Advisor(s)

Vincent G. Harris

Contributor(s)

Carmine Vittoria, Yajie Chen, Anton Geiler

Date of Award

2011

Date Accepted

4-2011

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department or Academic Unit

College of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Keywords

electrical engineering, electromagnetics, magnetic field sensor, magnetoelectric sensor, magneto-electronics, magnetostriction, modulation technique, sensitivity enhancement

Disciplines

Electrical and Computer Engineering | Engineering

Abstract

Magnetoelectric (ME) heterostructural laminate composites have recently demonstrated high sensitivity room temperature operation in magnetic field sensing applications. Traditionally, a static (DC) magnetic field is applied to these sensors to enable optimal magnetostrictive response. In this thesis, the non-linear nature of the magnetostrictive response of a ME heterostructure is utilized, by applying a modulation magnetic field, to demonstrate an improvement by a factor of 11.62x in peak sensitivity and by 57.43 dB in 0-Hz signal-to-noise ratio of a sensor consisting of a longitudinally magnetized and transversely poled lamination of Metglas/PZT/Metglas layers in comparison with a conventional DC biased configuration. The ME sensor modulated by an AC magnetic field, tuned to stimulate an electro-magneto-mechanical resonance, in conjunction with a lock-in amplifier further exhibits enhanced environmental noise immunity, 1/f noise mitigation, and does not require a DC magnetic bias field. Combined, these advantages hold promise for the development of miniature ME sensor elements for size- and weight-sensitive applications.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Information

copyright 2011

Rights Holder

Scott Matthew Gillette


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