Tunneling magnetoresistance analog magnetic sensors are revolutionizing sensing capability for product developers. Two new ultraminiature TMR devices from NVE can sense rotation and proximetry with unprecedented precision. One is a dual-axis sensor for sensitive rotation sensing, the other a proximetry sensor that can detect smaller objects at greater distances with more precision than ever before. They expand NVE’s line of ALT-Series TMR analog magnetometers.
The ALT521-10E, a TMR dual-axis rotation sensor, is the world’s most sensitive device of its type, says the company. It has two independent sensing axes, each with a high-sensitivity 140 mV/V/mT output. The sensor can detect rotating magnetic fields as small as 0.1 µT and can detect orientation in Earth’s 50 µT magnetic field without external amplifiers. The devices are built as Wheatstone bridges with a typical resistance of two megohms, meaning they draw less than one microamp from a single-cell battery making them well suited for high-speed, continuous-duty operation from low-voltage batteries.
At just 2.5 x 2.5 x 08 millimeters, they enable further miniaturization of wearable, battery-powered instruments. Other typical applications can be for flowmeters, earth magnetic field detection, speed detection, nondestructive testing, ferromagnetic material detection, freepitch encoders and joysticks.
With the ALT002-14E proximetry sensors, there are two proximetry sensing configurations, enabling the device to be used for proximity detection of either permanent magnets or ferromagnetic objects like steel gears or pistons using a back biasing technique.
A leader in the practical commercialization of spintronics, a nanotechnology that relies on electron spin rather than electron charge to acquire, store and transmit information, NVE manufactures spintronic products including sensors and couplers that are used to acquire and transmit data. Headquarters are in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. For more info, see www.nve.com.
