Hall Effect Measurements

Electrical characterization of materials evolved in three levels of understanding. In the early

1800s, the resistance R and conductance G were treated as measurable physical quantities
obtainable from two-terminal I-V measurements (i.e., current I, voltage V). Later, it became
obvious that the resistance alone was not comprehensive enough since different sample
shapes gave different resistance values. This led to the understanding (second level) that an
intrinsic material property like resistivity (or conductivity) is required that is not influenced
by the particular geometry of the sample. For the first time, this allowed scientists to quantify
the current-carrying capability of the material and carry out meaningful comparisons between
different samples. Theories of electrical conduction were constructed with varying degrees of
success, but until the advent of quantum mechanics, no generally acceptable solution to the
problem of electrical transport was developed. This led to the definitions of carrier density n
and mobility µ  (third level of understanding) which are capable of dealing with even the
most complex electrical measurements today.

The Hall Effect and the Lorentz Force

The basic physical principle underlying the Hall effect is the Lorentz force. When an electron
moves along a direction perpendicular to an applied magnetic field, it experiences a force
acting normal to both directions and moves in response to this force and the force effected by
the internal electric field. The Lorentz force is given by

The Hall effect is illustrated in figure 1 for a bar-shaped sample in which charge is carried by
electrons. A constant current I flows through the bar and the entire bar is subject to a uniform
magentic field B, which is directed into the screen, perpendicular to the current flow. Since
the electrons are travelling through a magnetic field, they are subject to an upwards Lorentz
force and so drift to the top of the bar whilst maintaining their horizontal motion. This leads
to a build up of negative charge on one side of the bar and positive charge on the other due to
the lack of electrons. This leads to a potential difference between the two sides of the sample,
that can be measured as the Hall voltage VH. (Note that the force on holes is toward the same
side because of their opposite velocity and positive charge.)
 Figure 1: Illustration of the Hall effect in a bar of conducting material.

This transverse voltage is the Hall voltage VH and its magnitude is equal to IB/qnd, where I is
the current, B is the magnetic field, d is the sample thickness, and q (1.602 x 10-19 C) is the
elementary charge. In some cases, it is convenient to use layer or sheet density (ns = nd)
instead of bulk density. One then obtains the equation

(1)

Thus, by measuring the Hall voltage VH and from the known values of I, B, and q, one can
determine the sheet density ns of charge carriers in semiconductors. If the measurement
apparatus is set up as shown, the Hall voltage is negative for n-type semiconductors and
positive for p-type semiconductors. The sheet resistance RS of the semiconductor can be
conveniently determined by use of the Van der Pauw resistivity measurement technique.
Since sheet resistance involves both sheet density and mobility, one can determine the Hall
mobility from the equation

(2)

If the conducting layer thickness d is known, one can determine the bulk resistivity (r = RSd)
and the bulk density (n = nS/d).

The Van der Pauw Technique

In order to determine both the mobility µ and the sheet density ns, a combination of a
resistivity measurement and a Hall measurement is needed. We discuss here the Van der
Pauw technique which, due to its convenience, is widely used in the semiconductor industry
to determine the resistivity of uniform samples (References 3 and 4). As originally devised by
Van der Pauw, one uses an arbitrarily shaped (but simply connected, i.e. no holes or
nonconducting islands or inclusions), thin-plate sample containing four very small ohmic
contacts placed on the periphery (preferably in the corners) of the plate. Examples of Van der
Pauw configurations are shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. Examples of possible Van der Pauw configurations and their preference [12]

The objective of the resistivity measurement is to determine the sheet resistance RS. Van der
Pauw demonstrated that there are actually two characteristic resistances RA and RB, associated
with the corresponding terminals shown in Fig. 2. RA and RB are related to the sheet resistance
RS through the van der Pauw equation

(3)

which can be solved numerically for RS.

The bulk electrical resistivity r can be calculated using

 (4)

To obtain the two characteristic resistances, one applies a dc current I into contact 1 and out
of contact 2 and measures the voltage V43 from contact 4 to contact 3. Next, one applies the
current I into contact 2 and out of contact 3 while measuring the voltage V14 from contact 1 to
contact 4 using a geometry shown in figure 3. RA and RB are calculated by means of the
following expressions:

  and   

(5)

The objective of the Hall measurement in the Van der Pauw technique is to determine the
sheet carrier density ns by measuring the Hall voltage VH. The Hall voltage measurement
consists of a series of voltage measurements with a constant current I and a constant magnetic
field B applied perpendicular to the plane of the sample. Conveniently, the same sample,
shown again in Fig. 3, can also be used for the Hall measurement. To measure the Hall
voltage VH, a current I is forced through the opposing pair of contacts 1 and 3 and the Hall
voltage VH (= V24) is measured across the remaining pair of contacts 2 and 4. Once the Hall
voltage VH is acquired, the sheet carrier density ns can be calculated via ns = IB/q|VH| from the
known values of I, B, and q.

There are practical aspects which must be considered when carrying out Hall and resistivity
measurements. Primary concerns are (1) ohmic contact quality and size, (2) sample
uniformity and accurate thickness determination, (3) thermomagnetic effects due to
nonuniform temperature, and (4) photoconductive and photovoltaic effects which can be
minimized by measuring in a dark environment. Also, the sample lateral dimensions must be
large compared to the size of the contacts and the sample thickness. Finally, one must
accurately measure sample temperature, magnetic field intensity, electrical current, and
voltage.
Some further information about the temperature dependence of Hall measurements and how
this dependence can be exploited is discussed on the temperature dependence page

The type of carriers present i.e. n or p type is very important. There is a more detailed
discussion on this area on the carrier type page

References
1. http://www.eeel.nist.gov/812/effe.htm
2. "Standard Test Methods for Measuring Resistivity and Hall Coefficient and
Determining Hall Mobility in Single-Crystal Semiconductors," ASTM Designation
F76, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 10.05 (2000).
3. E. H. Hall, "On a New Action of the Magnet on Electrical Current," Amer. J. Math. 2,
287-292 (1879).
4. L. J. van der Pauw, "A Method of Measuring Specific Resistivity and Hall Effect of
Discs of Arbitrary Shapes," Philips Res. Repts. 13, 1-9 (1958).
5. L. J. van der Pauw, "A Method of Measuring the Resistivity and Hall Coefficient on
Lamellae of Arbitrary Shape," Philips Tech. Rev. 20, 220-224 (1958).
6. E. H. Putley, The Hall Effect and Related Phenomena, Butterworths, London (1960).
7. D. C. Look, Electrical Characterization of GaAs Materials and Devices, John Wiley &
/
8. D. K. Schroder, Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization, 2nd Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, New York (1998).
9. R. Chwang, B. J. Smith and C. R. Crowell, "Contact Size Effects on the van der Pauw
Method for Resistivity and Hall Coefficient Measurement," Solid-State Electronics
17, 1217-1227 (1974).
10. D. L. Rode, C. M. Wolfe and G. E. Stillman, "Magnetic-Field Dependence of the Hall
Factor for Isotropic Media," J. Appl. Phys. 54, 10-13 (1983).
11. D. L. Rode, "Low-Field Electron Transport," Semiconductors & Semimetals 10, 1-89
(1975).
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VanderPauwContactPlacement.jpg