Vector Magnetic Field Sensors: Operating Principles, Calibration, and Applications

This review paper explores the most common technologies of vector magnetic field sensors. Specifically, the AMR, GMR, TMR, GMI, Hall, Fluxgate, Search Coil and SQUID sensors are considered. The physical phenomena that permit their operation as well as the structure and operating principles of each sensor are presented. In addition, the basic linear, time-invariant error sources of magnetic sensors are described along with some popular calibration techniques. Finally, some representative application examples of each sensor are described.