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Resistivity and Hall-coefficient measurements at sample is that it is rather difficult to make, having
different temperatures play an important part' in to he cut out of the brittle semiconductor material
research on semiconductors, such as germanium and with an ultrasonic tool. There is therefore a consider-
silicon 1), for it is from these quantities that the able risk of breakage, particularly when the arms
mobility and concentration of the charge carriers are made narrow.
are found.
Such measurements are commonly. carried out
with a test bar as illustrated infig. 1. The resistivity
is, found directly from the potential difference and
the distance between the contacts 0 and P, the
current i and the dimensions of the bar. To deter-
mine the Hall coefficient the bar is subjected to a
magnetic field B applied at right angles to the direc-
tion of the current and to the line connecting the
diametrically opposite contacts 0 and Q. From the
potential difference thus produced between these
Fig. 2. The bridge-type sample, which is provided with relative-
latter contacts the Hall coefficient is derived. (The ly large contact faces to reduce contact resistances. This form
relation between the Hall coefficient and the change is of special importance in measurements at low temperatures.
1) See e.g. C. Kittel, Introduetion to solid state physics, 2) L. J. van der Pauw, A method of measuring specific
2nd edition, Wile,y, New York 1956, Chapter 13, p. 347 resistivity and Hall effect of discs of arbitrary shape, Philips
et seq. Res. Repts. 13, 1-9, 1958 (No. I).
1958/59, No. 8 RESISTIVITY AND HALL COEFFICIENT _ 221
resistivity ofthe material. If d and the "resistances" In the general case it is not possible to express e
RMN,OP and RNO,PM are known, then (1) yields explicitly in known functions. The solution can,
an equation in which e is the only unknown however, be written in the form
quantity.
_ nd RMN,OP + RNO,PM f (4)
e- ln2 2 '
0,2
;-......
- r--
a b c d
959'12
lcm
Fig. 6. Some samples of silicon used for resistrvity and Hall-coefficient measurements.
Samples a and b correspond respectively to figs. 1 and 2. Measurements on samples c
and d are possible only by the new method. The incisions in sample d serve to reduce tbe
error caused by the contacts not being infinitely small.
The potential difference between two points 0 and Plying Formula (1) can then be written:
on a straight line with M (fig. 7a.) is: Xl x:!
e e+e Q=I. (6 )
a a Next we write:
Vp-Va=(Edr=l.!i
. =«.
(dr=_l.!i
r rul
lna+b+c.
a +b Xl = .}{(Xl + X2) + (Xl - x2)}
p p and X2 = t{(x1 + x2) - (xl -x2)},
yielding a half-plane - and if at the same time we halve the This is the same as:
current (fig. 7b).
Next we consider the case of c) in fig. 7, where a current i (7)
now flows out from a point N, that again lies on the same
straight line with OP, viz. on the edge of the infinite half-plane. The exponent of e in (7) is now written as -(In 2)/1, i.e.
We now find:
I.! i b+ c we put:
Vp - Va = + nd In -b- . xI+x21n2
(8 )
21.! =1'
Superposition of the cases b) and c) in fig. 7 yields the case d), Formula (7) then becomes:
the current i being introduced at M and taken off at N. The
value now assumed by V p - Va is found by adding together
the two previous results. After dividing by i we then find:
R _ _g_ I (a b) (b + + c) Ivf 0 P
MN,ap-nd n (a+b+c)b '
or
g 2i~I<>.- ~a~+~b~---_.1j..-----,,-c_-_J
(a + b + c)b ( rul \
(a + b) (b + c) = exp -(i RMN,ap/.
Similarly we find:
(a + b)
ac
(b + c) = exp
(nel
-(i RNa,PM/'
\
n. d RMN,ap = Xl' )
(S) Fig. 7. Illustrating the derivation of formula (1).
st d RNa,PM = X2• )
1958/59, No. 8 RESISTIVITY AND HALL COEFFICIENT 223
This expression represents a relation between f and Xr/x2, EH is proportional to J and to B; the proportionality
and hence also between f and RMN,Op/RNO,PM (see 5). The constant (= ljnq) is called the Hall coefficient RH'
relation is shown graphically in fig. 5. By re-writing (8) to
Since q. is known, one can calculate from RH the
give (! and substituting for Xl and X2 from (5), we find formulà
(4).
