The Hall Effect

Haider Ali
FA22-PPH-002
 Hall Effect
• Discovery

• The physics behind it

• Types

• Applications

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 Discovery
The Hall effect was discovered in 1879 by Edwin
Herbert Hall while he was working on his doctoral
degree at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore,
Maryland, USA. His measurements of the tiny effect
produced in the apparatus he used were an experimental
tour de force, accomplished 18 years before the electron
was discovered and published under the name "On a
New Action of the Magnet on ElectricCurrents"

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 HALL EFFECT:

When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field

perpendicular to the flow of current then it is observed an

electric field is created perpendicular to both flow of charge

carriers and magnetic field, this field is know as Hall field and

corresponding effect is called Hall effect.

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Richard Beck - Physics 141A, 2013 6
 Principles
• Mobile charges pressed to one side from
Lorentz force, immobile charges unaltered

• Creates internal electric potential, known as

Hall voltage.

• For simple metals,

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A Visual Representation

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Lorentz force equation in the presence of electric as well as magnetic field

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 Hall Coefficient
• Magnitude parameter:

• In metals:

• In semiconductors:

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Types of Hall effect:

1. Classical Hall Effect:

The classical Hall effect occurs in conductors where both electrons and holes
are the charge carriers. When a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the
current flow, the charged particles experience a Lorentz force, resulting in the
separation of charges and the development of a voltage across the conductor
perpendicular to both the magnetic field and the current direction.

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 Anamolous Hall Effect
• Ferromagnetic materials have internal
magnetic field

• Much larger than normal Hall Effect, but not

well understood ; Possible Berry-phase effect
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 Anomalous Hall Effect:
AHE was observed shortly after the discovery of the classical Hall effect in 1879. In fact, it
was found that the Hall resistivity in ferromagnetic materials behaves differently than in
paramagnetic and diamagnetic substances. While the transverse Hall voltage in paramagnetic
and diamagnetic substances is directly proportional to the b field, the Hall voltages in
ferromagnetic materials were found to deviate from this proportion at external magnetic field
causing the magnetization of the material to saturate. This anomaly is evidence that the
resistivity also depends significantly on the magnetization of the material. The expression for
transverse resistivity ρH in a ferromagnetic material is expressed as a function of both the
magnetic induction and the magnetization of the material. The ordinary Hall resistivity is
always proportional to the b field, and the magnetization dependence is taken to be linear in
M to a first approximation. Hence we have:

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 Spin Hall Effect
• In the spin Hall effect, instead of the charge accumulation, spin
accumulation appears on the two sides of the sample, under
influence of a charge current along the sample

• Separation of electron spins in current-carrying object, no magnetic

field needed

• Predicted in 1971, observed in 2004 via emission of circularly

polarized light

• Universal, present in metals and semiconductors at high and low

temperature

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 Applications
• Measurement can tell about type of semiconductor
– Hall coefficient is negative for n-type semiconductor
– positive in the case of p-type semiconductor.

• Calculate the Carrier Concentration

• Determine the Mobility

• Conversely, knowing the above allows for sensitive measurement of an

external B-field

• Resistant to outside contaminants unlike optical, electromechanical

testing

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 Rotation Sensing
• Hall Effect sensors capable of switching very fast,
does not distort like capacitative or inductive sensors

• Contactless sensing

• Indeed, you’ll find Hall sensors everywhere, in

washing machines, on computer boards, and within
industrial machinery.

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Richard Beck - Physics 141A, 2013 17
 In Cars
• Used expansively in rotating systems

• If you have enjoyed the convenience of powered windows or side

mirror controls then you’ve been using a Hall sensor.
• your car is getting better fuel mileage from a fuel injection system
and crankshaft performance monitoring, both possible due to Hall
sensors.
• You might be familiar with the term “pump the brakes” but if not
that just means you are lucky enough to have grown up in the era of
antilock braking systems.
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 In Space
• Hall Effect thruster
• Trap electrons in a magnetic field, electrons
ionize propellant, creates thrust
 New Discoveries
• QuantumHall Effect

• Spin Hall Effect

• Anomalous Hall Effect

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 Quantum Hall Effect
• Quantization of normal Hall Effect observed
in two-dimensional electron systems Seen at
low temperature, high magnetic field

• Here, ν is roughly but not exactly equal to the

filling factor of Landau levels

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