A joint magnetoelectric sensor and human head model for biomagnetic simulation

Abstract

In recent years, thin-film magnetoelectric (ME) magnetic-field sensors have emerged as novel and advantageous devices for biomagnetic measurements. These ME sensors promise contactless readings of the magnetic fields generated by the human body, e.g., in magnetocardiography, with added benefits such as operation at room temperature without magnetic shielding [1]. The ME sensors considered here are based on strain-coupled thin-film magnetostrictive and piezoelectric layers on a cantilever. An incident magnetic field deforms the magnetostrictive layer which is coupled to a deformation of the piezoelectric layer giving a voltage signal. Previous studies often characterize the sensor performance under simplified homogeneous magnetic-field conditions. We have demonstrated that these sensors show a significantly different behavior under inhomogeneous magnetic-field excitation [2]. Here, we discuss a multiscale simulation approach using a joint sensor and simplified human head model for evaluation of sensor performance at different positions and orientations.