Solid-State Electronics Pergamon Press 1966. Vol. 9, pp. 339-351.

Printed in Great Britain

THE HALL EFFECT AND RELATED PHENOMENAt

A. C. BEER
Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

A b s t r a c t - - A review is presented of the theory of the Hall effect and related phenomena in solids.
Basic principles are illustrated by application of the Lorentz force to moving charges in a free-electron
system. Application to a real solid is indicated through a consideration of the effects of band structure
and charge-carrier scattering mechanisms. Association is also made with the off-diagonal elements of
the conductivity tensor, and the influence of certain symmetries in the medium is discussed. Special
mention is made of specific parameters useful in characterizing a material for Hall-effect applications,
including the dependence of the parameters on temperature and impurity content.
T h e question of the variation of Hall coefficient with magnetic field is examined in some detail, with
particular attention to band structure and crystal anisotropy, scattering, inhomogeneities and multi-
band effects. Differentiation is made between isothermal and adiabatic phenomena, and the import-
ance of various thermomagnetic contributions is pointed out. Related galvanomagnetic phenomena
which are discussed include magnetoresistance effect and also the magnetic-field dependence of the
skin depth in the case of the transmission of a.c. fields through a disk.

R 6 s u m 6 - - - O n pr6sente une revue de la th~orie de l'effet Hall et des ph6nom~nes alli6s dans les
solides. Les principes fondamentaux sont illustr~s par l'application de la force Lorentz aux charges
mobiles dans u n syst~me ~t ~lectron mobile. L'application h u n solide r~el est indiqude par une
consideration des effets des structures de bande et des mdcanismes d'~parpillement des porteurs de
charge. U n e association est aussi faite avec les 6Mments non-diagonaux du tenseur de conductivit~
et l'influence de certaines sym&ries dans le milieu est discut~e. Une mention sp~ciale est faite des
param~tres spficifiques utiles pour caract6riser u n mat~riau pour applications h effet Hall, comprenant
la d6pendance des param~tres sur la temperature et la quantit~ d'impuretC
La question de la variation du coefficient Hall avec le champ magn~tique est examin6e en d&ail,
et en particulier la structure de bande et l'anisotropie de cristaux, l'#parpillement, les inhomo-
g~neit~s et les effets de bandes multiples. O n diffdrentie entre les phdnom~nes adiabatiques et
isothermes et l'importance de diverses contributions thermomagn~tiques est indiqu6e. Les phdno-
m~nes galvanomagn~tiques alli6s qui sont discut~s comprennent l'effet de magn~toresistance et aussi
la dfipendence d u champ magn~tique sur la profondeur de peau dans le cas de la transmission de
champs h courant alternatif h travers u n disque.

Zusammenfassung--Eine/]bersicht fiber die Theorie des Hall-effektes u n d verwandter Erschein-

ungen in Festkfrpern wird gegeben. Z u r Veranschaulichung der grundlegenden Gesetzm~issigkeiten
wird die Wirkung der Lorentzkraft auf die bewegten Ladungen in einem System freier Elektronen
dargestellt. Die Anwendung auf reale Festk6rper wird angedeutet, indem die Wirkungen von
Bandstruktur u n d Ladungstr~gerstreumechanismen beriieksidhtigt werden. Auch wird der Zusam-
menhang mit den nichtdiagonalen Elementen des LeitfLlaigkeitstensors hergestellt u n d der Einfluss
gewisser Kristallsymmetrien besprochen. Ausdriickliche E r w ~ m u n g finden spezifische Parameter,
welche geeignet sind, ein Material zu kennzeichnen, das flit Anwendungen des Hall-effektes in
Frage kommt, einschliesslich der Abhiingigkeit dieser Parameter yon Temperatur u n d Verunreinig-
ungsgehalt.
Auf die Frage der Veriinderung des Hallkoeffizienten mit dem Magnetfeld wird etwas eingegangen.
Besondere Beachtung finden dabei Bandstruktur u n d Kristallanisotropie, Streuung, Inhomogeni-
t~ten u n d Vielbandeffekte. Zwischen isothermen u n d adiabatischen Erseheinungen wird unter-
schieden u n d die Bedeutung einer Reihe yon thermomagnetischen Effekten ldargemacht. Die hier
diskutierten verwandten galvanomagnetischen Effekte sehliessen den Widerstand im Magnetfeld
und auch die Magnetfeldabh~ngigkeit der Eindringtiefe ein, auf welche es bei der Transmission yon
Wechselfeldern d u t c h eine Scheibe ankommt.

