Hall Effect and Magnetoresistive Sensors

Usually magnetic sensors output a signal voltage along with little or no current. The magnetic fields sensed may vary over an extremely broad range. Magnetic sensors using the Hall effect are very common, small, and inexpensive. This chapter examines the behavior, accuracy, and construction of typical Hall sensors. Along with the Hall effect, it describes a related parameter called magnetoresistance. The chapter discusses Hall voltage equation, Hall effect conductivity tensor, finite-element computation of Hall fields, position sensors, mangnetoresistive heads, and giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors.