ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

Experiment-265

MEASUREMENT OF ENERGY GAP BY THE FOUR PROBE METHOD

E-mail:sailajabhushan@gmail.com Abstract The invention of semiconductors led to the development of transistors, ICs, microprocessors, computers and supercomputers. Semiconductors have thus played a vital role in the development of advanced electronic devices. In a semiconductor there is an energy band gap between the conduction band and the valence band. For conduction of electricity a certain amount of energy is to be given to the electron in the valence band so that it moves to the conduction band. The energy that is needed for this transition is a measure of the energy band gap between the two bands. There are various methods to determine the energy gap of a semiconductor. In the present study the energy gap of Germanium is determined using the Four Probe method.

Introduction
It is known that some solids are good conductors of electricity while others are insulators and there is an intermediate class known as semiconductors. The difference in the behavior of solids as regards their electrical conductivity can be explained in terms of energy bands. It is known that in atom electrons revolve around the nucleus in different orbits of permitted radii, as given by Bohrs theory of atomic structure. Each orbit has fixed amount of energy associated with it. The electrons moving in a particular orbit possess the energy characteristic of that orbit. In case of a single isolated atom, the electrons in a given orbit possess definite amount of energy depending upon the size of the orbit; the larger the orbit, the higher is its energy. The energy possessed by the first orbital electrons is known as the first energy level that of the second orbit electrons is known as the second energy level and so on. However, in a solid an atom is significantly influenced by the closely packed neighboring atoms and no two electrons in the same orbit are in the same charge environment. Hence, electrons in the same orbit in any of such atoms can have slightly different amounts of energy (i.e., have a range of energies) rather than a single energy. So, the electrons moving in the same orbit in an atom can have slightly different 1 Kamaljeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit

ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

energy levels that form a cluster or band called energy band. Thus the range of energies possessed by electrons of the same orbit in a solid is known as energy band. The range of energies possessed by the electrons in the first orbit is known as the first energy band. Similarly, the range of energies possessed by the electrons in the second orbit is known as the second energy band and so on. Though there are a number of energy bands in solids, the valence band, the conduction band and the forbidden energy band gap are important. The electrons in the outermost orbit of an atom are known as valence electrons. In normal atom valence electrons have the highest energy. The range of energies possessed by valence electrons is known as the valence band. In atoms of certain elements, the valence electrons are loosely attached to the nucleus. Even at ordinary temperature, some of the valence electrons may get detached to become free electrons. In fact, these free electrons are responsible for conduction of electric current in a solid. For this reason, they are called conduction electrons. The range of energies possessed by conduction electrons or free electrons is known as conduction band. In general, these energy bands are separated by some gaps which have no allowed energy levels. The separation between conduction band and valence band on the energy level diagram is known as the Forbidden Energy Gap. The width of the forbidden energy gap is a measure of the degree of binding of valence electrons to the nucleus of the atom; greater the energy gap, more tightly the valence electrons are bound to the nucleus. In order to push an electron from valence band to the conduction band (that is to make the electron free), energy equal to the forbidden energy gap must be supplied externally. In conductors there is no forbidden energy gap and the valence band and conduction band overlap each other. Due to this overlapping a slight potential difference across a conductor causes the free electrons to result in an electric current. In insulators the energy gap between valence band and conduction band is very large (~15eV). Therefore, a large electric field is required to push the valence electrons to the conduction band. For this reason the electrical conductivity of insulators is extremely small and may be regarded as negligible under ordinary conditions. In semiconductors the energy gap between valence band and conduction band is very small (~1eV). Therefore, comparatively smaller electric field (smaller than insulators but larger than conductors) is required to push the electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. Thus the electrical behavior of conductors, insulators and semi- conductors can be explained by the band energy theory of materials [1-6]. Determination of band gap energy is one of the fundamental experiments in physics. The commonly used methods of energy gap determination are: (a) Wheatstone bridge method, (b) Reverse saturation current method, (c) The Four Probe method. 2 Kamaljeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit

ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

This paper describes the energy gap determination using the Four Probe method.

Measurement of the energy gap by the Four Probe methods

Apparatus used
Figure-2 shows the complete experimental set-up used for determining the energy gap. It consists of four probes arranged linearly in a straight line at equal distance from each other. A constant current is passed through the two outer probes and the potential drop across the middle two probes is measured. An oven is provided with a heater to heat the sample so that behavior of the sample is studied with increase in temperature.

Figure-1: Sample of Germanium semiconductor wafer

Figure-2: The Four Probes Experimental Set-up

Figure-3(a) shows the arrangement of the four probes that measure voltage and supply current to the surface of the crystal. The probes are about 2mm dia metal rods fitted to the base using a spring. This arrangement provides a smooth touch on the crystal surface as shown in Figure-3(b). 3 Kamaljeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit

ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

The four probes are lowered to touch the surface by loosening the screw that holds the four probes.

