ERIC Number: EJ1159643
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jul
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Studying Electrical Conductivity Using a 3D Printed Four-Point Probe Station
Lu, Yang; Santino, Luciano M.; Acharya, Shinjita; Anandarajah, Hari; D'Arcy, Julio M.
Journal of Chemical Education, v94 n7 p950-955 2017 Jul 2017
The design and fabrication of functional scientific instrumentation allows students to forge a link between commonly reported numbers and physical material properties. Here, a two-point and four-point probe station for measuring electrical properties of solid materials is fabricated via 3D printing utilizing an inexpensive benchtop fused-deposition modeling system and designed by standard computer-aided design software. Stainless steel tapestry needles serve as probes for contacting a sample; these are also electroplated in order to study their electrical performance, and provide a framework for discussion of electrical charge transport, contact resistance, and conductivity in materials. A microcontroller board is integrated into the probe and controlled using open-source software. Our robust and simple design provides an instrument that is easily fabricated by students and readily applied to a wide range of classroom settings focused on materials science, mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as solid-state physics and chemistry. This 3D printed probe station costs less than $100 US in materials per unit excluding source meter. We demonstrate that two- and four-point resistance measurements carried out on a solid-state semiconductor differ only by less than 5% in magnitude when compared to data collected using a standard and expensive commercial probe station. Two- and four-point resistance measurements carried out on gold deposited on silicon and on the soft nanostructured organic semiconductor poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) result in reproducible and accurate current versus voltage (I-V) curves.
Descriptors: Energy, Electronics, Energy Education, Power Technology, Undergraduate Students, Problem Solving, Scientific Concepts, Scientific Principles, Scientific Methodology, Laboratory Safety, Teaching Methods
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A