t Partial support by Air Force Office of Scientific Research through Grant No. 525-66 is gratefully acknowledged.
339
340 A. C. B E E R
1. PRINCIPLES INVOLVED
THE HALLEFFECTin a solid is a direct manifestation
of the Lorentz force on moving charge carriers.*
The total force on a charged particle in an electric
and magnetic field is given by the vector equation
F = e[E+ (1/c)v x H ] (1)
where F is the force, e the charge and v the velocity
of the particle; E is the electric field and H the
magnetic field intensity. A permeability of unity
is assumed, and for the Gaussian system of units
c is the speed of light.
To illustrate the physics involved, consider a
confined stream of free particles, each having
charge e and initial velocity vx. A magnetic field
in the z direction produces initially a deflection of
charge along the y direction. Thus a charge un-
balance is created, and this results in an electric
field E v. This field, which is the Hall field, builds
up until the force it exerts on a charged particle
counterbalances that resulting from the magnetic
field. Then subsequent particles of the same charge
and velocity are no longer deflected, and a steady
state exists. A pictorial representation of the situa-
tion is shown in Fig. 1.
Jl+ Jx
E¥~g HZ
e EX
FIG. 1. Hall field due to action of magnetic field on
positive charge carriers (holes).
T h e magnitude of the Hall field follows at once
from a consideration of the force balance in the
y direction, namely
Ev = - - ( l / c ) [ v x H ] u = (1/c)vxHz (2)
If, as in a real solid, all particles do not have a
constant velocity vz, but there exists a distribution
of velocities, then vx must be replaced by a certain
"average" velocity. Thus it is only particles of this
average velocity which will traverse the solid un-
deflected. The other particles undergo deflection
---some in the positive y direction and others in
the negative y direction, depending on the relative
magnitude of their velocities as compared to this
average. This point will be discussed later in con-
nection with magnetoresistance.
* For a more detailed presentation of galvomagnetie
phenomena and of the theory of solids, or for more in-
formation on semlcondueting materials, consult Refs. 1-6.
An interesting and important consequence
results from the particular form of the force term
due to the magnetic field. It will be recalled from
elementary physics that the rate at which work is
done on a particle, that is, the rate of change of
energy, is given by
dW/dt = F.v (3)
It is now apparent from equation (1) that the
magnetic field does not change the energy of the
charge carriers, since the scalar triple produce
v . v x H vanishes. Thus a quasi-static magnetic
field does not supply energy to the system. This
statement does not, of course, take account of
high-frequency dissipative effects.
It will also be recalled that the electric current
density J~ can be expressed in terms of the density
of charge carriers by the relation
J~ = ~ n~evx<o (4)
where n, is the density of charge carriers having
velocity vx(o. In the case of our illustrative model,
where all particles were assumed to have the same
velocity, one obtains
Yz = nevx, where n = ]~ nf. (5)
With the use of equation (5), expression (2) for the
Hall field becomes
E v = J~-Iz/nec = - (1/nec)(J x H)v
= (1/nec)(Hx J)y (6)
Now the Hall coeflicient is defined by the ratio
E v / J x H z , namely
R =-- E v / J z H z = 1/nec, (7)
where the equality follows from equation (6). Its
derivation therefore assumed vx to be constant.
We note from equation (7) that R is negative for
conduction by electrons and positive for conduc-
tion by holes.
2. APPLICATION TO A REAL SOLID
In a real solid our idealized free particle treat-
ment no longer applies, and it must be replaced
by a theory that takes into account the distribution
of velocities and the interaction of the charge
carriers with impurities, defects and lattice
 T H E H A L L E F F E C T AND R E L A T E D P H E N O M E N A
thermal vibrations of the solid--i.e, the scattering,
as well as the band structure of the solid. The
latter consideration arises from the fact that the
charge carriers are not really free, but exist in a
potential energy field having the periodicity of the
lattice. As a result of these constraints, only
certain energy states, or bands, are allowed for the
charge carriers. Furthermore, the relationship
between energy and velocity of the carriers is not
the simple ½mvZ of the free electron, but is more
complex. As an approximation, one frequently
characterizes the charge carriers by an effective
mass, m*. In general, m* is anisotropic, i.e. it is
a tensor. It may also vary with energy of the
carrier.
Taking into account most of the complexities
just mentioned, one still obtains--when one type
of charge carrier is present--an expression similar
to equation (7), namely
R = r/nec. (8)
The parameter r, called the Hall coefficient factor,
depends on the nature of the scattering, the band
structure, the magnetic field strength, and on the
statistics characterizing the distribution of veloci-
ties of the carriers. Its functional dependence
on these variables is usually slight, and in most
cases its value differs from unity by less than + 50
per cent. The fact that r approaches unity in the
limit of strong magnetic fields, provides a means
for determining it experimentally if measure-
ments can be made into the strong-field limit.
Another point to note is that r is unity for very
large carrier concentrations--i.e, large degeneracy.
This might be expected since in such cases only
those charge carriers with velocity in the neigh-
borhood of the Fermi velocity contribute signifi-
cantly to conduction, and we have the character-
istics of the single-velocity picture discussed
cartier. The variation of r with magnetic field is,
of course, of interest in connection with Hall effect
applications, and this point will be discussed in
more detail later.
3. ELECTRIC FIELDS, H A L L A N G L E A N D
H A L L MOBILITY
We note that the electric current density Jz
exists as a result of an applied electric field Ex.
With the Hall field present, the resultant electric
field in the solid lies at some angle 0 to the x axis.
341
This angle is called the Hall angle, namely
0 - tan -:t Ey/Ex. (9)
Thus the Hall effect can be described as a rotation
of the electric field--a concept which is very useful.
At zero Hall field, the equipotential lines are
perpendicular to J, but when the Hall field appears,
they are oblique, so that a Hall voltage exists across
the specimen in a direction normal to the current.
The rotation aspect of the Hall effect is also
brought out by considering the components of the
conductivity tensor, which relates electric current
densities and fields. For the boundary condition
that Jz = 0, we may write
J~ = zzxEx+ ~rzyEu
Jz=0, H=Hz
Ju = - CrxuEx+ ~r¢xEy" (10)
The above equations hold for media of sufficient
symmetry that azx = avy and that crxz = ayz = O.
This is obviously satisfied in isotropic media, and
it also holds for cubic systems when the coordinate
axes are along the cube axes. The fact that for
certain conditions of symmetry one can obtain the
relation
~zy(H) = - ~yz(H), (11)
as is implicit in equations (10), indicates that a
Hall effect unit can be used as a non-reciprocal
electrical element, which has been called a
"gyrator".(7)
Although the validity of relation (11) is depen-
dent on a certain symmetry in the solid, it should
be pointed out that the general Onsager relation-
ships( s ) are applicable to the elements of the
conductivity tensor, regardless of the degree of
isotropy of the material, and they yield the general
relation
*,k(H) = *k,(--H). (12)
Two useful items of information follow from the
above Onsager relation, namely
(a) cq~(H) = ~ u ( - H ) (13)
