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Four Probe Method

This document describes a procedure to determine the band gap of a semiconductor using the four-probe method. Key steps include: 1. Using a four-probe arrangement on a semiconductor crystal and varying its temperature to measure voltage at different temperatures. 2. Calculating resistivity values and applying a correction factor based on probe spacing and crystal thickness. 3. Plotting resistivity versus inverse temperature and determining the slope to calculate the band gap using a given formula involving Boltzmann's constant. 4. The band gap obtained can be compared to known values like 0.7 eV for Ge and 1.12 eV for Si. Sources of error and precautions are also outlined.

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Amit Dipankar
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129 views

Four Probe Method

This document describes a procedure to determine the band gap of a semiconductor using the four-probe method. Key steps include: 1. Using a four-probe arrangement on a semiconductor crystal and varying its temperature to measure voltage at different temperatures. 2. Calculating resistivity values and applying a correction factor based on probe spacing and crystal thickness. 3. Plotting resistivity versus inverse temperature and determining the slope to calculate the band gap using a given formula involving Boltzmann's constant. 4. The band gap obtained can be compared to known values like 0.7 eV for Ge and 1.12 eV for Si. Sources of error and precautions are also outlined.

Uploaded by

Amit Dipankar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DETERMINATION OF BAND GAP OF GIVEN SEMICONDUCTOR

USING FOUR-PROBE METHOD

Aim: To find the band gap of given semiconductor using four - probe
method.

Apparatus used:
1. Four probe arrangement, probes (coated with zinc at the tips) should
be equally spaced.
2. Intrinsic ‘Ge’ semiconductor crystal strip of dimension 10 10  0.5
mm3.
3. Oven for varying the temperature of semiconductor.
4. Constant current source 0-20 mA.
5. Millivoltmeter; range : 0 – 100 mV (  1) and 0 – 2V (  10)
6. Power supply for oven.
7. Thermometer (100 x 0.50).

Diagram:

Figure 1. Schematic representation of four probe measurement.

Revised by Dr. P.N.Vishwakarma, Department of Physics, NIT Rourkela


Figure 2 Determination of slope of the curve from the plot of log  vs
1000 / T

Formula Used:
Resistivity of a semiconductor is given as
 Eg 1000 
  A exp  
 2 k BT 

Taking natural log on both sides and converting to the log10 ,


Eg 1000 1 Eg 1000
ln   ln A   log   log A    Y  mX  C
2k B T 2.303 2k B T
(eqn. of straight
line)

1 Eg 1000
where, Y  log  , C  log A , m   and X 
2.303 2k B T

Hence energy band gap of a semiconductor:

Revised by Dr. P.N.Vishwakarma, Department of Physics, NIT Rourkela


Eg (in eV)  2  2.303  k B  m

AB
where, m  (from the graph)
BC

k B (Boltzmann constant) = 86  103 eV / K

 is the resistivity of semiconductor crystal given as:


0 V
 where 0 = 2 s
 s
f w I

where f w s  is a function whose value is given in table, ‘s’ is distance

between probes, ‘w’ is thickness of semiconductor. V and I are voltage and


current across the semiconductor as shown in the diagram.

Procedure:

1. Connect the circuit as shown in figure.


2. In the four probes connect the outer probe leads to the current source
in supply and inner probe leads to millivoltmeter.
3. Switch on the constant current source and adjust current I to a desired
value, 2 mA.
4. Place the four probe arrangement in the oven.
5. Place the thermometer close to the semiconductor crystal to measure
the variation of temperature of crystal.
6. Connect the oven power supply and start heating.
7. Measure the inner probe voltage V for various temperatures during
heating or cooling.

Revised by Dr. P.N.Vishwakarma, Department of Physics, NIT Rourkela


Observation:
i) Distance between the probes, ‘s’ = 2.00 mm (given).
ii) Thickness of the semiconductor crystal, ‘w’ = 0.5 mm
(given) ,
w/s = --------
iii) Constant current, ‘I’ = ------------- mA
iv) f(w/s) = (from Table 2)

Table 1:

S.N Temperature Voltage  (ohm.cm) log 


o. ‘V’
(in volts) Observed Corrected
0 = 2 s
V 0
in C 0 0
in K 1000/T I  s
f w
in K-1
1
2
3
.
.

Calculations:
i) Find resistivity 0 of semiconductor for different values of V & I,
which give resistivity at various temperatures. This is the
resistivity of the crystal of infinite dimensions. As the dimensions
of the crystal used are finite we have to apply the correction by
dividing 0 by f(w/s), which is given in table – 2.
ii) Find w/s and then corresponding value of f(w/s) from the table 2.

Revised by Dr. P.N.Vishwakarma, Department of Physics, NIT Rourkela


iii) After choosing f(w/s) , calculate the value for resistivity for the
0
various 0 by using the formula  
 s .
f w

iv) Plot the graph between log  along Y- axis and 1000/T along X-
axis.
v) Find the slop from the graph for calculation
AB log 

BC 1000
T
So the energy band gap of the given semiconductor is
AB
Eg (in eV)  2  2.303  k B 
BC
AB
 2  2.303  86 103 
BC

Error  Eg  : Using natural logarithm and partial differentiation of working


formula (as done in the manual of bar pendulum).

Result: Energy band gap for the given semiconductor obtained using four
probe method is = Eg   Eg eV.

Reference: Eg (Ge) = 0.7 eV and Eg (Si) = 1.12 eV

Source of Error and Precautions:

1. The resistivity of the material should be uniform in the area of


measurement.
2. Surface of the semiconductor chip should be flat.
3. Tip of the probes should very small in diameter compared to the
distance between the probes.

Revised by Dr. P.N.Vishwakarma, Department of Physics, NIT Rourkela


Table 2:
w/s f(w/s)
0.100 13.863
0.141 9.704
0.200 6.931
0.250 5.620
0.333 4.159
0.500 2.780
1.000 1.504
1.414 1.223
2.000 1.094
3.333 1.0228
5.000 1.0070
10.000 1.00045

Revised by Dr. P.N.Vishwakarma, Department of Physics, NIT Rourkela

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