Micromachined layered thin film magnetoimpedance element

This paper presents a micromachined layered magnetoimpedance (MI) element consisting of a CoNbZr/Al/CoNbZr film and its MI properties were investigated. Sensitivity defined as maximum fractional change in impedance changed with thickness and dimension. The values for which MI element had the best properties were 45% for the sensitivity, 5% for the fractional change in impedance dependent on temperature. These values were much better than those of integrated magnetoresistance (MR) sensors. Therefore, these micromachined elements have great potential use in integrated magnetic sensors.