VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record

Date: Reg. No.

Band gap: four probe method

Aim of the Experiment:

To determine the band gap of a semiconductor by measuring the resistivity as a function of

temperature using four probe method

Apparatus Required:

 Spring loaded four probes

 Germanium (semiconductor) crystal
 Oven (up to 150 oC)
 Thermometer
 Constant current source
 Voltmeter

Basic Theory:

For intrinsic semiconductors, the number of free electrons in the conduction band (CB) is
equal to the number of holes in the valence band (VB). The difference in energy between the
CB bottom and VB top is called as the band gap of the semiconductor. The conductivity of an
intrinsic semiconductor depends strongly on the intrinsic carrier concentration and has a weak
dependence on carrier mobility. Hence, the temperature dependence of conductivity can
approximately be written as:

 Eg 
 (T )   0 exp    (0 – Residual conductivity)
 2 KT 

 Eg 
So, resistivity can be written as:  (T )  0 exp   (0 – Residual resistivity)
 2 KT 

Eg – band gap of the intrinsic semiconductor,

K – Boltzmann Constant

T – absolute temperature

Hence, primarily in this experiment we are going to measure the resistivity of the given
semiconducting sample using four probe method. Four probe method is used to avoid the
VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
contact resistance of the probes. In this method, four sharp probes are placed on a flat surface
of the material under investigation, current is passed through the two outer electrodes and the
floating potential is measured across the inner pair. For the present set-up, the resistivity of
Ge semiconductor crystal is given by,

V 
  CF  
I

I – current passed through the semiconductor

V – voltage measured

Here, CF (= 0.213 cm) is the correction factor which depends on the probe spacing and
thickness of the crystal.

Figure 1: Set-up for four probe resistivity measurement

VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
Procedure:

1. Connect the outer pair of probes (red/black) leads to the constant current power
supply and the inner pair (yellow/green) leads to the probe voltage terminals as shown
in Figure 1.
2. Place the four probe arrangement in the oven and fix the thermometer in the oven
through the hole provided.
3. Switch on the ac mains of four probe set-up and put the digital panel meter in the
current measuring mode through the selector switch. In this position, LED facing mA
would glow. Adjust the current to a desired value (say 5 mA).
4. Now put the digital panel meter in voltage measuring mode. In this position, LED
facing mV would glow and the meter would read the voltage between the probes.
Note the voltmeter reading corresponding to the room temperature.
5. Switch on the oven power supply. The glowing LED indicates the power to the oven
is ‘ON’.
6. Now note the voltmeter reading for every 10° C rise in temperature up to 140°C.
7. Plot the graph by taking (1/T) along X-axis and (ln) along Y-axis.
8. From the slope of the above graph calculate the band gap using required formula.
 VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
Table: (Constant current passed = 5 mA)

Temperature Voltage Resistivity () 1000/T ln

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

RT = ______
VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.

Calculations:

Results:

The energy band gap of the given semiconductor crystal is found to be _________________