Abstract
A rotating-carrier-domain magnetic-field sensor with zero threshold field is presented. The device is circular lateral bipolar transistor surrounded by four voltage probing contacts. In contrast to previous carrier-domain magnetometers with four-layer, thyristor-like structures, the present sensor has three layers, the crucial circular structure being determined by a single mask. The device operates in the collector-emitter breakdown regime with short-circuited emitter and base contacts. It is based by an external constant current source. If the current supplied to the collector is above a certain threshold value, a localized current domain develops in the base region and rotates spontaneously, even at zero magnetic field, with constant tangential velocity. The angular frequency of the carrier-domain rotation is modulated by a magnetic field perpendicular to the planar device surface. Sensitivity around zero field is 250 kHz/T. The over-all plot of the rotation velocity versus the magnetic field shows a hysteresis loop. The device behaviour is explained in terms of the temperature dependence of emitter-collector breakdown phenomena and the Lorentz force acting on the current domain.
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