Ring shaped magnetic field transducer based on the GMI effect

Abstract

In this paper the design of a magnetic-field-to-voltage transducer based on the giant magnetoimpedance phenomenon (GMI) is proposed, characterized by an innovative geometric configuration. In order to attain the best near-field sensibility and far-field immunity, the transducer's sensitive element and electronic circuit were planned and implemented. By thoroughly characterizing them it was possible to obtain an estimate of the transducer's sensibility, which is approximately 12 V Oe−1. This value is comparable to those observed in two of the most important existing magnetic sensors: the fluxgate and the Hall effect sensor. The main application of the developed transducer is the localization of magnetic foreign bodies in humans, based on a previously developed and tested SQUID sensor technique. In order to provide a better interpretation of the experimental results, a theoretical model of the magnetic field associated with a needle and of the signal it generates in the transducer was created. Measurements with a needle were performed to analyze the behavior of the prototype, which has a high sensitivity, as expected, but presents strong hysteresis, lack of linearity and low immunity to uniform fields. However, despite the improvements that can still be done and have already been identified, the developed transducer has many promising applications, and has the advantage of reduced fabrication and operation costs.