobility temperature, the current passing through the Germanium, and mea-
of free electrons in the material. Overall, this experiment offers a sure the corresponding changes in the Hall voltage. To determine
meaning?
unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the behavior the type of carrier (electrons or holes), you can perform a doping
did you do
of n-type Germanium and the Hall Effect in quantum-scale physics, experiment. If the Hall voltage is negative, then the Germanium is this step?
which can lead to the development of new electronic devices and n-type, meaning electrons are the dominant carriers. The Hall volt-
technologies that can benefit various industries[4]. age is directly proportional to the negative of the current. If the
Hall voltage is positive, then the Germanium is p-type, meaning
really long paragraph - consider splitting
holes are the dominant carriers. The relationship between the cur-
rent and Hall voltage is directly proportional to each other. Repeat did you do
the experiment several times to ensure the accuracy and consis- this step?
2 METHOD
To produce the Hall Effect in Germanium in the lab, apparatuses tency of the results. Note that the exact setup and procedure may
require: A flat, thin piece of n-type Germanium A power supply to vary depending on the specific experiment and equipment used. It
specify procedures you actually did and settings you actually used
© 2023
 2 Hai NguyenS CHOOL OF P HYSICAL AND C HEMICAL S CIENCES Q UEEN M ARY U NIVERSITY OF L ONDON

6% discrepancy [7], we found that the band gap of the sample was
0.67 ± 0.04 eV.
this is not the equipment used The difference between our experimental result and the lit-
erature value was calculated as δEg = Eg1 − Eg2 = 0.68 eV,

1/2
σδ = σ12 + σ22 = 0.040001. The ratio of δEg to σδ was
found to be 1.69 < 3σ, indicating that our experimental result
[5]
was within 95% confidence. Graph 3 and graph 4 show that the
Figure 2. Hall Effect experiment example set up Hall Voltage has a linear relationship to current and Magnetic flux
density. In other words, Hall voltage could be written as a linear
function of Current or Magnetic Flux density with a general form
is important to follow proper safety precautions when working with is :
electrical and magnetic equipment and to handle Germanium with
y = a − b · x. (3)
care as it is a brittle material. The apparatuses in the lab have some
limitations in that the Hall probe can not stand high temperatures Hall voltage is directly proportional to the negative Current
for too long, like 373.15(K) will break the Hall probe. The fluctua- and Magnetic flux density. Besides that, from the uncertainty, We
tion of the multimeter could be one of the limitations contributing can observe that the accuracy is significantly high. From this point,
to the error of the value, even though the resolution of the instru- we can optimistically say that it is a powerful tool for the future
ment is great but there is still a small fluctuation. The behavior of to use in vastly different applications in different areas in the in-
the experiment involves measuring the Hall voltage as a function of dustry that we have mentioned above. Looking for the answer to
the magnetic field strength and analyzing the data to determine the the question of what is the conductivity of Germanium n-type in
Hall coefficient, mobility, and carrier concentration of the n-type the condition that magnetic flux density = 0, we vary magnetic flux
Germanium sample. The behavior of the Hall voltage can depend density in order to get the Voltage as a function of magnetic flux
on the strength of the magnetic field, the temperature, and the prop- density. From graph Figure 7 , we could see that the function has a
erties of the sample. One important condition is the temperature at form of:
which the experiment is conducted. The temperature can affect the
properties of the n-type Germanium sample, such as the mobility y = ax2 + bx + C (4)
and carrier concentration. Besides that, the strength of the mag- so that, y=C when Magnetic flux density = 0. From Figure 7, V0 =
netic field can affect the magnitude of the Hall voltage and should 1.46±2.5 ∗ 10−4 (V).R = VI (5) % σR = %σV , I = constant =
be carefully controlled and calibrated. Calibration which is men- 25(mA). formatting
tioned above will be one of the reasons that limit the accuracy of error?
the experiment. However, it is not the biggest contribution, the im-
purity of the Germanium could be the biggest limitation of it. Thus, R0 = 58.4 ± 0.01(Ω) (6)
the conductivity of the Germanium is slightly different from a pure
don't just list the equations
metal one. Even though what we are focusing on in this is the rela-
tionship between Hall voltage and Current, Magnetic flux density l
σ0 = (7)
and Temperature, we could consider the error to be a systematic R0 · A
ok
error. σ0 = 34.25 ± 6 × 10−3 (1/m · Ω).
Next step, in order to understand more about Germanium as
a condensed matter. We need to look at this semiconductor as a
3 RESULT charge carrier. The main property of a charge carrier material is the
don't write in first person charge density of the material. In order to do so, we look at Figure 3
In this experiment, we aimed to investigate the relationship between to understand the relationship between Hall Voltage and Magnetic
temperature and conductivity to determine the band gap of a semi- Flux density. Furthermore, Hall voltage and Magnetic flux density
conductor sample. The conductivity (σ) of the sample was deter- is related by the equation:
mined using the following equation:
I · RH
VH = ·B (8)
d
l I
σ= · (1) I · RH
lowercase, remove indent V A the gradient of the graph Figure 3 is equal to = −2.85 ×
d
what is I? Where I and V are the current and voltage, respectively, l is −4 −7
10 ± 6 × 10 (V/mT).%σR = %σg radient.RH = −8.6 ±
the length of the sample (20 mm), and A is the area of the sample 1.8 × 10−2 (m3 /C).T heHallmobilityisgivenby :
remove boldface
(10−5 m2 ). formatting
The band gap (Eg ) of the sample was determined using the
following equation: µ = RH · σ0 (9)
Error propagation:
E
− k g·T
σ = σ0 · e B (2) σ = ((%σ1 )2 + (%σ2 )2 )1/2 (10)
ok
Where σ0 is a constant, kB is Boltzmann’s constant (1.38 × µ = −294.6 ± 0.6(m V S ).2 −1 −1
error?
10−23 J/K), and T is the absolute temperature(K). error? Carrier density,n is related to the Hall coefficient by :
The current used in this experiment was 4 mA. By analyzing
1
Equation 2 and Figure 5, we determined that the gradient of b in n= (11)
graph Figure 5 was −4277 ± 17 K−1 , kB = 1.38 × 10−23 J/K, e · RH
and Eg = 1.181 × 10−19 J. Therefore, the band gap of the sample % σn = %σRH ok ok
was determined to be 0.738 ± 2.8 × 10−3 eV.% σE = %σb ? n= 7.27 ×1017 ± 1.5 × 1015 (m−3 ).
Comparing our result to the literature value of 0.67 eV with a Next, according to Figure 6 The Hall Voltage increase as the

