Investigation of a Bending-Mode Magneto(Elasto)electric Sensor Using a Phase Modulation With a PLL

Bending-mode magnetostrictive-piezoelectric sensors clamped at its two extremities show promising results for an enhancement of its magnetic field sensitivity by using a phase modulation (PM) technique. In this operating mode, the sensor is excited by an external carrier at its bending resonant frequency. The results of such a magnetic field sensing by a magneto(elasto)electric bilayer when using a PM technique with a phase locked loop circuitry are presented. The aim of this method is to follow the phase shift at the bending resonant frequency of the sensor, which is proportional to the applied magnetic field for the small-signal regime. We obtained a magnetic sensitivity of ~1.5 kV/T and an equivalent magnetic noise level around 80 nT/$\surd $ Hz at 2 Hz. These performances are presently limited by the noise from our electronics, suggesting that there is room for further improvements.