HALL EFFECT

A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THE PHENOMENON AND ITS

PRACTICAL USES

By Sakshi
Satya Narayan Pandey
Sandeep
Sanoj
 z
What we’ll
• discuss
A bit about Edwin Hall
• Hall Effect and its characteristics
• Experimental Result
• Practical Applications
Edwin Hall
1855-1938
 z
Brief history of Edwin
Hall
Edwin Herbert Hall was born in Maine, U.S. in 1855. Hall
discovered the Hall Effect in 1879 while working on his
doctoral thesis under the supervision of Professor Henry
Augustus Rowland at the Johns Hopkins University. While
doing so , a series of investigations which finally led to
Hall’s discovery and became the subject of his PhD
dissertation, which was entitled ‘On the new action of
magnetism on a permanent electric current’. His work was
published in the American Journal of Science and in the
Philosophical Magazine.

In 1895, Hall was appointed as a professor of Physics at

Harvard University. He continued his research in the fields
of thermoelectric there till his retirement. Hall died in 1938
in Massachusetts.
z

The discovery of
Hall effect (1879)
predates the
discovery of the
electron(1897) by
almost 18 years.
z
What is Hall Effect

When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field

perpendicular to the direction of current flow, then an electric field is
developed perpendicular to both current flow and magnetic field. This
phenomenon is called ‘Hall effect’.
When magnetic field is absent ,the charges follow approximately straight paths
between collisions.
 However, when conductor is placed inside a magnetic field, the magnetic
field tends to push the charge carriers(holes or electrons) in it towards one
side of the conductor. This leads to a state where the charge carriers on one
side of the conductor is more than the other, resulting in a measurable
potential difference between the two sides. The potential difference so
developed is called the Hall Voltage.
 1.
Without magnetic
field, the charge
carriers move in
nearly a straight line

2.
On introducing the
magnetic field, the charge
carriers tend to
concentrate on one side of
the conductor
 Electrons get deflected Holes get deflected to
to right side of the the left side of the
direction of current direction of current

Figure shows hall effect taking electrons into consideration.

Depending on the sign of 𝑞 the direction of force would

Right change and deflection would be opposite direction Left
LET US CONSIDER A MATERIAL WITH A SINGLE TYPE OF CHARGE CARRIERS – ELECTRONS. LET'S SAY
WE APPLY AN ELECTRIC CURRENT ALONG THE X-AXIS AND A MAGNETIC FIELD ALONG THE Z-AXIS.
THE ELECTRONS WILL NOW MOVE IN A CURVED PATH ON THE X-Y PLANE(THEY FACE A MAGNETIC
FORCE FB) AND WILL ACCUMULATE ON ONE FACE. THE RESULT IS AN ASYMMETRIC DISTRIBUTION
OF CHARGE DENSITY ACROSS THE HALL ELEMENT. THE SEPARATION OF CHARGE ESTABLISHES AN
ELECTRIC FIELD EH THAT OPPOSES THE MIGRATION OF FURTHER CHARGE.
WHEN STEADY STATE IS REACHED-
• FB has been balanced by the force q EH
.
q EH = q (v x B)
=> EH = v x B
=> VH / b = I B / n e A (Since,current
through electric conductor is : I= n e A v
Where q=e= charge of electron.
=> VH / b = I B / n e b c V=drift velocity of electron.
=> VH = I B / n e c b=width of sample.
c=thickness of sample.
=> 1 / n e = VH c / I B n=charge carrier density of sample.
VH=hall voltage.
EH= electric field developed along y axis due to
hall effect.
The Hall Voltage developed depends on:

• The magnitude of the current flowing through the conductor. When the
current through the conductor increases, the hall voltage increases.

• The magnitude of the magnetic field applied. When the magnetic field
increases, the hall voltage developed increases.

• Density of charge carriers in the given sample. If the density of charge

carriers in the given sample is high, the measured hall voltage will be
low.

• Thickness of the sample. If the sample is thin, the Hall Voltage

developed is high.
z
HALL COEFFICIENT

 We now define Hall coefficient RH as the ratio of the induced

electric field to the product of the current density and the applied
magnetic field. It is a characteristic of the material from which the
conductor is made, since its value depends on the type, number,
and properties of the charge carriers that constitute the current.

 Let, current( J )along x direction and magnetic field B along z

direction.

