Four Probe and UV-Vis Method for Finding Bandgap

Hrishikesh Malladi, Lab Partner: Konnark Dey

I. OBJECTIVE:

1. To determine the direct band gap of Zn-Te and CdS

and to determine the indirect band gap of polymer
(Si) using UV-Vis Optical Band Gap Method

2. Using Four Probe Measurement Method:

• To determine the band gap of n-Si and Al at

room temperature
• To determine the band gap of n-Ge and Al at Figure 1: Illustration of Direct and Indirect Band-Gap
different temperatures Citation: Valavanis, Alexander. (2009). n-type
silicon-germanium based terahertz quantum cascade
lasers.
II. APPARATUS:
B. UV-Vis Spectroscopy for Band Gap
• Al, n-Si, n-Ge samples Measurement
• Spectra analyzer software
• PID-Tz Oven UV-Vis spectroscopy is a valuable tool for deter-
mining the optical band gap, approximating the
• Low/Constant current source electronic band gap, which denotes the energy dif-
• Spectrometer ference between the minimum of the conduction
band and the maximum of the valence band. By
• Lamp
measuring light absorption as a function of wave-
• CdS, Zn-Te samples (Thin film) length, UV-Vis spectroscopy provides insights into
• 4-probe setup the electronic transitions within semiconductor ma-
terials.
• DC microvoltmeter
• Beer-Lambert Law:
 
I0
III. THEORY A = log10 (1)
IT

A. Direct and Indirect Band Gap Semiconductors

2.303 × A
α(in cm−1 ) = (2)
d
Direct and indirect band gap semiconductors differ
in how their valence and conduction bands align • Tauc Method for Band Gap Calculation:
with momentum. In direct band gap semiconduc-
tors, the valence band’s top and the conduction α = C × (ℏω − Eg )n (3)
band’s bottom occur at the same momentum value,
whereas in indirect band gap semiconductors, these Where:
levels occur at different momentum values. – C is a constant.
This discrepancy is crucial in optical devices, like – ℏω is the energy of the incident light.
LEDs and semiconductor lasers, where photons – Eg is the band gap energy.
with minimal momentum easily generate electron-
– n is ½ for direct allowed transitions and 2
hole pairs in direct band gap semiconductors. How-
for indirect allowed transitions.
ever, in indirect band gap semiconductors, this pro-
cess is more complex, requiring interaction with lat- • For Direct Band Gap Materials:
tice vibrations called phonons to adjust the elec- 1
tron’s momentum accordingly. α = C × (ℏω − Eg ) 2 (4)
2

• For Indirect Band Gap Materials: (e) For a conducting bottom surface, the resistiv-
ity is:
α = C × (ℏω − Eg ± Ephonon )2 (5)
ρ0
ρ= (8)
Where the − sign corresponds to phonon ab- G(W/S)
sorption and the + sign corresponds to phonon
emission. where G(W/S)
  
is: 
S
P∞ 1 1
G(W/S) = 1 + 4 W n=1 [(−1)
n √ − √ ](9)
(S/W )2 +(2n)2 (2S/W )2 +(2n)2

In some cases, phonon-related features may not be

observable, requiring alternative methods√for es-
timating the band gap, such as plotting α ver-
sus energy. Additionally, electronic transitions be-
tween the band and impurity levels can manifest
as shoulders in the absorption data, indicating the
complexity and richness of optical spectra in semi-
conductor materials.

C. Band Gap Measurement Using 4-Probe Method

Figure 3: 4 Probe Total Setup

(f) For a non-conducting bottom surface,

G(W/S) is modified, and for small W/S:

0.693 × 2 × S
G(W/S) = (10)
W

Figure 2: 4 Probe Arrangement

(a) The potential difference at a distance r from

an electrode in a material with current I and
resistivity ρ0 is:
ρ0 I
V = (6)
2πr

(b) We consider the four-probe method with

equidistant probes.
(c) Initially, for a material with a conducting bot-
tom surface, the resistivity is:
2πSV
ρ0 = (7)
I

(d) Now, we differentiate between conducting and

non-conducting top and bottom surfaces.
 3

IV. OBSERVATIONS:

Table I: Observation Table, Al, room temperature

Sl No Current (mA) Voltage(mV)

1 0.3 0
2 13.8 0.004
3 23 0.008
4 33.5 0.011
5 42.3 0.014
6 51.6 0.017
7 58.4 0.019
8 74.4 0.024
9 94.2 0.031
10 114 0.036
11 126.8 0.041
12 136.2 0.044
13 142.5 0.046
14 156.2 0.05
15 177.2 0.057
16 183.9 0.059

Table II: Observation Table, Ge, n-type, room temperature

Sl No Current (mA) Voltage (V)

1 0.3 0.032
2 1 0.08
3 2.1 0.166
4 1.2 0.101
5 2.3 0.187
6 5.7 0.454
7 5.3 0.422
8 4.5 0.357
9 3.2 0.251
10 4.9 0.387
11 4.6 0.366
12 3.5 0.276
4

Table III: Observation table, Si, n-type, room temperature

Sl No Current (mA) Voltage (mV)

