NEW MAGNETORESISTIVE SENSORS - ENGINEERING AND APPLICATIONS

The magnetoresistive effect within thin anisotropic layers of ferromagnetic materials has been known for a long time. A new sensor layout and an appropriate selection of materials allows the hysteresis to be drastically reduced and the operation temperature to be increased up to 200-degrees-C. Due to the short reaction times in the nanosecond field and their extreme sensitivity, magnetoresistive sensors are predestined to locate fast dynamic fields. But static magnetic fields can also be reliably measured with this type of sensor, since the resistance change is carried out in proportion to the field strength and not in proportion to the temporal change of the magnetic induction, as with inductively operated sensors. The typical applications of magnetoresistive sensors are revolution counting at gear wheels, digital or analog contactless distance measurement or remotely operating joysticks.