INSTITUTE: DEDAN KIMATHI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COURSE: BSc MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING

UNIT: SENSORS AND TRANSDUCERS
NAME: JOSEPH NJOROGE KANGETHE
REG NO: E022-01-1848/2016
ASSIGNMENT
FLUXGATE
In a fluxgate two coils are winded around a ferromagnetic core. An alternating current is fed
to the primary coil. If an external magnetic field is present the induced field is limited to one
direction by the hysteresis of the core material. The difference between the inducing and
the induced fields gives a signal that can be observed. The signal is observed with the pick-
up coil.

On the left is a ring-core sensor which has lower noise that the bar type. On the right is the
sensor made by the Danish Meteorological Institute. Here the sensing elements are set in a
marble cube and compensating coils are winded around the fluxgate sensors.

SQUID (Superconducting quantum interference device)

The superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) consists of two superconductors
separated by thin insulating layers to form two parallel Josephson junction. The device may
be configured as a magnetometer to detect incredibly small magnetic fields which are small
enough to measure the magnetic fields in living organisms. Squids have been used to
measure the magnetic fields in mouse brains to test whether there might be enough
magnetism to attribute their navigational ability to an internal compass.
SQUIDs are sensitive enough to measure fields as low as 5 a T (5×10−18 T) within a few days
of averaged measurements. Their noise levels are as low as 3 fT·Hz-½.
NUCLEAR PRECESSION
Nuclear precession magnetometers polarize the atomic nuclei of a substance causing the
nuclei to precess temporarily around a new axis. As the behaviour of the nuclei returns to
normal, the frequency of precession of the nuclei is measured, and can be correlated to
magnetic flux density.
the common scalar nuclear precession magnetometers as follows:

 Helium -3
Helium 3 is a rarely produced magnetometer, and is probably not produced for the
commercial market at all. The helium nucleus' precesses for a very long time often
hours or even days after polarization. This creates a nice continuous, low frequency
signal that can be sampled easily by inexpensive electronics. The drawback is that
polarization requires large amounts of energy that must be supplied quickly to the
sensor. The gyromagnetic constant is only 3.2435kHz /G causing a large rotational
Doppler errors in measurement.
 Overhauser effect.
The Overhauser Effect is an enhancement to the proton precession principle, taking
advantage of a quirk of physics that affects the Hydrogen atom. An Overhauser
magnetometer uses RF power to excite the electrons of a special chemical dissolved in the
hydrogen-rich liquid. The electrons pass on their excited state to the hydrogen nuclei,
altering their spin state populations, and polarizing the liquid, just like in a standard proton
magnetometer but with much less power and to greater extent.
 Proton precession.

PROTON PRECESSION
In proton magnetometers a direct current flowing in a solenoid creates strong magnetic
field around a hydrogen-rich fluid (kerosene), causing some of the protons to align
themselves with that field. The current is then interrupted, and as protons realign
themselves with the ambient magnetic field, they precess at a frequency that is directly
proportional to the magnetic field. This produces a weak rotating magnetic field that is
picked with inductor, amplified electronically, and fed to a digital counter whose output is
typically scaled and displayed as field strength.
A proton magnetometer measures the total magnetic field strength and is not very sensitive
to direction.
Major applications include:
• Locating buried ferrous containers (ex. contaminant waste drums) in environmental
surveys.
• Locating and tracing buried pipelines in utility-type surveys.
• Locating abandoned wells for decommissioning and sealing.
• Geologic mapping.
• Teaching of geophysical methods.

MAGNETO INDUCTIVE
The figure below it’s a basic MI sensor circuit.

HE represents the external magnetic field parallel to the coil. The total magnetic field the
sensor experiences, H, is a function of the external magnetic field and the magnetic field
established by the current running through the circuit, I. This can be expressed as:
H = k0I + HE

where k0 is a constant that depends on certain physical parameters of the sensor. For the
circuit shown, assuming a “0” value (0V or some value less than the trigger value) on the
input to the Schmitt trigger, A, the Output value will be inverted to a logical “1” at some
voltage VS. This gradually will drive the voltage up across the MI sensor until the voltage at
A reaches the trigger threshold for the Schmitt Trigger, V H. At this point, the Schmitt Trigger
will see the voltage at A as a logical “1”, and the output will become a logical “0”. This will
drive the voltage down across the MI sensor, setting up an oscillation as depicted below.
Note that the current, I, essentially mimics the voltage waveform at A.

OPTICALLY PUMPED MAGNETOMETERS

Optically-pumped magnetometers (OPMs) have seen rapid progress over the last decade in
terms of performance and technology development. As highly sensitive room-temperature
magnetometers they present several advantages over superconducting quantum
interference device (SQUID) sensors, such as the possibility for conformal geometries and
low-maintenance systems.
The OPMs used for MEG recordings so far use electron-spin resonances in alkali atoms in the vapor
phase. These atoms have a single valence electron that determines most of the properties of
interest. Due to their electron spin and magnetic moment, the spin precesses around a magnetic
field at a well-defined frequency, the Larmor frequency.
The figure below shows light from a circularly polarized laser beam optically pumps the Rb
atoms, while light from a second laser beam probes the magnetic field-dependent spin
orientation through polarization rotation. Both the transmission and polarimeter signal
show a resonance as a function of magnetic field.

Furthermore, a large macroscopic polarization can be produced in these atoms through

optical pumping. In its simplest form, the spin from near-resonant circularly polarized
photons is transferred to the atoms during absorption. Since these incident photons all have
spins in a specific direction, the spins of the atoms become oriented. This process is very
efficient, and can achieve atomic spin-polarizations close to unity. A magnetic field changes
the atomic spin orientation, which can be probed once again with near-resonant light,
making use of the absorption or dispersion of the light. The light carries information about
the external magnetic field.

MAGNETO RESISTIVE

A magneto resistive sensor uses the fact that the electrical resistance in a ferromagnetic thin
film alloy is changed through an external magnetic field. Generally, mixed alloys are used for
example iron and nickel. These sensors are exceptionally small and due to their special
material, they are robust and consume very little energy. They are especially useful in areas
where there is no continuous energy supply. A magneto resistive sensor can be used in the
following areas of application;

 Path and angle measurement.

 Determination of magnetic field.
 Highly dynamic current measurement.
 Contactless switches.
 Dynamic measurements under extreme conditions e.g. in vehicle engines.
Some of its advantages include;

 Extremely precise measurement.

 Robust.
 Very small.
 Energy coefficient.
 Wide range of applications.
 Suitable for extreme environment.

The main disadvantage that it is difficult to set up.

Type CMS2000 - SP3 standard

CMS2000 - SP10 premium