and provided relation (11) holds,
(b) crzy(H) = - ~zu(-I-I). (14)
That is, the diagonal elements of the conductivity
342 A . C . BEER
tensor contain only even powers of H; the off-
diagonal elements, in cases of adequate symmetry,
contain only odd powers of H.
Since the boundary conditions for Hall coeffi-
cient measurement require that Jv vanish, we note
from equations (9) and (10) that
~zv = ¢rxxtan O. (15)
Also, from the definition of the Hall coefficient as
given in equation (7), we see from equation (10)
with Jy = 0 that
R = ~rxv/Hcrxx~ (16)
in weak magnetic fields.
An important attribute of charge carriers is their
mobility, that is, in the case of conductivity
mobility, the drift velocity per unit electric field.
The conductivity mobility is thus related to the
conductivity ¢r by
i~ = ~r/ne, (17)
in the case of conduction by a single type of carrier.
It is also customary to define a Hall mobility tzH,
again for conduction by a single type of charge
carrier, by the relation
I~HH/C = tan 0, or/ZH = Rac. (18)
With the additional use of equations (8) and (17),
it can be seen that the ratio of Hall and conductivity
mobilities is precisely the Hall coefficient factor r.
From equation (18), it also follows that the Hall
angle is proportional to the mobility as well as
to the magnetic field. This is an important con-
sideration, since it tells us that to have a large
Hall effect--or magnetoresistance effect, for that
matter--at reasonable magnetic fields we must
favour those materials with large charge-carrier
mobilities. As a matter of fact, the condition
~HH[c ~ 1 is usually used as a criterion to express
the weak magnetic field region, while ixnH/c >> 1
denotes the strong field region.
4. VECTOR REPRESENTATION OF HALt, FIELD
Since the Hall field, as the term is used here, is
by definition in a direction perpendicular to H and
to J, and is proportional to the magnitudes of
these quantities, it must be proportional to the
vector product H ×J. The constant of proportion-
ality is the Hall coefficient, as was defined in
equation (7) or (16). Thus we may write.
EH = R t t × J, (19)
where EH is an odd function of H. The same
relationship, of course, follows from the free-
particle picture and equations (6) and (7). The
operational definition of R is obviously a quantity
which is odd in H, since its measurement involves
taking half the difference of E(H) and E ( - H ) along
the Hall probes. Any contributions which are even
in H therefore cancel.
For isotropic media, or for certain cases where
H is along a direction of high symmetry, the total
electric field measured along the direction H x J is
precisely EH, as given above. In a more general
case, however, if H is along a lower symmetry
direction in an anisotropic crystal, the field across
the Hall probes will also have a component which
is even in H. T o see how this comes about, we
note that the resistivity tensor [the inverse of the
conductivity tensor of equations (10)] can be
written as a sum of antisymmetric and symmetric
parts. Thus we have:
E = p(H)J = pa(H)J+ps(H)J. (20)
That is,
p,k(H) = p,~a(H)+pf~8(H), (21)
where, by definition,
m~a(H) = --pk,a(H), (22)
e,ks(H) = pk,8(H). (23)
Since, by equation (22), pua(H) = 0, it follows that
all diagonal elements are symmetric. Now by
Onsager's relations--cf, equation (12)--the above
yields:
p~ka(H) = - p , . k a ( - H ) , i.e. p~,~a(H) is odd in H
(24)
p~,~s(H) = p ~ S ( - H ) , i.e. p~S(H) is even in H.
(25)
The field across the Hall probes is determined by
the off-diagonal elements--that is, i # k in equa-
tions (24) and (25)--of the resistivity tensor, and
we have
EH× J = R H × J+(psJ)H× J (26)
 T H E H A L L E F F E C T AND R E L A T E D P H E N O M E N A
In going from equations (20) to (26) we have
expressed the antisymmetric components of the
resistivity tensor by the vector product R H x J .
This is a special case, adapted to our geometry,
of a more general relation given by CASIMIa.*
Now the first term on the right hand side of
equation (26) results from the off-diagonal terms
of the resistivity tensor which are antisymmetric
in their indices, and which, we saw, are odd in H.
This is the familiar Hall field. The second term,
which results from off-diagonal terms which are
symmetric and therefore even in H, is associated
with a magnetoresistance effect. The term vanishes
under conditions of sufficient symmetry, as was
illustrated by equations (10). In the absence of
adequate symmetry, however, it follows that the
Hall probes can register an admixture of Hall
voltages (odd in H) and magnetoresistance voltages
(even in H). Since, under such conditions, V ( H )
is no longer equal to - V ( - H ) , it follow that for
most Hall effect devices, such a situation must be
avoided. An example of the admixture of Hall and
magnetoresistance voltages is given in Section 6.
5. OPTIMIZATION OF MATERIALS PARAMETERS
A number of considerations enter into the criteria
for the characteristics of the best material for a
given Hall effect application. Many of these will
be discussed in subsequent papers. Here we shall
devote our attention only to the Hall element--
excluding the magnetic circuit--and shall consider
two contrasting examples which illustrate some of
the major factors to be considered. These cases
are (a) maximum power output and (b) maximum
voltage. In both cases, the constraint on the input
current to the element is that imposed by a certain
maximum heat generation rate.
An exact calculation of maximum output voltage
or power from the Hall element involves, of course,
the solution of the field equations for the geometry
of the system which includes the active element
and the contacts. Various aspects of the problem
have been considered by a number of investigators
using, for the most part, conformal transforma-
tions.(9-n) Several conference papers are to be
devoted to this subject.(lg) For our purposes here,
we shall follow the procedure adopted by SAKER
and co-workers(13) and absorb these geometry
factors in a parameter K, writing the internal
* See, for example, pp. 41-43 and 83-85 of Ref. 1.
343
resistance in the Hall circuit as
Z~n~ = Kpb/Lt, (27)
where p is the resistivity and b, L, t are respectively
the width, length and thickness of the Hall element.
According to S~ER and coUaborators(lS), the value
of K is usually between 2 and 5.
The Hall voltage V~ is given, in practical units,
by
VH = MO-aRHI/t (volts) (28)
where ?, is essentially unity, differing only for
geometries where contact shorting is significant.
Now for maximum power transfer, the external
resistance must equal Z~nt, so that the expression
for the power in the load becomes
Wo = VH2/4Z~nt. (29)
The power supplied to the specimen is
W~ = I~pL/bt (30)
and hence, in practical units,
Wo = ( 1 0 - 1 6 a ~ / ~ ( R ~ / p ~ ) W ~ ~ ~ 2 ~ W ~ .
(31)
Thus for maximum power, we are interested in
highest mobility materials.
For case (b), where maximum output voltage is
desired, we have, from equations (28) and (30):
V~ = AIO-SRIII/t
= IO-SA(b/Lt)II2(RH/pll2)W,I/~ ,,~ (I~R)ll2HW, ll2.
(32)
For maximum output voltage, the figure of merit
for the material is therefore the quantity R[~/p
or V'(/~R). Representative values of these para-
meters of merit for various materials are given in
Table 1. It is apparent from the table that if the
operating requirement is maximum output power
--without further limitations--then InSb is the
obvious choice; if the requirement is the highest
no-load output voltage, then silicon is the fore-
front contender J15,16) In practice, other constraints
are usually imposed. An important one is that the
temperature coefficient be small. This means--as
can be seen from the last column in Table 1 -
that intrinsic or nearly intrinsic materials must be
avoided. Thus, in the case of InSb, the specimen
344 A . C. B E E R

Table 1. Representative values of materials parameters at 3 0 0 ° K t

o,
Material cm3/C f~-cm cm-s cm2/V-sec R/p1~2 klt~2§ kz(R/pl/a)§ . ~o]°C

n -- Si 360,000 200 2 x 10la 1500 25,000 0.09 120 <0.01

7000 4.5 1 × 10t5 1300 3300 0.07 16 <0.01

n-Ge 87,000 25 5 x 10la 36001] 17,000 0'5 85 4

21,000 5 3"5 × 1014 3600 9000 0.5 45 0.3
4250 1 1 '7 x 1015 3500 4000 0'5 20 <0"01

GaAs 1700 0-2 3"7 x 10*5 8500 3800 3 17 0.1

15 0.0045 4.2 x 1017 3300 220 0"4 1 '1 0.01

InAs 3700 0.1 1 '7 x 10x5 35,00011 12,000 50 60 3

570 0.02 1 "1 × 1016 28,000 4000 30 20 0.1
115 0.005 5"5 x 1016 23,000 1600 20 8 <0"01

InSb 380 0.005 2 × 1016 75,00011 5400 225 27 2

19 0.0006 3 "3 x 10t7 32,000 770 40 3 "8 0.01

Bi 5-10 ,~0.002 ,~6 × 1017 ~5000 200 1 1 ~-~0.4

t Data from Ross et al.( TM and from unpublished results at Battelle.

