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In this article, we present research, development, calibration, and characterization of a novel concept of a digitally compensated, low-noise magnetometer based on anisotropic magnetoresistance sensors that is suitable for space applications. The main idea of the design was to reduce the number of precise analog components while using the digital signal processing power available in a modern microcontroller. Our most recent effort targeted lowering power consumption, enhancement of radiation hardness, and overall improvement of the parameters. The principle of operation is presented in detail, along with a detailed description of the instrumentation used to characterize the real instrument, including its noise, linearity, and temperature stability in the range of −20 °C to +70°C. The results of total ionizing dose (TID) testing at a gamma-ray irradiation facility are discussed at the complete magnetometer and part levels. This is an extended version of an article presented at I2MTC 2020 that contains the results of a second radiation test done with a slightly modified design. The instrument worked well throughout the entire irradiation session (TID of 1.05 kGy over 72 h), and the stability of main parameters was very good (50 pT/Gy offset and 1 ppm/Gy sensitivity stability). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents testing of a miniature fluxgate sensor developed and manufactured by Texas Instruments as well as an application of the sensor in a compact magnetic field probe with USB interface and LabView based software. Several basic properties of the sensor were evaluated and compared with the datasheet specifications. Offset stability measurements have indicated some possible problems for applications that require very high DC and low-frequency precision. Jumps in offset were present for some of the devices, frequency and duty of the jumps varying between individual pieces and with respect to the supply voltage. Magnetic probe for fast and handy measurements of DC and AC (up to 30 kHz) magnetic fields (up to ±1 mT) is also presented. The probe contains 24-bit analog to digital converter, microcontroller and high-speed USB interface which allows a live view of the signal in time and spectral charts. The probe proved to be very useful for the DRV425 debugging, application development, EMC measurements and magnetic field demonstrations activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic field sensors based on anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) are widely used in many scientific and industrial applications. The AMR sensor sensitivity is superior to Hall probes and size and power consumption is superior to fluxgates. However, the noise properties and the temperature stability of AMR sensors are typically worse than for fluxgates. These properties define the typical applications—less precise vectorial or gradient measurements of the magnetic field within less than ±1 mT range. AMR sensors are typically calibrated for sensitivity, offset, and orthogonality errors. However, there is another important source of error—sensitivity to the magnetic field applied in the perpendicular direction to the measurement axis. This so-called cross-field error is inherent to AMR sensors and can influence the measurements significantly. Flipping (set/reset pulses) and closed-loop operation of the sensor can reduce the cross-field error. In this paper, we present a novel approach using full vectorial compensation of the measured magnetic field resulting in a complete elimination of the cross-field effect. The vectorial compensation provided superior results over alternative approaches that were also evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Large dc and ac electric currents are often measured by open-loop sensors without a magnetic yoke. A widely used configuration uses a differential magnetic sensor inserted into a hole in a flat busbar. The use of a differential sensor offers the advantage of partial suppression of fields coming from external currents. Hall sensors and AMR sensors are currently used in this application. In this paper, we present a current sensor of this type that uses novel integrated fluxgate sensors, which offer a greater range than magnetoresistors and better stability than Hall sensors. The frequency response of this type of current sensor is limited due to the eddy currents in the solid busbar. We present a novel amphitheater geometry of the hole in the busbar of the sensor, which reduces the frequency dependence from 15% error at 1 kHz to 9%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]