should number figures in the order they are referred to in the text SPA5201 Report 1 (2023)
 Hall Effect in Germanium 3

Figure 6. Hall Voltage as a Function of temperature

Figure 3. Hall voltage as a function of Magnetic flux density.

Figure 7. Voltage as a function of Magnetic Flux Density

Figure 4. Hall Voltage as a function of Current

can be applied into, from mechanic Keyboard [8] that we use every
day to some very sensitive sensors device. Or it would be a pow-
erful tool for us to understand the structure of some materials and
research further about superconductors [9], it could be something
that helps us to understand more about the quantum effect which
we haven’t known much about.[4]

References
[1] – Hall E.H. On a New Action of the Magnet on Electric Currents. Am.
J. Math. 1879;2:287. doi: 10.2307/2369245.
[2] – Commemorative Symposium on the Hall Effect and its Applica-
tions. Plenum Press; Baltimore, MD, USA: 1979. page numbers?
[3] – Hall Effect Sensors Theory and application Edward Ramsden
(2006) punctuation needed this is a book
unit [4] – Karsenty A. A Comprehensive Review of Integrated Hall Effects
in Macro-, Micro-, Nanoscales, and Quantum Devices. Sensors
(Basel). 2020 Jul 27;20(15):4163. doi: 10.3390/s20154163. PMID:
Figure 5. logarith of conductivity as a function of reverse Temperature
32726938; PMCID: PMC7435814.
[5] – Hall Effect Experiment SE-7260 Instruction Manual 012-15871A
(2018) include company/product
temperature increase, and the Hall voltage is given by a function of
[6] – Conduction in semiconductors - gatech.edu (no date). Available at:
Temperature with a general form is : https://www.leachlegacy.ece.gatech.edu/ece3040/notes/chap01.pdf
y = Ax2 + Bx + C (12) (Accessed: March 12, 2023).
punctuation
[7] – Joel Ong (April 4, 2014) Band Gap of Germanium. rep. URL needed
[8] – Vorthmann, Everett A.; Maupin, Joseph T. (May 1969). ”Solid
state keyboard”. AFIPS Spring Joint Computing Conference 1969.
AFIPS ’69 (Spring): 149–159. doi:10.1145/1476793.1476823.
4 CONCLUSIONS
ISBN 9781450379021. S2CID 7540281.
Finalizing assessing data proves that Hall Effect is a useful tool that [9] – Confirmation of Old Theory Leads to Breakthrough in Understand-
hasn’t been fully developed. It opens up millions of areas that it ing of Superconductors (July 01, 2019) by Scott McMahan URL needed

SPA5201 Report 1 (2023)