Hall coefficient factors of approximately 1 "18 were used for Si and Ge; lower values for the I I I - V materials.
§ The normalization factors kl and k2 are chosen so that the values of the respective figure of merits are unity in
the case of bismuth.
II Denotes that specimen is intrinsic or nearly intrinsic.

must be doped into the moderate 10 t7 region.(17)
T h e mobility is then degraded by impurity scat-
tering to a value which is not much different from
that in InAs of the required doping. Another
consideration, which is especially pertinent in the
case of I n S b , is the resistance of the Hall unit. I n
most circuits this needs to be the order of ohms
rather than fractions of ohms. T o achieve such
values with a material of resistivity as low as that
in the doped InSb, requires very thin s p e c i m e n s - -
perhaps the order of a few microns. I f deposition
techniques are used to produce such thin films,
the mobility may be further degraded. For example,
the I n S b in Hall elements of respective resistances
3 and 15 f~ produced by MARAIS etal.(ls) possessed
electron mobilities of 34,000 and 18,000cm2/
V-see, respectively. Film thicknesses were between
10 and 16/~. T h e deposits were polycrystalline,
and although it appears that recrystallization
techniques(19) might produce films as thin as 1-2/~
with mobilities of 30,000, the result still represents
a decrease by a factor of 2½ from good bulk values, t
F r o m T a b l e 1 it is apparent that because of the
higher resistivity of InAs, the material could be
almost an order of magnitude thicker to yield the
same resistance. T h e mobility in the element would
be essentially the bulk value. F o r these reasons,
I n A s is often preferred to InSb(20), in spite of the
fact that the m a x i m u m figure of merit is higher
for the latter material.
6. M A G N E T I C FIELD D E P E N D E N C E OF
HALL COEFFICIENT
Factors which can influence how the Hall
coefficient varies with magnetic field include the
nature of the charge-carrier scattering, the degree
of degeneracy (i.e. the location of the Fermi level
with respect to the band edge), the band structure,
and the degree of inhomogeneity of the specimen.
~"Further improvements are being reported (see the
conference papers cited in Ref. 19), and it appears that
the mobility gap between vapour deposited films and bulk
crystals of InSb is being substantially reduced.
 THE HALL EFFECT
(a) Charge-carrier scattering and degeneracy
For scattering by acoustic mode lattice vibra-
tions, the weak magnetic field Hall coefficient
factor is 3rr/8 or 1-18 for the case where the carrier
concentration is low enough that classical statistics
apply; under similar conditions, that for scattering
by ionized impurities only is 315rr/512 or 1.94. If,
however, just a small amount of impurity scattering
is mixed with acoustic mode scattering, the Hall
coefficient factor is actually less than 37r/8.(21) As
one approaches the strong magnetic field limit, the
Hall coefficient factor approaches unity. A similar
behaviour occurs in the case of large degeneracy.
It is to be noted that the scattering mechanisms
cited above--and also other commonly encountered
isotropic scattering processes--lead to a monotonic
decrease in R with H.
(b) Band structure
Anisotropy. Anisotropy in the surfaces of
constant energy can lead to complex variations of
R with field. One may encounter increases, de-
creases, or combinations of both--leading to
maxima or minima. Any general theoretical
development would be complicated even for the
case of cubic symmetry, and for details the reader
is referred to the literature. Discussion here will
be confined to several illustrative examples. Figure
2 shows the anisotropy factor in r0 resulting from
1.2
1.o , f ~
o.8! / --~
..y 0"6
~s
, lographic axes are illustrated by data taken on
J Oblate Prolate
0.2 / energy energy
surfaces surfaces
I I I I
0'01 002 00501 0"2 0"5 I'0 2 5 I0 20
K more non-equivalent energy bands in conduction
FIG. 2. Dependence of anisotropy factor in/xrr//~ on the
anisotropy of the effective mass for a family of spheroidal
energy surfaces arranged so as to possess cubic symmetry
(After HrnmNG(22)). The quantity K i s the ratio mF*[m±*.
AND RELATED PHENOMENA 345
a set of ellipsoids of revolution arranged so as to
possess cubie symmetry. Figure 3 shows a cal-
culated magnetic-field dependence of the Hall
I'O
J
0-9 ~ J
o.s
H: d: III
0-6
I I I I I I ! I
0 I0 20
CUlT
Fxo. 3. Theoretical Hall coefficient factor resulting from
voltages across Hall probes as a function of
oJ±'r( ~ eHrlm±*c ~ t~±'r)
for J along a [111] direction (after BULLIS and KRaG(S3)).
The quantity m~* is the longitudinal mass (that associated
with the axis of revolution of the energy spheroid) and
m±* is the transverse mass.
coefficient factor, as determined from voltages
across the Hall probes. Besides depicting the effect
of the anisotropy, this figure illustrates another
important consideration, namely that for field and
current directions of relatively lower symmetry--
here [~10] and [111], respectively--one can have an
intermixing of Hall and magnetoresistance volt-
ages, even in crystals of cubic symmetry. This
point was discussed in Section 4, where we noted
that under such conditions a Hall element would
no longer exhibit V(H) = - V ( - H ) .
Although the existence of anisotropy renders
more difficult any theoretical calculations, it does
provide substantial flexibility for the design
engineer to exploit in order to realize a specified
dependence of Hall voltage on H. The changes
in this behaviour which result from different direc-
tions of magnetic field with respect to the crystal-
3 ~2-cm n-type germanium presented in Fig. 4 for
current in the [100] direction and in Fig. 5 for
current in the [110] direction.
50 Multiband effects. The participation of two or
can have a very conspicuous effect on the magnetic
field dependence of the Hall coefficient and on the
other galvanomagnetie effects. T o generalize equa-
tions (8) or (16) for the multiband case, we need
346 A. C. B E E R

