A small transverse voltage reveals carrier information
Current flows lengthwise through a thin plate. A perpendicular magnetic field deflects moving carriers sideways. Edge charge builds an opposing electric field. Once transverse forces balance on average, a voltage can be measured between the sides. Inferring carrier type from its sign first requires current direction, field direction and the order of voltage probes.[1][2]
- Prior knowledge: for negative carriers, conventional current opposes drift motion.
- Width and thickness play different roles. Transverse width is probe separation; active thickness runs parallel to the magnetic field.
- Use positive number density n and signed carrier charge q. Negative density would not be a physical answer.
Which probe polarity and thickness belong in the Hall-voltage equation?
Consider a homogeneous rectangular plate. Conventional current flows along +x and points along +z. Width w lies along y, thickness t along z. Define Hall voltage as the lower y− edge potential minus the upper y+ edge potential. This fixes probe polarity completely. Carrier charge q is signed; electrons have . Density n counts carriers per volume and is positive.[1]
This signed form uses the axes and contacts specified here.[1]
Reversing voltage leads changes the measured sign without changing carrier type. Reversing current or field also changes the sign in this model. Thus “negative Hall voltage means electrons” is incomplete without current direction, field direction and positive probe terminal. A different voltage definition writes the same physics with an extra minus sign.[1]
Same probes, reversed current
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From Lorentz force to transverse voltage
Magnetic force deflects drifting carriers sideways. Edge charge builds a Hall field until transverse electric and magnetic forces balance in steady state. This concerns average drift, not each carrier’s thermal motion. The open transverse branch carries no steady net transverse current. The measuring instrument should therefore not disturb the voltage with a substantial transverse load current. The Lorentz force must therefore be checked using the specified drift and field directions before interpreting the probe voltage.[1]
Force balance first determines transverse field, not voltage. Current then determines mean drift speed. At fixed current, a wider plate has slower drift but a longer transverse distance between probes. These width effects cancel when converting field to voltage. Thickness remains in the result.[1]
Since , . Width cancels.[1]
At equal conventional current, negative carriers drift against the current arrow. With electrons under our convention magnetic force points downward and the Hall field also points downward, while electric force on electrons points upward. Negative charge accumulates below and positive charge above. Positive carriers at fixed current and field still experience downward magnetic force, but edge charge and Hall-field signs reverse.[1]
Explore further: Hall coefficient and sheet density
Thickness t is measured parallel to the field, not between transverse contacts. Density n is volumetric. A thin homogeneous conducting layer can use sheet density , eliminating t from the voltage formula. That redefines density; it does not establish quantum Hall behaviour. The following calculations use the exact SI elementary charge e=1.602176634·10−19 coulomb.[2][3]
Example: electron drift and Hall polarity
Connect all directions in one calculation
- Given
- One-carrier electron model: , along +x, , , .
- Find
- Find drift component, Hall field and lower-minus-upper voltage.
Model: use signed charge in current density and force balance.
Substitute ; separately convert width and thickness to metres.
Result: Electrons drift against +x. The field points toward −y; the lower potential is 3.121 mV below the upper potential.
Check: Check: negative charge times negative drift gives positive current. Direct voltage substitution gives the same −3.121 mV. Upward electric and downward magnetic forces balance.
What does field reversal separate from the Hall signal, and what still needs checking?
Misaligned contacts can pick up longitudinal voltage; thermoelectric and instrument offsets may contribute too. Field reversal separates an odd-in-field Hall component from an even component if current, temperature and geometry remain fixed and Hall response is antisymmetric at the two field magnitudes. Not every disturbance is even in field, so reversal does not replace contact checks or a suitable material model. Electric field strength and measured probe voltage remain different quantities; relating them also requires transverse separation and a suitable field model.[2]
Algebraic odd/even decomposition; assigning the odd term to Hall voltage requires the stated measurement assumptions.[2]
Example: field reversal and density extraction
Remove a constant offset
- Given
- , ; measured voltage is at , and at . One-carrier model with , constant even offset and fixed probe polarity.
- Find
- Find Hall component, offset, carrier sign and density.
Model: the difference removes offset and the sum removes Hall signal. A positive Hall coefficient here identifies positive carriers.
Substitute the corrected 4.0 mV into the density equation.
Result: The offset is +0.6 mV. Under the specified one-carrier model the data indicate positive carriers with n≈1.56·1022 per cubic metre.
Check: Check: and reproduce both measurements. Density is positive; the coefficient carries the carrier sign. An uncorrected reading would imply a different apparent density.
Four readings separate three contributions
- Given
- At equal current and field magnitudes, readings are , , and . Signs denote current and field. Model: Hall term H is odd in both, contact term L is odd only in current, and offset O is constant.
- Find
- Find H, L and O for positive current and field and check all four readings.
Approach: separate readings by their behaviour under current and field reversal.
Substitute all readings in millivolts.