1 0 0.4
2 0.011 1.5
3 0.062 6.9
4 0.166 17.8
5 0.383 40.7
6 0.43 45.8
7 0.534 57
8 0.692 73.7
9 0.771 82.2
10 0.88 93.9
11 1.055 112.7
12 1.177 125.7
13 1.227 131.2
14 0.217 23.6
15 0.333 36

Table IV: Four Probe, Ge, n-type, temperature dependence

Sl No Temp Voltage V/I ρ0 G7 rho 2k × ln(rho) 1/T

1 80 0.175 0.03181818182 0.000399839065 5.544 0.00007212104347 -0.001640392327 0.0125
2 90 0.13 0.02363636364 0.0002970233054 5.544 0.00005357563229 -0.001691519589 0.01111111111
3 100 0.09 0.01636363636 0.0002056315191 5.544 0.00003709082236 -0.001754768251 0.01
4 110 0.072 0.01309090909 0.0001645052153 5.544 0.00002967265789 -0.001793148942 0.009090909091
5 120 0.052 0.009454545455 0.0001188093222 5.544 0.00002143025292 -0.001849121595 0.008333333333
6 130 0.043 0.007818181818 0.00009824617026 5.544 0.00001772117068 -0.001881809095 0.007692307692
7 140 0.033 0.006 0.00007539822369 5.544 0.0000135999682 -0.001927336214 0.007142857143
8 150 0.026 0.004727272727 0.00005940466109 5.544 0.00001071512646 -0.00196834291 0.006666666667
9 160 0.021 0.003818181818 0.0000479806878 5.544 0.000008654525217 -0.002005077655 0.00625
10 170 0.017 0.003090909091 0.00003884150917 5.544 0.000007006044223 -0.002041422819 0.005882352941
11 180 0.014 0.002545454545 0.0000319871252 5.544 0.000005769683478 -0.002074817654 0.005555555556
 5

V. GRAPHS:

A. Four Probe V-I Plots

(a) Si n-type, Room Temp., Current(mA) v/s

Voltage(V)

(b) Al, Room Temp., Current(mA) v/s Voltage(V) (c) Ge n-type, Room Temp., Current(mA) v/s
Voltage(V)

Figure 4: I-V Graph of Al, Si Ge at Room Temperature

B. UV-Vis Direct and Indirect Band gap

6

Figure 5: Ge n-type Temperature Dependence, 2kln(ρ) vs 1/T

 7

Figure 6: Direct Bandgap, Zn-Te

8

Figure 7: Indirect Bandgap, Si

 9

Figure 8: Direct Bandgap, CdS

10

VI. CALCULATION AND ERROR ANALYSIS: – Percentage error in band gap (ZnTe) =
21.11%
(a) The computations are incorporated alongside – Percentage error in band gap (CdS) =
the observation plots. 19.42%
– Percentage error in band gap (Si) =
(b) We apply the formula for linear regression to
30.18%
estimate the regression values of the graph
2
1/CDU T versus VDC .
• For Four-Probe band gap measurement:
– Slope of 2kln(S) vs 1/T , Ge n-type =
The general formula for linear regression is: 15.5172 eV
X X – Band gap of Ge, n-type, temperature-
Yi = nA + B( Xi ) (11) dependent = 15.5172 eV
– Band gap of Si, n-type, room temperature
X X X = 1.45 eV
Xi Yi = A( Xi ) + B( Xi 2 ) (12)

The uncertainty in the value of Y is given as follows:

r
X (Ymean − Yi )2
δy = ( ) (13)
N −2

Now, we can compute the uncertainties in the slope

and intercept to be
s P 2
X
δA = δy P 2 P (14)
((N X ) − ( X)2 )

s
N
δB = δy P P (15)
((N X 2)− ( X)2 )

r
Σi (Ymean − Yi )
σ= (16)
N −1

Thus, the uncertainties are:

• For UV-Vis spectroscopy:

– Intercept (Zn-Te) = 2.8966 × 10−19
– Intercept (CdS) = 3.1806 × 10−19
– Direct band gap (ZnTe, calculated) =
1.783 eV
– Direct band gap (ZnTe, literature) = 2.26
eV
– Direct band gap (CdS, calculated) = 1.95
eV
– Direct band gap (CdS, literature) = 2.42
eV
– Indirect band gap (Si, calculated) = 0.782
eV
– Indirect band gap (Si, literature) = 1.12
eV
 11

VII. RESULTS,INFERENCE AND conductors, respectively.

CONCLUSION:
• Evaluation through UV-Vis spectroscopy in-
dicates that the energy gap values fall within
• Upon examination, we observe that the I-V 10-30% of the documented literature values.
characteristics of all three materials conform This discrepancy could be attributed to im-
to a linear relationship. Hence, it can be in- purities present in the sample or the substrate
ferred that the equipment is operating cor- material on which it is deposited.
rectly, and the materials do not display non-
Ohmic behavior.
• Analysis reveals that Aluminum demonstrates VIII. REFERENCES:
a linear increase in resistivity with rising tem-
perature, while Ge (n-type) exhibits an expo- • Introduction to Solid State Physics – C. Kit-
nential decrease in resistivity, consistent with tel, Wiley Eastern Limited (5th Edition).
the behaviour expected of metals and semi-