This paper describes the design of a novel low-power single-axis fluxgate sensor. Several soft magnetic alloy materials have been considered and the choice was based on the balance between maximum permeability and minimum saturation flux density values. The sensor has been modelled using the Finite Integration Theory (FIT) method. The sensor was imposed to a custom macroscale optimisation technique that significantly reduced the power consumption by a factor of 16. The results of the sensor's optimisation technique will be used, subsequently, in the development of a cutting-edge ground based magnetometer for the study of the complex solar wind-magnetospheric-ionospheric system.

Date Published: 15 May 2007
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 6589, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS III, 65890G (15 May 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.721584

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6589:
Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS III
Thomas Becker; Carles Cané; N. Scott Barker, Editor(s)