Magnetic field detection with a single planar element

Contributing to miniaturization of 3D magnetic field sensors for IoT applications

Overview

　Magnetic field sensors are used in a variety of applications such as contactless current detection and electronic compasses, etc. Because an ordinary magnetic element detects only magnetic field components in a specific direction, detecting the direction of a magnetic field vector in 3D space requires a 3D combination of elements corresponding to each direction. This is an issue to device miniaturization and integration, which are rapidly increasing in demand in the IoT field.　
　This technology relates to the invention of a planar magnetic field sensor that does not require a 3D structure. The direction of the magnetic field vector in 3D space is determined from the voltage generated in each part of the ferromagnetic Fe-Sn thin films[1]. A 3D magnetic field sensor can be fabricated by patterning a single magneto-sensitive layer by a general-purpose device processing method. In addition to magnetic field sensors, this thin film can be expected to create new applications by combining functions[2-5].

Features・Outstandings

Product Application

・Electronic compasses
・Security system sensor (Use Case : Doors open/close)
・Automotive angle sensor
・Angle sensor (Use Case : Foldable phones)

Related Works

[1] Y. Satake et al., Sci. Rep. 9, 3282 (2019).
[2] Hall sensor, JP2018-157542.
[3] J. Shiogai et al., Commun. Mater. 2, 102 (2021).
[4] Magnetic sensor, JP2022-524242.
[5] K. Fujiwara et al., OYO BUTURI 92, p.20–23 (2023).

IP Data

IP No.　 ： PCT/JP2022/006778　　　
Inventor ： TSUKAZAKI Atsushi, FUJIWARA Kohei, SHIOGAI Junichi
keyword ： MagneticSensor, ElectronicCompass, 3DMeasurement