Result: Under the stated model, Hall signal at positive current and field is −2.00 mV. The current-odd contact contribution is +0.300 mV and constant offset +0.200 mV.
Check: Back-substitution: −2+0.3+0.2=−1.5; +2+0.3+0.2=+2.5; +2−0.3+0.2=+1.9; −2−0.3+0.2=−2.1 mV. Another disturbance odd in both current and field would not be distinguishable from Hall signal by this procedure.
When Hall voltage is not a simple carrier count
The relation assumes a homogeneous classical one-carrier model, known active thickness and suitable contacts. Multiple carrier species cannot simply be combined into a total count with one q: their mobilities influence the measured Hall coefficient. Anisotropic transport, magnetisation effects and nonlinear field response may also invalidate a simple density interpretation. Outside this model a positive signal does not automatically establish a single positive carrier population.[1][2]
Reliable measurements record temperature, contact size, uniformity, field, current and active layer thickness. NIST discusses small ohmic contacts, uniform samples and separate Hall/resistance measurements. The cited page is explicitly archived, not a continuously updated measurement standard. The equation explains the principle; calibrating a real sensor requires its actual measurement conditions.[2]
Five exercises on calculation, polarity and measurement models
Calculate · Foundation
Positive carriers with , , , , . Find UH under the article convention.
Show hint
Convert thickness to metres; use lower minus upper potential.
Learning goal: Calculate a signed Hall voltage.
Show solution and calculation
Model and approach: One dominant carrier type and open transverse branch; polarity lower minus upper.
Use the one-carrier voltage equation with positive q.
Substitution gives +4.9932 mV; the lower edge is at higher potential.
Reversing current at unchanged field would give −4.9932 mV.
Rearrange · Application
An electron model gives at , , . Find n.
Show hint
Use magnitudes; a particle density is not negative.
Learning goal: Extract a positive volume density from magnitude.
Show solution and calculation
Model and approach: Electron model; n is positive and charge sign is checked separately.
Isolate n from the magnitude equation.
The result is n≈4.6811·1022 per cubic metre.
Using in the signed equation gives −1.0 mV, matching the measured magnitude.
Interpret · Foundation
I points along +x and B along +z. Positive edge charge accumulates above and negative charge below. What drift, field and voltage directions follow in the one-carrier model?
Show hint
The Hall field points from positive to negative edge charge.
Learning goal: Interpret carrier sign only with full measurement convention.
Show solution and calculation
The field points along −y, so is negative.
Positive I and B imply .
Negative drift times negative charge gives positive conventional current.
Swapping probe leads changes the reading but neither drift nor carrier type.
Error analysis · Application
With and , a solution uses w instead of t in the Hall equation. By what factor is its magnitude wrong?
Show hint
Width appears in both current density and potential difference.
Learning goal: Distinguish magnetic-field thickness from contact width.
Show solution and calculation
The correct model uses t parallel to the field.
The wrong result is of the correct magnitude: 3.121 mV would become about 0.208 mV.
Width cancels because a wider plate at fixed current has smaller drift speed but a longer transverse distance.
Transfer · Challenge
A thin homogeneous layer gives at , . In a one-carrier model with , find sheet density ns without knowing thickness. Can n also be obtained?
Show hint
Combine n and t into ns.
Learning goal: Distinguish volume density and sheet density.
Show solution and calculation
Use in the magnitude relation.
The measurement gives ns≈6.2415·1018 per square metre.
Volume density also needs active thickness: .
The signal alone cannot separate n and t.
The inverse-square-metre unit confirms that a volume density has not been claimed.
What to take away
- Voltage sign is meaningful only with current, field and probe conventions. Swapping probes does not change carrier type.
- Transverse width cancels; active thickness parallel to the magnetic field remains.
- Reversal measurements separate specific symmetry components. They do not automatically remove every artifact or fix an unsuitable multicarrier model.
Sources for this explanation
Quanta · Updated October 2, 2026
- OpenStax University Physics 2, §11.6 — The Hall Effect
- NIST — The Hall Effect (archived measurement guide)
- NIST SP961 — CODATA2022 constants
Editorial responsibility: Quanta Study editorial team
Review scope
This explanation, 3 worked examples and 5 exercises are available in German and English. Structure, source references and mathematical notation undergo automated checks. Calculations, model assumptions and both language versions receive a separate AI review.
An independent, named human subject review has not yet been documented. Our exercise numbers are worked examples, rather than measurements published by the cited sources.
Editorial responsibility, sources and methodsChange history
- Refined question headings and relevant paragraph links; preserved existing scientific explanations, worked examples and exercises.
- Developed Hall polarity, signed drift and offset removal; corrected the existing metal example to 36.7 nV; added two examples and five exercises.
- Added an accessible entry and prerequisites, explained model steps, and added a complete example and quantitative diagram; retained existing examples, five exercises and sources.
Cite this reference page
Quanta. Hall Effect and Hall Voltage. Updated October 2, 2026. https://quanta-study.de/en/formula-sheet/hall-effekt-spannung
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