Hall effect apparatus for the Advanced Physics Lab

Prof. Irinel Chiorescu,

Department of Physics, Florida State University

Project Description

We request funds to replace our old antiquated Hall effect set up in the advanced lab
course PHY4822L by a new, more compact and more modern setup. Understanding the
Hall effect and being able to use it to determine material parameters is a crucial
ingredient in the education of a bachelor of science in physics. The measurement
techniques using the Hall effect play an extremely important role in condensed matter
physics and material science. We do have an old setup in the course, but it has a lot of
shortcomings: it was put together many years ago by using bits and pieces of equipment
that we had available, all from different manufacturers. The components are very old and
as a consequence suffer from more and more frequent breakdowns and malfunctions.
Furthermore, it has a very massive electromagnet which is much bigger than necessary
and consumes a lot of power, and in addition, due to its high mass, bends the table on
which it sits. In addition, the components of the old set up do not allow computer aided
control or read out.
The proposed new set up is much lighter and more compact, with a magnet designed for
the particular purpose, of just the right size. It has modern and much more reliable
electronics, and it allows computer control and readout. Also, it consumes significantly less
power and it is overall a safer setup. The proposed setup will come with a data collection
interface, which will be connected to a computer with the PASCO’s Capstone software.
Interacting with the setup via a computer with an analog-to-digital data acquisition
capability gives students an opportunity to learn and practice a different skill set. The
software can help with data plotting and extracting key features of the experiment, thus
giving students a more efficient way to utilize their time, allowing them to concentrate on
the physics rather than the tedium of data collection.

Impact on Instruction

The Advanced Labs have as main course objectives to teach students how to
independently design, perform and analyze an experiment aiming to demonstrate a
particular physical phenomenon. Students are learning how to work with various statistical
concepts and methods, how to perform error propagation studies and use graphic and
analytical tools to extract the quantities of interest. In the process, they get acquainted
with experimental protocols such as identifying sources of random and systematic errors,
and finding ways to average out or correct them. After performing an experiment, the
students write detailed reports. The proposed setup will be offered to the Advanced Labs
class with a mention that it will be available to any student from Intermediate Labs as well.

The enrollment for the Advanced Labs is about 10 students while for the Intermediate Labs
course, it is 30 (available to them too). Both classes are offered in Spring and Fall
semesters, bringing the total to an enrollment of 80 students per academic year. The
impact of such a STEM infrastructure cannot be overstated. In addition, one should note
that the training has a significant impact on under-represented student categories in STEM
fields. For instance, the Intermediate and Advanced Lab classes of Fall 2017 have a 25%
and 75% women enrollment, respectively.
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Figure 1. Schematics of the setup: (1) Hall probe; (2) Apparatus powering the coil, the current and
sensing the Hall voltage; (3) magnetic coil; (4) track with ruler; (5) post; (6,7) carrier for the
magnetic field sensor (14); (15) PASCO interface to read the coil current and field as well as the Hall
voltage.

Project plan

The parts will be acquired as soon as the funds will be made available. If the funds are
available by April, the setup will be offered to students starting Fall 2019 semester. That
will mark the completion of the current project. Its success will be analyzed during the years
of their usage by observing student independent work, how much they learn and their
feedback on the setup.

Cost of ongoing support and plan for supporting the effort

The old setup needs frequent repairs, which could be counted as ongoing support; after
the purchase of the new setup, we expect the need for support highly reduced because
the components require little to no maintenance. If repair or maintenance is needed it will
be done by the department’s electronic shop personnel.
The running of these two courses (Intermediate and Advanced Labs) is an expensive
operation in terms of setups, teaching assistantships, part-time electronic engineer which
repairs setups if need is, etc., but those expenses are part of the regular function of the
Physics Department.

Project team

The project will be carried out by Prof. Irinel Chiorescu who has several years of
experience teaching the intermediate and advanced lab courses for undergraduates.
Additional help will be provided by the department’s technical support personnel (IT and
electronics).

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Budget explanation
The total cost of the project is $2,900, as follows:
1. Hall effect n-doped Germanium SE-7260 (see (1-7) in Fig. 1) $2,200.
2. PASCO PASPORT 2-axis Magnetic Field Sensor PS-2162 (see (14) in Fig. 1), $ 160
3. PASCO 550 Universal Interface UI-5001 (see (15) in Fig. 1.), $ 489
4. Shipping costs for 38 lb, (about $51), for a total of $2,900