Semiconductor physics

What can be learned from a Hall effect measurement?

  1. AThe type of carrier (electron or hole) and the carrier density
  2. BThe size of the band gap
  3. CThe melting point of the crystal
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Answer: A. The type of carrier (electron or hole) and the carrier density

When a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to a sample carrying current, the carriers are deflected and a Hall voltage appears. Its sign tells whether the carriers are electrons or holes, and its magnitude gives the carrier density. Combined with a resistivity measurement, the mobility can also be found.

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More Semiconductor physics questions

  1. What is a semiconductor called whose impurity concentration is so high that the Fermi level lies inside the conduction or valence band?
  2. Which is the Einstein relation between the diffusion coefficient D and the mobility μ of carriers? (k: Boltzmann constant, T: absolute temperature, q: elementary charge)
  3. Which value is closest to the thermal voltage kT/q at room temperature (300 K)?
  4. Where in the band gap is the donor level created by phosphorus in silicon?
  5. Silicon contains both donors at 5×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and acceptors at 2×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ (room temperature, all ionized). Which describes it correctly?