Automated Hall effect measurements using the van der Pauw method within the physical property measurement system (PPMS)

We report the development of a custom instrumentation approach for Hall resistivity measurements in the widely available commercial apparatus Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) from Quantum Design, using the van der Pauw (vdP) method. This approach integrates the complete vdP switching architecture directly into the printed circuit board of the sample holder, thereby eliminating the need for external switching circuits, auxiliary control software, and standalone measurement instruments. By keeping the entire measurement signal path within the PPMS environment, the method significantly reduces noise pickup, enabling resistance measurements from 4 μΩ to 4 MΩ over the full PPMS temperature range (1.8-400 K) and magnetic fields up to 9 T. The performance of the system was validated through Hall-coefficient measurements on a high-purity germanium single crystal, yielding temperature-dependent behavior in excellent agreement with the literature. Importantly, all measurement configurations are executed through the native interface of the PPMS (MultiVu), transforming Hall-effect experiments into a simplified, self-contained, and highly reproducible workflow. This approach not only reduces experimental complexity and cost but also establishes a new operational standard for vdP-based electronic transport measurements within the PPMS platform.