RH = EH/ Jx Bz = VH c/ I B

=1/ne
 In summary
• The current in the conductor should be flowing in a direction
perpendicular to the direction of applied magnetic field
• The hall voltage is measured across the conductor perpendicular to
both the direction of current in the conductor and the magnetic
field.
• Depending on sign of the charge carrier, the deflection of the
charge carrier will be in opposite directions.
• Hall voltage is zero outside a magnetic field and appears as soon as
the conductor carrying current is placed in one following the
conditions stated above.
 Derivation

Let the charge carriers be all the same kind (either electrons or holes). suppose each carrier carries a charge q and moves with
velocity v in the X-direction. now the magnetic force
qv x B (=qvB in the Y direction)
Suppose, in the steady state the hall voltage is VH. Now the transverse electric force is equal and opposite to the magnetic force
qЕH = -qv x B or EH =-v x B .
The current density J is given by J= nqv
where n is the density or charge carriers:
EH = (-J x B )/nq= - RH (JxB)
where RH= 1/nq= Hall Coeff. Since J along x-direction, B is along Z direction hence B x J is along Y direction. E H =BJ /nq = BI /ac nq
since J = I/ac ......(4)
So
VH = аEH =RH BI /c

where RH is a constant for a sample, depending on the nature of charge carrier and density of carriers. R H is called the Hall
coefficient. If the charge carriers are holes, they carry + ve charge i.e..= + e and R H = 1/ne (i.e.,+ ve sign). If the charge carriers are
electrons, they carry negative charge i.e.=-e and RH = 1/-ne (i.e.-ve sign).
In other words, if the charge carriers are electrons instead of holes, the polarity of voltage measured across the Hall probes
would be
 Formulas Used

Hall Voltage 𝑉ℎ = 𝑅ℎ
IB sin 𝑅ℎ = Hall Co-efficient
ϴ 𝑐
I = Current through
R=1.4/ne ( for p type Ge)
sample
R=-0.93/ne (for n type Ge)
B = Magnitude of
Magnetic Field
𝑐 = Thickness of
sample
ϴ = Angle between
the current and
Magnetic Field
𝑛 = Charge Carrier
Density
𝑒 = Charge of the charge
z

The Experiment
z
The Original Hall Effect Experiment

In his initial experiments, Edwin Hall used a strip of metal which was
considerably thick. Owing to this fact, his initial experiments failed to give a
positive result. On the advice of Prof. Rowland, Hall repeated his experiments
with a thin gold leaf. On doing so, he observed a permanent deflection in his
galvanometer. Since the deflection was too large, it
couldn’t be attributed to a direct action by the magnet on the
galvanometer. It also couldn’t be attributed to induction as the deflection
was constant.

Hall further noticed that the direction of deflection was reversed on reversing the
polarity of the magnet. There was however no effect on the observation if the
magnet was moved from one end of the gold strip to the other.
 z

Hall concluded that the effects observed were just as one would
expect if the current flowing in the conductor was not moved but
pressed towards one side of the conductor. The direction in which
the pressure was applied depended on the direction of the
magnetic lines and the direction of flow of current.
z
APPARATUS USED

The apparatus used by Hall for his experiment consisted of the following:

 A gold leaf 2 cm wide and 9 cm long mounted on a glass plate

 Thick pieces of brass polished on the underside firmly pressed down on each side of the gold leaf to ensure good
contact

 Bunsen Cell. The wires of the cell were soldered onto the Brass

 High resistance galvanometer whose wires were attached directly to opposite sides of the gold leaf on the edges,
midway from the sides on which the brass connections were soldered on.

 A high power magnet

Soft cement was used to attach the glass plate to a pole of the magnet and the other

pole was brought 6 mm within range of the glass plate.

z
Hall Effect Experiment in our Lab

 The aim of the experiment conducted is to determine

the variation of Hall Voltage with magnetic field and
current for given semiconductor and also to calculate
the Hall Coefficient 𝑅ℎ and the Carrier Charge Density 𝑛.

 We achieve this calculations with the apparatus given to

us and the formulas used earlier in this presentation.
 APPARATUS
PROVIDED TO US
z
The apparatus provided to us for the
experiment is:
 Digital Gaussmeter with gauss probe
to measure magnetic field.

 Electromagnet with constant

current power supply.

 Hall probe (Ge crystal). All connection

are pre –made and connections to the
sample are pressure contact type.

