Resistivity Of A Semiconductor

Four Probe Method

Aim: Study the temperature dependence of resistivity of a

semiconductor (Four probe method) and to determine band gap of
experimental material (Ge)

Apparatus Required: Four probe apparatus, sample ,oven,

thermometer , constant power supply, voltmeter and ammeter
Semiconductors

• Electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor

and an insulator

• Negative temperature coefficient of resistance

• A semiconductor has almost filled valence band and nearly empty

conduction band with a small gap of about 1ev
Method
• The “four-point probe” method is
the most common and simplest
technique for measuring the sheet
resistance of thin films

• A typical four-point probe tool has

four equally spaced, co-linear
probes which are used to make
electrical contact with the material
to be characterized

• To calculate the sheet resistance, a DC current is applied through the

outer probes which induces a voltage across the two inner probes. By
measuring this voltage drop, the resistance is calculated
Circuit

Major Assumptions
• The current flows only through the surface

• the probes are far from any of the other surfaces of the sample

• the sample can thus be considered a semi-infinite volume of

uniform resistivity material
Eliminating contact resistance

• The applied current I enters and

leaves the sample via the outer
probes, and flows through the
sample

• No current will flow through the

inner two probes due to the high
impedance of then voltmeter

• Only the voltage is measured

between the inner probes, meaning
that the wire resistances (RW2 and
RW3) and the contact resistances (RC2
and RC3) do not contribute to the
measurement
Equation Derivation
A probe injecting current I into a semi-infinite
volume of conductive material. The green
hemisphere is a shell of the injected current with
radius r.

 • Current density ,
J=

• By applying Ohm’s Law (E = ρJ)

• This can be integrated between r and r’ to obtain:

• By applying the boundary condition,

Resistivity Measurement

 Where,

V = floating potential difference between the inner probes, unit: volt

𝐼 =current through the outer pair of probes, unit: ampere

s = spacing between point probes, unit: meter

= resistivity, unit: ohm meter

Geometric Correction

The equation for sheet resistance is independent of sample

geometry, only when the sample is significantly larger
(typically having dimensions 40 times greater) than the
spacing of the probes

The correction factor is given by,

The corrected Resistivity is given by,

Energy Band Gap

The band gap of a semiconductor is the minimum energy

required to excite an electron that is stuck in its bound state into
a free state where it can participate in conduction.

T: Temperature in Kelvin

k : Boltzmann's constant
Experimental Setup
Procedure

• A constant current is passed through the two probes and the

potential drop V across the middle two probes is measured for
different temperatures.
Observations
Energy Gap
Error Analysis