Identification and verification of a Preisach-based vector model for ferromagnetic materials

In many applications of ferromagnetic materials concerning sensors and actuators, magnetic fields are rotating. In order to precisely describe the behavior of ferromagnetic materials in rotating magnetic fields, vector hysteresis models are necessary. Therefore, much effort is being put into the development of efficient vector models. For the reason of computational efficiency, models have been developed that differ from the Preisach approach and are for example based on rotationally coupled step functions. We have proposed a very efficient Preisach-based model before, which we called the rotational vector Preisach model. In this paper, we propose an extension of the rotational switching function, which improves the model characteristics for arbitrary H-field trajectories. We also introduce a set of special vectorial minor loops for the general validation and comparison of vector models. We apply those H-field trajectories to isotropic materials such as sputtered FeCo thin films as used in micromechanical systems. The vectorial minor loops can readily be utilized to evaluate the model output, and the results agree well with vectorial measurements.