access icon free Design and performance evaluation of two novel linearisation circuits for giant magneto-resistance based sensors

This study presents two simple and efficient linearisation circuits for giant magneto-resistance (GMR)-based magnetic field sensors. GMR sensors are commonly available in wheatstone-bridge form, comprising two active GMR and two passive GMR elements. The output of such a sensor possesses a non-linear dependence on the input magnetic field. The proposed linearisation circuits operate on the output of a GMR sensor and provide a linear output with respect to the magnetic field. The first GMR linearisation circuit (GLC1) is based on an enhanced feedback compensation approach, while the second (GLC2) scheme uses a constant current technique. The methodologies of the schemes are described using mathematical derivations. Detailed analyses of the schemes are carried out to bring out the effects of circuit and sensor non-idealities on circuit performance. Further, the circuits were implemented on printed circuit boards and tested. Test results showed the capability of GLC1 and GLC2 to produce linear transfer characteristics. A prototype GMR sensor unit was then fabricated and tested with the developed circuits. Output non-linearity obtained during the experimentation was around 0.7%. Analyses of the results proved the superior performance of GLC1 and GLC2 over the existing schemes.

Inspec keywords: printed circuits; performance evaluation; linearisation techniques; magnetic sensors; giant magnetoresistance; magnetoresistive devices

Other keywords: performance evaluation; GLC; wheatstone-bridge form; linear transfer characteristics; GMR linearisation circuits; giant magnetoresistance based sensors; enhanced feedback compensation approach; passive GMR elements; printed circuit boards; GMR-based magnetic field sensors; mathematical derivations; constant current technique; active GMR elements; nonlinear dependence

Subjects: Nonlinear network analysis and design; Magneto-acoustic, magnetoresistive, magnetostrictive and magnetostatic wave devices; Sensing devices and transducers; Printed circuits

