Spatial symmetry of transduction effects in Hall plates

Abstract In this paper, the separation of transduction effects on the basis of their spatial symmetry relations is presented. The current flow through a symmetrical device is made to spin in a stepwise manner. The output signal as a function of the spatial orientation is sampled and Fourier transformed. A 'spatial' frequency spectrum results, in which each distinct spatial symmetry relation is represented by a different Fourier coefficient. A finite-element model of the piezoresistive effect in the Laplace equation is used to verify the experimental results. In the symmetrical 16-contact Hall plate, the Hall effect is present in the a 0 coefficient and the π periodic stress in the c 2 coefficient in (100) oriented silicon. Geometric lithographic errors contribute to both c 2 and c 6 .