to sum the contributions from each band in obtain- materials depends only on the carrier densities,
ing the elements of the conductivity tensor shown 1
in equation (10), noting that the antisymmetric Rtt-,oo ]elc(p_n), n ~ p, (34)
terms bear opposite signs for conduction by holes
and does not involve the mobilities. Thus in the
example just cited, we may expect a significant
37 >
~. , , ~ o l o o g [oo0 ox,~T ~ change in Hall coefficient as the magnetic field is
-~ 3"6 varied. This is precisely what one finds, for
3-5 example, in p-type germanium, where the valence
o
3-4 I] I r band is degenerate and bands of light- and heavy-
"3 53
mass holes exist. Experimental data for such a
specimen are shown in Fig. 6. T h e decrease in r0
3'2
at lower temperatures is attributed to the influence
2 3'1 of increased ionized impurity scattering. Warping
o 3-0 (non-sphericity) of the heavy-mass band exists,
2 4 6 8 I0 12 14 [6 18 20 22
and in silicon the competition of effects from the
Mognefic F}eld, H, ira kHogouss
two bands, from warping, and from mixed scatter-
Fro. 4. Ratio of Rn]po for a [100] cylinder for two direc- ing can result in substantially different magnetic
tions of the magnetic field (after MAsoN et a/.(7)). field dependences at low temperatures in specimens
of different purity. This is illustrated in Fig. 7.

-- 11 _ x_ (c) Inhomogeneities in specimens

.~ 3.6 ~ ,,--x---'~o,o~g [oo01 | We shall note later that any mechanism that
3-5 I I~'-~-~. Hz2"~°eromloo*] disturbs the Hall field--be it contact shorting,
surface conditions, multiband effects, or inhomo-
geneifies--can strongly affect the magnetoresis-
tance. In the case of inhomogeneities--if the
o
a 5,2 d ialong, ~lO]' H a'long ~ ' T O
J ' ~ / ~ ~'<L,~_
[ gradients are in the right direction--an admixture
LII ' II of magnetoresistance and Hall effect can occur.
-£ 3"0 This can substantially affect the field dependence
~. 0 2 4 6 S I0 12 14 16 18 20 2~'
Megnefic Field, H, in kilogouss
of the measured Hall coefficient--as can be seen
from the data in Fig. 8.
FIO. 5. Ratio of Rn/po for a [110] cylinder for five direc- T h e effect of inclusions in thin films can be
tions of the magnetic field (after MASONet al.(7)). especially striking. For example WIENER and DAVIS
found after etching out free indium from InSb
or electrons. In the case of an electron and a hole films (of thicknesses between 1 and 1"5/z) that the
band, the expression for the weak-field Hall magnetoresistance at 5 kG fell to one-fifth its
coefficient becomes former value and the Hall voltage increased almost
four times.(19) T h e case of specimen inhomogeneity
Ro = -- (rel*e2n-- rnffn~P)/[] e IC(l~en+/~hp)2], (33) as well as the related situation of non-uniform
magnetic field, is also discussed in several con-
where n, p are the densities of the electrons and ference papers.(27)
holes, respectively;/~e, fin the respective mobilities;
and re, rn, the respective Hall coefficient factors. 7. T H E R M A L EFFECTS
We note from the numerator in equation (33) There are a number of thermal effects in a mag-
that the carrier concentrations are weighted by the netic field, which can produce transverse voltages
squares of the mobilities. I f therefore the mobilities or temperature gradients.~" These result from the
are substantially different in the two bands, one
1"A more thorough excursion into these phenomena
can expect large effects. In contrast, in the strong- can be*found in Refs. 1-6, and, in yet further detail, in
field limit, the Hall coefficient for non-intrinsic Refs. 28 and 29.
 T H E H A L L E F F E C T AND R E L A T E D PHENOMENA 347

velocity separation of charge carriers by the
Lorentz force--the energetic ones going to one
side, the slower ones to the other. Temperature
gradients are produced, and also electric fields. In
the Righi-Leduc effect, a longitudinal temperature
gradient produces a transverse temperature
gradient (thermal analog of the Hall effect); in
the Nernst effect, it produces a transverse electric
field. In the Ettingshausen effect, a longitudinal
electric current produces a transverse temperature
effects are important---or if the so-called "thermo-
electric materials"* are involved~then considera-
tion of thermomagnetic effects may be advisable.
Thermomagnetic phenomena are responsible in
first approximation, for differences between the
so-called isothermal and adiabatic Hall coeffi-
cients.Ca0-32) T o reduce any such differences, in
addition to choice of materials having relatively
large thermal conductivities, one may also employ
the expedient of making a good thermal attachment

~z. _ -- - - E95
Ge Specimen 2-C
NA- No~lO'3 cm -3
Experimental data at temperature
7, I
indicated : v•z~oD
• • • •, - -o I
p

Values for theoretical curves :

. . . . . + - - . Z ~ IIO X \,~ F~ = 6 5 0 0 0 cma/volt-sec
A A "~ xtK
8 I. L
\\ ,u-3//~2 = 8
\ \~ P3/Pz = 0 0 4
\ \ Ordinates normolizedat H =20 kilo-
~\gauss
:,< i --
~ \ r
cu

(D

-c

. I Eo,o]
i
0"1 I'0 IO

Magnetic Field H, kilogauss

FIG. 6. Hall coefficient in p-type germanium. Theoretical curves (solid

lines) are based on /~2L = 65,000 cm2]V-sec, representative of the lattice
mobility at 77°K, and on normalization of ordinates at 20 kG. Subscripts
3 and 2 refer to light- and heavy-mass bands, respectively (after BEER(24)).