References

    1. 1)
      • 13. Bengtsson, L.E.: ‘Lookup table optimization for sensor linearization in small embedded systems’, J. Sens. Technol., 2012, 2, (4), pp. 177184.
    2. 2)
      • 1. Garcia-Martin, J., Gomez-Gil, J., Vazquez-Sanchez, E.: ‘Non-destructive technique based on eddy current testing’, MDPI Sens., 2011, 11, (3), pp. 25252565.
    3. 3)
      • 10. Reig, C., Freitas, S.C.D., Mukhopadhyay, S.C.: ‘Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors’ (Springer, Berlin, 2013), vol. 6.
    4. 4)
      • 8. Baibich, M.N., Broto, J.M., Fert, A.: ‘Giant magnetoresistance of (001)Fe/(001)Cr magnetic superlattices’, Phys. Rev. Lett., 1988, 61, (21), pp. 24722475.
    5. 5)
      • 3. Reig, C., Cubells-Beltran, M.D., Munoz, D.R.: ‘Magnetic field sensors based on giant magnetoresistance (GMR) technology: applications in electrical current sensing’, MDPI Sens., 2009, 9, (10), pp. 79197942.
    6. 6)
      • 4. Vopalensky, M., Ripka, P.: ‘Precise magnetic sensors’. Proc. 4th European Magnetic Sensors and Actuators Conf., Athens, Greece, September 2003, pp. 3842.
    7. 7)
      • 18. Jedlicska, I., Weiss, R., Weigel, R.: ‘Linearizing the output characteristic of GMR current sensors through hysteresis modelling’, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., 2010, 57, (5), pp. 17281734.
    8. 8)
      • 23. Franco, S.: ‘Circuits with resistive feedback’, in Stephen, W. (Ed.): ‘Design with operational amplifiers and analog integrated circuits’ (McGraw-Hill, New York, 2002, 3rd edn.), p. 97.
    9. 9)
      • 14. Lopez-Martin, A.J., Carlosena, A.: ‘Low-cost analog interface circuit for resistive bridge sensors’. 13th Int. Symp. on Communication and Information Technologies, Surat Thani, Thailand, September 2013, pp. 338341.
    10. 10)
      • 9. Caruso, M.J., Smith, C.H., Bratland, T., et al: ‘A new perspective on magnetic field sensing’, Sens. Mag., 1998, 15, (12), pp. 3446.
    11. 11)
      • 16. Madhu-Mohan, N., Geetha, T., Sankaran, P., et al: ‘Linearization of the output of a wheatstone bridge for single active sensors’. 16th Symp. on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modeling and Testing (TC4), Florence, Italy, September 2008, pp. 2529.
    12. 12)
      • 25. ‘OP-07 Low offset, low Drift Operational Amplifier’. Available at http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/op-07-n.pdf, accessed 14 July 2016.
    13. 13)
      • 17. Jeng, J.-T., Hsu, T.-Y., Lu, C.-C.: ‘Linearized giant-magnetoresistance sensor for static field measurement’. 2nd Int. Conf. on Mechanical and Electronics Engineering, Kyoto, Japan, August 2010, pp. V1-210V1-212.
    14. 14)
      • 26. ‘LM185/LM285/LM385 Adjustable Micropower Voltage References’. Available at http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm385-adj.pdf, accessed 14 July 2016.
    15. 15)
      • 19. Munoz, D.R., Moreno, J.S., Escriva, C.R.: ‘Constant current drive for resistive sensors based on generalized impedance converter’, IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas., 2008, 57, (10), pp. 22902296.
    16. 16)
      • 15. Sheingold, D.H.: ‘Transducer interfacing handbook: a guide to analog signal conditioning’ (Analog Devices Inc., Massachusetts, 1980, 1st edn.), pp. 100101.
    17. 17)
      • 22. Chavan, S., Anoop, C.S.: ‘A simple direct-digitizer for giant magneto-resistance based sensors’. Proc. IEEE Int. Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conf., Taipei, Taiwan, May 2016, pp. 15.
    18. 18)
      • 20. Bluemm, C., Weiss, R., Weigel, R., et al: ‘Correcting nonlinearity and temperature influence of sensors through B-spline modeling’. IEEE Int. Symp. on Industrial Electronics, Bari, Italy, July 2010, pp. 33563361.
    19. 19)
      • 2. ‘Angle Sensor: GMR-Based Angular Sensor (TLE5009)’. Available at http://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-TLE5009_FDS-DS-v01_01-en.pdf?fileId=db3a304330f686060131421d8ddd56b0, accessed 14 July 2016.
    20. 20)
      • 21. Hoya, E.S., Casas, O., Pallas-Areny, R.: ‘Direct interface for magnetoresistive sensors’. Proc. IEEE Int. Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conf., Warsaw, Poland, May 2007, pp. 16.
    21. 21)
      • 12. Graaf, G.D., Wolffenbuttel, R.F.: ‘Circuit for readout and linearisation of sensor bridges’. Solid-State Circuits Conf., Leuven, Belgium, September 2004, pp. 451454.
    22. 22)
      • 24. ‘INA 12x Precision, Low Power Instrumentation Amplifier’. Available at http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ina129.pdf, accessed 14 July 2016.
    23. 23)
      • 6. Postolache, O., Ribeiro, A.L., Ramos, H.: ‘A novel uniform eddy current probe with GMR for non destructive testing applications’. EUROCON: Int. Conf. on Computer as a Tool, Lisbon, Portugal, April 2011, pp. 14.
    24. 24)
      • 11. Trump, B.: ‘Analog linearization of resistance temperature detectors’. Available at http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt442/slyt442.pdf, accessed 14 July 2016.
    25. 25)
      • 5. ‘GMR Sensors Data Book’. Available at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sensing-sensors/readings/GMR_magnetic_sensor_databook.pdf, accessed 14 July 2016.
    26. 26)
      • 7. ‘Application Notes for GMR Sensors’. Available at http://www.nve.com/Downloads/apps.pdf, accessed 14 July 2016.
http://iet.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1049/iet-cds.2017.0047
Loading

Related content

content/journals/10.1049/iet-cds.2017.0047
pub_keyword,iet_inspecKeyword,pub_concept
6
6
Loading