Figure-3: (a) Four probes arranged linearly in a straight line (b) Crystal placed under the four probes. The energy gap of the semiconductor is given by the equation Eg = 2 K ln eV 1 T (Or) Eg = 2 X 2.303 XK log eV 1 T Where, K is the Boltzmann constant (K=8.6x10-5 eV/deg,) T is the temperature, in Kelvin,
1

is the resistivity of the semiconductor crystal, given by =

0
f (W / S )

V X2S, in ohm-cm, I W is the thickness of the crystal, in mm S is the distance between the probes, in mm V is the voltage across the inner probes. I is the current through the crystal. The value of the function f (W / S ) is chosen from the Table-5, for the calculated values of ( W / S ).

Experimental procedure
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ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

1. The experiment consists of two parts. In the first part, the resistivity of the semiconductor material is determined. 2. The four probes are placed on the sample as shown in Figure-3(b). Care is taken to see that all the four probes touch the sample surface and make contact with the sample. A constant current is passed through the outer probes connecting it to the constant current source of the set-up. The current is set to 8mA. The voltage developed across the middle two probes is measured using a digital milli-voltmeter. A thermometer is inserted into the position to read the temperature of the semiconductor sample as shown in Figure-2. V= 0.325 Volt 3. The room temperature is noted. T= 290C 4. The trial is repeated by placing the four probe arrangement inside the oven. The oven is connected to the heater supply of the set-up. For different temperatures, up to 1500C, the voltage developed is noted and tabulated in Table-1. 5. The distance between the probes(S) and the thickness of the crystal (W) are measured. 0 is calculated for different values of V. The values of ( W / S ) are calculated and the value of the function f (W / S ) is taken from the standard table (Table -2). Using these values is calculated for various temperatures (Table-1). For a germanium crystal the ( W / S ) and corresponding f (W / S ) values are given in Table-2.

Figure-4: The dimensions of the four probes and the crystal thickness Table-1 Temperature (T) Voltage Log10 -cm T-1X10-3 (V) C K 5 Kamaljeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit

ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

29 39 49 59 69 79 89 99 109 119 129 139 149

302 312 322 332 342 352 362 372 382 392 402 412 422

0.325 0.330 0.317 0.286 0.238 0.188 0.144 0.111 0.0832 0.0618 0.049 0.0372 0.0298

8.645 8.778 8.4322 87.6076 6.3308 5.0008 3.8304 2.9526 2.21312 1.64388 1.3034 0.98952 0.79268

3.31126 3.20513 3.10559 3.01205 2.92398 2.84091 2.76243 2.68817 2.61780 2.55102 2.48756 2.42718 2.36967

0.93676 0.94340 0.92594 1.94254 0.80146 0.69904 0.58324 0.47020 0.34500 0.21587 0.11508 -0.00460 -0.10090

Variation of voltage with temperature

0
f (W / S )

[It may be noted that if ( W / S ) value is not available in the Table, then a graph between ( W / S ) and f (W / S ) values can be plotted. From the graph, the desired values of f (W / S ) corresponding to any value of ( W / S ) can be found out.]
1 X10-3 and the corresponding values of log 10 are plotted corresponding T values of log 10 are plotted on the graph and are found to lie on the curve as shown in Figure-

The values of

5. The slope of the curve log 10 is calculated curve as shown in Figure-5. The slope of the 1 -3 X10 T log10 curve is calculated from the graph. Substituting the values of slope in Equation, 1 -3 X10 T energy gap Eg is obtained. Substituting the values of slope in the formula, energy gap Eg is obtained.

Eg = 2 K

log10 eV 1 X10-3 T
0.13715
= 0.686

Eg = 2 X 2.303 X 8.6 X 105 X 0.25433

eV

Table-2 f (W / S ) W /S 0.100 13.863 6 Kamaljeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit

ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

0.141 0.200 0.333 0.500 1.000 1.414 2.000 3.333 5.000 10.000

9.704 6.931 4.159 2.780 1.504 1.223 1.094 1.0228 1.0070 1.00045

( W / S ) and corresponding f (W / S ) values for germanium crystal

1.2 1 0.8
Log

0.6 0.4 0.2 0 2.2 -0.2 2.4 2.6 2.8

3.2

3.4

The energy gap of the germanium semiconductor is obtained as 0.686eV, which is in close agreement with the standard value.

References
[1] [2] [3] S.K.Sahadev; Electronic devices and circuits, Dhanpath Rai & Co. (P) Ltd, Delhi V.K.Mehta and Rohit Mehta; Principles of Electronics, S. Chand & Company Ltd., New Delhi A.R.Vegi; Practical Physics Vol. IV, V.G.S. Pub. Vijayawada, A.P. State, India. 7 Kamaljeeth Instrumentation & Service Unit

ENERGY GAP BY FOUR PROBE METHOD

[4]

Gupta and Kumar; Practical Physics, Pragati Prakashan, Meerut.

[5] S.L.Gupta and Sanjeev Gupta; Unified Physics,Volume III, Jaiprakash Nath and Company. [6] K. Ramakrishna and D.V.Bramhaji; A Text Book of Physics, Vol III, Sri Vikas Publications, Guntur.A.P.

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