Hall Effect

Hall Effect can be used effectively in material science in characterization of materials. When a current carrying conductor is kept in a transverse magnetic field, an electric field in a direction perpendicular to both the current and applied magnetic field is generated. This is Hall Effect and the developed field is known as Hall field. To evaluate many physical parameters of metals and semiconductors this property is used. Experimentally it is possible to determine Hall coefficient which is defined as the Hall field generated in the material per unit magnetic field applied when the current density is unity. In the case of semiconductors, Hall coefficient is positive for p-type and negative for n-type semiconductors. Thus Hall Effect is an important tool to identify the type of semiconductor. The carrier concentration, mobility, magnetic field etc. can be measured using Hall Effect based devices. Gauss meter makes use of this principle.