Magnetoresistor with Planar Magnetic Concentrator as Wideband Contactless Current Sensor for Power Electronics Applications

Abstract

High-frequency power electronic converters require lossless, accurate, and isolated current measurement. High-frequency currents through a printed circuit board (PCB) trace generate nonuniform magnetic field around the trace. The nonuniform magnetic fields can be normalized by means of magnetic field concentrators (MCONs) using conductive materials. In this study, a novel technique for high-frequency contactless current sensing using magnetoresistor (MR) sensors with planar magnetic concentrators (MCON) utilizing conductive materials has been proposed. The effect of different MCONs on the performance of anisotropic MR (AMR) sensors for high-frequency contactless current detection has been investigated. The performance of the AMR sensor equipped with different MCONs is demonstrated experimentally with respect to a fast rise step current. A detailed frequency analysis is performed on the sensor response with different MCONs to determine the effect on the detection bandwidth of the current sensors.