TRANSVERSE MAGNETORESISTANCE - A NOVEL 2-TERMINAL METHOD FOR MEASURING THE CARRIER DENSITY AND MOBILITY OF A SEMICONDUCTOR LAYER

The magnetic-field dependence of the two-terminal magnetoresistance th at occurs in rectangularly shaped samples can be used to determine bot h the free-carrier density and the mobility of a semiconductor layer. An approximate equation for the magnetoresistance was derived for vari able length-to-width ratio. This technique was used to determine the e lectron density and mobility of accumulation layers in n-type Hg0.8Cd0 .2Te photoconductive infrared detectors at 6 and 77 K. It should be ap plicable to a wide variety of fabricated devices and allow significant improvements in processing methods and quality control.