gradient. The latter effect, if large, can modify the of the Hall element to a block of material having
Hall field, since the potential probes and leads are high thermal conduction.
seldom made of the same material as the specimen. Independent of thermomagnetic effects are, of
Therefore the Ettingshausen temperature gradient course, any temperature gradients and resuking
can produce a thermoelectric voltage which adds thermoelectric voltages produced by uneven heat-
to the Hall voltage. ing in the specimen. These factors must always
T h e thermomagnetic effects depend inversely be considered in design of a Hall element.
on the thermal conductivity of the material and
8. RELATED P H E N O M E N A
therefore can usually be negleeted where there is
an appreciable lattice component of thermal A widely studied galvanomagnetic effect is
conductivity. If, however, the application of the transverse magnetoresistance. This phenomenon can
Hall effect is sufficiently critical that higher order • See, for example, p. 112 of of Ref. 29.
 348 A. C. B E E R

be illustrated by the pictorial scheme in Fig. 1.
I f a charge carrier is deflected by the Lorentz
force so as to traverse a longer path, it will contri-
bute less to the conductivity, and there will be a
positive magnetoresistance. It was noted, however,
that if all charge carriers have the same velocity
none will be deflected at steady state, since then
of a certain "average" velocity will be undeflected.
T h e remaining carriers, having velocities either
larger or smaller than the "average" will traverse
larger paths. T h u s the resistance is increased. A
similar situation obtains if more than one type of
carrier is present. It is also apparent that any
mechanism which shorts out the Hall voltage--

1.24

g
i.z0

N ['16
Symbol
z~
v
o
o
T= 7 7 oK

Sample
162
2A
IB
8A
/
o H2

..a

u
~ ,.08
c

o
I

1.00

0.96
IO00 IO,O00 IO0,OOO
Magnetic Field , gauss

FIG. 7. Magnetic-field dependence of relative Hall coefficient in several p-type silicon samples of different purity
(after BRmtt25)).The ultra-pure specimens 8A and 1B have room-temperature resistivities of 2700 and 5400 ~-cm,
respectively. Sample 1B appears to have more compensation than does 8A, a postulate borne out by the Rcr data
which are 5 to 10 per cent lower.

the Hall field will exactly cancel the v x H force.
This is the case of the isotropic metal, where the
velocity of all electrons is essentially the Fermi
velocity. It is also true for electron scattering
mechanisms described by a relaxation time which
does not vary with energy. If, however, there is a
distribution of electron velocities--as in a semi-
conductor--then it is clear that only those electrons
for example, special geometry, shorting contacts,
inhomogeneities in the specimen--wiU increase
the magnetoresistance.
T h e technique of shorting the Hall field is used
to advantage in the Corbino disk,(33) shown in
Fig. 9. As a result, the measured magnetoresistance
continues as/z2H 2 and does not saturate at strong
magnetic fields. Another procedure for fabricating
 THE HALL EFFECT AND RELATED PHENOMENA 349

2"0

n-type InSb
77 ° K

Sample B
Ro=4'O x I03 crn3/coulomb

~6

09
1.5

1'4

J.2

H ~"
SQmple A
e =3'4xlO2ohm-cm
rL~L 0 1,0 rr
o
R,,,~= 1"4~7x104 cm3/coulomb
I0-e F H =I

