Experiment5

Anjusha.C
September 2015

AIM

Electrical resistivity of semiconductor and noble metal resistor

a) Measuring the temperature-dependency of a noble-metal resistor
b) Measuring the temperature-dependency of a semiconductor resistor
Instrument used: LD DIDACTIC

APPARATUS

Sensor-CASSY, CASSY Lab 2,Current source box,Temperature box,Temperature

sensor NiCr-Ni,noble metal resistor,Semiconductor resistor,Electric oven,Safety
connecting box

THEORY

The temperature-dependency of the specific resistance R is a simple test for

models of electric conductivity in conductors and semiconductors. In electrical conductors, R rises with the temperature, as the collisions of the quasi-free
electrons from the conduction band with the incomplete atoms of the conductor
play an increasing role. In semiconductors, on the other hand, the resistance
decreases as the temperature increases since more and more electrons move from
the valence band to the conduction band, thus contributing to the conductivity.
This experiment measures the resistance values of a noble-metal resistor and a
semiconductor resistor as a function of the temperature. For the noble metal
resistor, the relationship R = R0 (1 + ) (R0: resistance at = 0 C) is verified
with sufficient accuracy in the temperature range under study. For the semiconductor resistor, the evaluation reveals a dependency with the form R e E/2kT
(k = 1.3810-23 J/K: Boltzmann constant) with the energy band interval E.

PROCEDURE

The temperature box at Sensor-CASSY input A measures the temperature of

the sensor in the electric oven. Insert the measuring tip into the hole on the
1

back of the oven so that the tip is in direct proximity to the resistor element.
The current supply box at input B registers the electrical resistance.
Carrying out the experiment
Load settings
Start the measurement with (a value pair is recorded for every temperature
increase of 5 K)
Switch on the oven
Stop the measurement with at the latest when the temperature reaches 470 K
(approx. 200 C)
Switch off the oven and remove the resistor
When the oven has cooled off repeat the measurement with a different resistor

Graphs

Resistance vs Temperature graph of a noble metal resistor

Resistance vs temperature graph of a semi metal

CALCULATIONS AND INFERENCE

Noble metal resistor

The graph is linear implying that resistance of a noble metal increases with increase in temperature. The The temperature coefficient (alpha) of the resistor
can be determined from the slope of the graph. Slope of the graph =.4 /K
alpha = .004/K
Semi metal
The graph has 1/T dependance implying that the resistance of a semi metal decreases as a function of tempurature. R proportional to e ( E/2kT ).T aking logarithm we get logR =
logc E/2kT.F rom the graph taking 2 values of T and R E can be computed.Bandgap =
.5eV

RESULT

The The temperature coefficient (alpha) of the resistor(Pt) is found to be .004/K

which agrees with the theoretical value of .00407/K and the band gap of the
semi metal is found to be .5eV which agres with the theoretical value of .47eV
within the allowed error limits.