 Digital Hall Effect set-up( consist of

digital millivoltmeter
and milliammeter) having constant
current power supply)
• Top:sample mount on hall probe
• Bottom: From Left to Right, Electromagnet and constant current Power
Supply for the electromagnet, Gauss probe ,hall probe, digital gauss
meter,Digital hall effect set-up.
  PROCEDURE
z
 The needed connections are made and we make sure the connections are made with
the correct polarity.
 Once this is checked ,we let a current of 0.05A to flow through the electromagnet. The
gauss probe is used to measure the field produced directly .Note that at times ,even
without a magnetic field ,we will see the probe picking up a reading .This can be due to
various factors like the Earth’s Magnetic field or leakage from other magnetic
sources .A knob is provided in the probe which can be used to compensate for this
field.
 We now let a current flow in the Hall Probe. We measure the current using the Ammeter and
check the hall voltage reading OUTSIDE the field. While in a perfect probe, this should be zero,
practically, due to misalignments of the contacts, this is almost never the case and we get a
non-zero reading which will need to be subtracted from the voltage reading while INSIDE the
field.
 Now place the probe in magnetic field and switch on the electromagnet power supply and
adjust the current to any desired value. Rotate the hall probe till it become perpendicular
to magnetic field as Hall voltage become maximum in this adjustment.
 Measure the Hall voltage as function of current keeping the magnetic field constant. Plot
a graph
v Measure the Hall voltage as function of magnetic field keeping the current constant.
 OBSERVATION TABLE
Graph
 Graph
  CALCULATION OF 𝑅ℎ AND 𝑛
z
To calculate Hall Coefficient 𝑅ℎ and carrier charge density 𝑛, we use the data we obtained in the
previous slide. First, we need to find 𝑅ℎ. For this, we will need to plot a graph of 𝑉ℎ vs I. Once plotted,
we need to measure the slope of this graph. Then using the value obtained, we can calculate 𝑅ℎ as

𝑐
𝑅ℎ = 𝑉 where ϴ = 90° since the current is perpendicular to
ℎ IB sin ϴ
the Magnetic Field

This simplifies the above to:

𝑉ℎ𝑐
𝑅ℎ =
IB

𝑉ℎ
The term I is nothing but the slope of the graph we have just plotted. Using the slope value, we can
re- the formula as:
write
𝑅ℎ = 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 × 𝑐
B (At constant magnetic field)

c
𝑅ℎ = 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 × -I (At constant current)

We already know the values of 𝑐 = 0.5mm and B which is the strength of the magnetic field.
 -3 3 -1
Using these values, we find out 𝑅ℎ = 2.38 * 10 m c on average.

Now that we know the value of the Hall Co-efficient, we can now proceed to find the charge carrier
density in the given semi-conductor. Not only that, since the value of 𝑅ℎ comes out to be positive,
we can conclude that the given semi-conductor is p-type in nature. If it was n-type, we would have
a negative value for the Hall Co-efficient.

Since it is p-type semi-conductor, we use the formula:

1.4
𝑛=
𝑅ℎ𝑒
Putting the values of R and e , we will get the Charge Carrier Density .
h
15
Therefore, n = 2.62 * 10 charge carriers / cm 3
 z

PRACTICAL
APPLICATIONS
Hall Effect was a revolutionary new discovery. While many people didn’t
understand the significance of it at that time, von Klitzing was awarded the
Nobel Prize for his research in Quantum Hall Effect.

Today, the Hall Effect is used in many day-to-day gadgets, some like mobile
phones which we currently have in our pockets. The use of Hall Probes is well
know in making Gauss Probes to measure magnetic fields. In fact, the very
Gauss Probe we have used as an apparatus uses Hall Effect to measure the
magnetic field strength.

Another major use of Hall Effect is to calculate the Charge Carrier density in
doped semi-conductors. We can also use the Hall Co-efficient to identify the
type of doping on a semi-conductor if we don’t know what type of semi-
conductor(p-type or n-type) it is.

We shall now see some uses of Hall Effect and learn a bit more about them.
HALL SENSOR AND
PROBES

Hall sensors are used to

detect the presence
of magnetic field.
Hall probes
use Hall Sensor to measure
the strength of magnetic
field
MAGNETOMETERS

Used to measure magnetic field.

Produce voltage proportional to
applied magnetic field.
Magnetic field strength should be
very large.
 z
CONTACTLESS
AMMETERS

 Since magnetic field is proportional to the current

produced, Hall Probes have been used to make
contactless ammeters

 These are more advantageous

 since such ammeters don’t need to be added to the
circuit to measure the current. This removes the
need to add a shunt resistance to the circuit as well
as enhances security as the
 Ammeter doesn’t need to
 actually be attached to the circuit, i.e, no
current passes through the device itself.
z
FLUID LEVEL
INDICATORS
 The setup consists of a contraption where a magnet is placed such that it
rises
 with rise in fluid level.

 When the fluid rises, the magnet gets closer to a hall probe situated at
the top, increasing the Magnetic Field Strength.

 This causes a greater Hall Voltage to be developed which in turn can be

used to
 measure the liquid level.

 This finds use in automated water tank motors, fuel level meters, etc.