A Wide-Bandwidth Inexpensive Current Sensor Based on the Signal Fusion of Tunneling Magnetoresistance and a Current Transformer

Abstract

In technology and industrial production, many applications require wide-bandwidth current measurements. In this paper, a signal fusion scheme for a current sensor comprising tunneling magnetoresistance and a current transformer is proposed, achieving a flat frequency response in the DC to MHz range. The measurement principles in different cases of the scheme are introduced, and the total transfer function of the entire scheme is derived by analyzing each section separately. Furthermore, the feasibility and selected parameters of the scheme are verified through a systematic simulation utilizing the MATLAB software. Based on the proposed scheme, a group of principal prototypes are built to experimentally evaluate the bandwidth, amplitude and phase flatness, accuracy, sensitivity, and impulse response. The relative amplitude variation in the passband of the fusion sensor is less than 4%, and the estimated bandwidth of the fusion sensor is close to 17 MHz. The accuracy is better than 0.6%, even when measuring the current at 1 MHz, and the relative standard deviation is 5% when measuring the impulse signal. The sensors developed using this scheme, with a low financial cost, have advantages in many wide-bandwidth current measuring scenarios.