"90
/ 90
I0 102 103 104
H in Gouss
FIG. 8. Magnetic-field d e p e n d e n c e of t h e n o r m a l i z e d H a U c o e ~ c i e n t of two h i g h - p u r i t y n - t y p e I n S b
s a m p l e s . Carrier c o n c e n t r a t i o n s are: s a m p l e zq: 4-2 × 1014 c m - 8 ; s a m p l e B ( n o n - l m i f o r m ) : 5 x 1014 to
5 x 10 is c m -18 (after B A ~ et al.{Zo)).
350 A. C. B E E R
magnetoresistance elements, involves the use of
shorting bars.(34) I n these types o f elements, the
p h e n o m e n o n which is exploited is magnetoconduc-
tivity, i.e. the diagonal d e m e n t s of the conductivity
tensor.05) Magnetoresistanee elements are dis-
cussed in a n u m b e r of conference papers. (36)
II q 5. E. H. PUTLEY, The Hall Effect and Related Phenomena
Corbino Disk Electrode Shorting
(a) (b)
FIR. 9. Mechanisms to produce shorting of the Hall
voltage.
A variant of the magnetoresistance element in-
volves use of the magnetic field to modulate the
skin depth b y means of the magnetoconductivity
effect. F o r example, the r.f. transmission through a
disk of a h i g h - p u r i t y semimetal such as b i s m u t h
at low temperatures is effectively controlled by a
magnetic field of a few gauss. T h e choice of a
semimetal was m a d e because the equality of
electron and hole concentrations insures pre-
dominance of the diagonal elements in the con-
ductivity tensor over the nondiagonal elements,
even at strong fields. U n d e r such conditions the
expression in cgs units, for the skin d e p t h in a
m e d i u m of unit permeability is given b y
C 82, 977 (1951). The relationship is also shown in
= ~/(2~rcoaxz)" (35)
T h e above relation is merely the familiar zero-
magnetic-field expression with the magneto-
conductivity azx in place of the zero-field con-
ductivity ao.
I f the other condition prevails, namely that
~xv >~ Crxx, then one encounters the so-called
"helicon" wave transmission, which can occur in
media where the Hall angle is large.(a7)
F u r t h e r details on the modulation of skin depth
are given in a conference paper.(as)
REFERENCES
1. A. C. BEER, Galvanomagnetic Effects in Semiconduc-
tors (Supplement 4 to Solid State Physics Series),
Academic Press, New York (1963).
2. W. C. DUNLAP,JR., An Introduction to Semiconduc-
tors, Wiley, New York (1957).
3, C. HILSUM and A. C. ROSE-INNES, Semiconducting
I I I - V Compounds (International Series of Mono-
graphs on Semiconductors), Pergamon Press,
Oxford (1961).
4. O. MADELUNO,Physics of I I I - V Compounds, Wiley,
New York (1964).
(Semiconductor Monographs), Butterworths,
London (1960).
6, M. RODOT, Les Materiaux Semi-Conductors, Dunod,
Paris (1965).
7. W. P. MASON, W. H. HEWITT and R. F. WICK,
J. Appl. Phys. 24, 166 (1953).
8. A. C. BEER, op. cit., p. 6.
9. R. F. WICK, J. Appl. Phys. 25, 741 (1954).
10. H. J. LIPPMANN and F. KUHRT, Z. 2Vaturforsch.
13a, 462, 474 (1958).
11. Additional literature is cited in Ref. I, p. 56-59.
12. M. G. BUEHLERand G. L. PEARSON,Paper II-4; S.
GROTZMANN,Paper II-5 ; J. HAEUSLER,Paper II-6.
13. E. W. SAKER,F. A. CUNNELL and J. T. EDMOND,
Brit. J. Appl. Phys. 6, 217 (1955).
14. I. M. Ross, E. W. SAKERand N. A. C. THOMPSON,
J. Sci. Instrum. 34, 479 (1957).
15. L. L6FCR~N, J. Appl. Phys. 29, 158 (1958).
16. O. J. MENCALI and T. S. SmLLIDA% Solid-State
Electron. 7, 379 (1964).
17. R. K. WmLARDSONand A. C. BEER, Elec. Mfg. 57,
79 (1956).
18. M. MARAIS,M. MENORETand A. PERIGAUD,L'Onde
J~Iectrique 44, 1005 (1964).
19. H. H. WIEDER and N. M. DAVIS, Solid-State
Electron. 8, 605 (1965). In regard to mobility in
thin films, see also the following conference
papers: H. H. WIEDER, Paper II-1; J. CARROLL
and J. F. SPIVAK,Paper II-2a.
20. C. HILSUM, Electron. Engr. 30, 664 (1958).
21. V. A. JOHNSONand K. LARK-HOROVITZ,Phys. Rev.
Ref. 1, p. 133.
22. C. HERmNC, Bell Syst. Tech. J. 34, 237 (1955).
23. W. M. BULLISand W. E. KRA%Phys. I~ev. 101, 580
(1956).
24. A. C. BEER,J. Phys. Chem. Solids 8, 507 (1959).
25. A. C. BEER, op. cit., p. 209.
26. R. T. BATE, J. C. BELL and A. C. BEER, J. Appl.
Phys. 32, 806 (1961).
27. H. H. WIEDER, Paper II-2; M. RODOT, C. VERIE
and F. BAILLY,Paper II-3 ; H. WEISS,Paper II-7 ;
I. HLASNIK,Paper IVA-Sb.
28. I. M. TSlDIL'KOVSKII,Thermomagnetic Phenomena in
Semiconductors (in Russian). Fizmatgiz, Moscow
(1960); English Translation by A. TYBOLEWlCZ,
edited by H. J. GOLDSMID,Academic Press, New
York (1962).
29. J. R. DRABBLE and H. J. GOLDSMID, Thermal
Conduction in Semiconductors (International Series
of Monographs on Semiconductors), Pergamon
Press, Oxford (1961).
 THE HALL EFFECT AND RELATED PHENOMENA 351

30. A. G. SANIOILOWITSCHand L. L. KORENBLIT, 35. For a discussion of the distinction between magneto-
Fortschr. Physik 1, 486 (1954). conductivity and magnetoresistanee, consult p. 229
31. ¥. A. JOHNSONand F. M. SHIPLEY,Phys. Rev. 90, of Ref. 1.
523 (1953). 36. H. Wvlss, Paper II-7; L. T. Y u ~ , Paper 111-4;
32. L. S. STIL'BANS,Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 22, 77 (1952). R. BONN~ILLE,Paper III-9.
33. H. WEISSand H. W~.L~a, Z. Physik 138, 322 (1954) ; 37. For a discussion of helicon wave phenomena consult
O. MADELU~G,Naturwissenschaften 42, 406 (1955). R. BOWERSand M. C. STEELE,Proc. Inst. Elect.
See also p. 71-76 of Ref. 1. Electron Engrs. 52, 1105 (1964); also R. G.
34. H. WELV~ERand H. WEISS in Solid State Physics CHAMBERSand B. K. JONES,Proc. Roy. Soc. A270,
(F. SEXTZand D. TUR~mULL,eds.), Vol. 3, p. 1. 417 (1962); JACQUESGRI~MILLET,Comptes 2~endus
Academic, New York (1956). 257, 2431 (1963).
38. P. F. HILLE, F. J. REID and A. C. BEER,Paper II-8.