A Novel Experimental Approach to the Applicability of High-Sensitivity Giant Magneto-Impedance Sensors in Magnetic Field Communication

Abstract

This paper presents a new application field of a giant magneto-impedance (GMI) sensor. It shows valuable findings for the GMI sensor on the possibility of a new receiving element in magnetic field communication. The proposed GMI sensors serve as antennas and mixers in receiver systems. They have the advantage of being easily implemented and in terms of mass production and manufacturing processes due to the manufacture base on a printed circuit board (PCB). Their smaller size, lower cost, and higher sensitivity have more advantages than conventional magnetic sensors, such as the magneto-inductive, anisotropic magneto-resistive, and giant magneto-resistive sensors. Two types of PCB-based GMI sensors are proposed. The first type of GMI sensor is directly wound around the solenoid-shaped pickup coil onto an alumina insulation tube inserted with an amorphous microwire. The second type of GMI sensor has a patterned pickup coil that does not require the winding of the coil, similar to the patterned pickup coil of a micro electro-mechanical system-based GMI sensor. This GMI sensor provides a new geometry that can be easily manufactured with two PCB substrates. The proposed GMI sensors achieve the equivalent magnetic noise spectral density to the high-sensitivity characteristics of the pT/√Hz level. The equivalent magnetic noise spectral density of 1.5 pT/√Hz at 20.03 MHz is obtained for the first type of GMI sensor, and 3 pT/√Hz at 3.03 MHz is achieved the second type. The analyzed results of the bandwidth and the channel capacity for the two types of GMI sensors are acceptable. This first analysis confirms the possibility of the implementation of GMI sensors in magnetic field communication. The results of this experiment confirm the high performance of the proposed GMI sensors and their applicability in magnetic field communication. The detailed experimental results of the proposed GMI sensors are presented and discussed. INDEX TERMS Amorphous microwire, giant magneto-impedance (GMI), high sensitivity, magnetic field communication, magnetic sensor.

Design and Analysis of a Magnetic Field Communication System Using a Giant Magneto-Impedance Sensor

“…In order to check the feasibility of a GMI sensor as a magnetic field receiver, several studies were conducted [7]- [8]. Following previous research, this paper introduced a magnetic field communication system that relies on a GMI sensor as a field receiver.…”

“…The receiver adopts a giant magneto-impedance (GMI) sensor as a possible solution to overcome the short communication range [7]- [8]. It should be noted that the principle of detecting an external magnetic field is the GMI effect, which is totally different from the conventional MI.…”

“…We studied the possibility of the GMI sensor as the receiver for magnetic field signals in a wireless communication system [7]. We presented a comprehensive analysis of the GMI sensor, examining the bandwidth, noise spectral density, and channel capacity with two types of GMI sensors to verify their applicability in magnetic field communications.…”

Experimental Assessment of a Magnetic Induction-Based Receiver for Magnetic Communication

“…Because of these advantages, our research team implemented an MI-based receiver using a MI sensor at pT/√Hz levels that detected weak magnetic field signals as a receiving element, and aims to achieve magnetic communication over tens to hundreds of meters in underwater and underground media conditions. An important aspect of magnetic communication is an increased magnetic field-tovoltage conversion ratio (MVCR), which is expressed in V/T units, to detect weak magnetic fields [7]. Several magnetometers, known as magnetic sensors, are available, such as fluxgate, giant magneto-impedance (GMI), anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR), giant magneto-resistive (GMR), and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) [7]- [17].…”

“…An important aspect of magnetic communication is an increased magnetic field-tovoltage conversion ratio (MVCR), which is expressed in V/T units, to detect weak magnetic fields [7]. Several magnetometers, known as magnetic sensors, are available, such as fluxgate, giant magneto-impedance (GMI), anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR), giant magneto-resistive (GMR), and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) [7]- [17]. These magnetic sensors are known to have high sensitivity characteristics [8].…”