concentration n of the charge -carriers,
The fact that the current stream-lines are not
Method of measuring the Hall coefficient affected by the magnetic field implies that after
application of the magnetic field, the electric
The Hall coefficient, too, can bè measured on
field is no longer' in the same direction as the cur-
an arbitrary lamella as in fig. 3. We then apply the
rent stream-lines, but has acquired a transverse
current to one of the contacts, say M, and take it
component Et' which exactly compensates the
off at the contact following the succeeding one, i.e.
in our case at O. We measure RMo,NP' after which
we set up an uniform magnetic induction B at right
angles to the surface of the lamella. This changes
RMo,NP by an amount LlRMo,NP' We shall now
denote the Hall coefficient RH and show that it is
given by:
(9)
provided that: Fig. 8. The resultant of the electrical field-strength E and the
a) the contacts are sufficiently small, Hall field-strength EH lies in the direction of the current density
J. Resolving E in directions perpendicular and parallel to J
b) the contacts are on the periphery, therefore yields a perpendicular component Et which in mag-
c) the lamella is of uniform thickness and free of nitude is equal to EH.
holes.
The validity of formula (9) depends on the distri- apparent Hall electric field EH (fig.8). The change'
bution of current stream-lines not changing when LI(VP - VN) in the potential difference between
the magnetic field is applied. With samples of the Pand N is therefore given by integrating Et from P
classical shape of figs. 1 and 2, where the current ?ver a path orthogonal to the current stream-lines
stream-lines are always parallel to the edges of the to N'. across the lamella (fig.9), and thence along
sample, there is evidently no change. From the the periphery -- i.e. along a stream-line - from
properties of the vector field representing the current N' to N. The last portion of the path makes no
density it follows that the same also applies to contribution to the integral; hence
lamellae of arbitrary shape, provided the above
f f
N' N'
conditions are satisfied 3).
Under the magnetic induction B, ,the charge LI(Vp-VN) = EHds=RHB Jds=RHB i~o,
carriers, with charge q, are subjected to a force P P
perpendicular to the stream-lines and perpendicular
where d is again the thickness of the lamella. This
to the lines of magnetic induction. The magnitude
expression leads directly to (9).
of this force is F = qvB, where v is the velocity
ofthe charge carriers. Between v, the concentration
n of the charge carriers and the current density J
there exists the relation v = Jjnq. Dividing the
force exerted on the charge carriers by their charge
q, we see that the effect of the magnetic field is
equivalent to an apparent electric field EH' the
Hall electric field, for which we can write 4):
1
EH= -JB.
nq
3) The proof of this statement is also indicated in the paper Fig. 9. To calculate by how much the potential difference
quoted under 2). . between points P. and N changes when a magnetic field is
.4). 'I'his.formula is not entirely exact because, apart from their applied at right-angles to the plane of the sample, the trans-
. ordered motion with velocity v, the electrons also move verse electric fieldEtproduced by the magnetic fieldis integrated
randomly owing to thermal agitation. More precise calcula- along the path s which runs from P, orthogonal to the current .
tion shows, however, that the formula given here is a good stream-lines, to N' and thence along the periphery from N'
approximation. toN. .
PHILlPS TECHNICAL REVIEW VOLUME 20
Estimation of errors Table. The relative errors .dele and .dRHIRH in the calculated
values of the resistivity and the Hall coefficient for a circular
In the foregoing we have assumed the contacts disc of diameter D on which one contact Pis non-ideal, in the
to be "sufficiently" small and to be situated on the senses indicated in the sketches.
periphery. To gain an idea of the error made in the
calculations when these conditions are not exactly
.dele ARH/RH
satisfied, we have worked out the error for three
cases. For simplicity we consider a circular disc of
P
diameter D with the contacts mutually 90° apart.
We assume further that only one of the contacts is
not ideal. The three cases are represented in the
adjoining table, together with the formulae for the
relative errors in the resistivity and the Hall
s
M
,
Qo N
D
_12
;:::::7602ln'2 ""--
-21
"-' 3(20
MÇ)o
c) One of the contacts, although a point, is situated
at a distance I from the periphery.
_12 -21
In practice, none of the contacts will be ideal. To ~ 2{hn2
"---
"- :rtO
the first approximation the total error is then equal
to the sum of the errors per contact. N