Modeling of Three-Axis Hall Effect Sensors Based on Integrated Magnetic Concentrator

In this paper, we develop computational model to analyze the magnetic concentrating effect of integrated magnetic concentrator (IMC) on surrounding external magnetic field. We present an IMC-based three-axis Hall sensor model that enables to measure both inclination angles and absolute strength of a random external magnetic field. An IMC changes surrounding parallel magnetic components into perpendicular components, and therefore allows the horizontal Hall plates to measure both the strength and inclination angles of parallel external magnetic fields. We develop a finite element method (FEM) based model in COMSOL Multiphysics for the three-axis Hall sensor. Key factors influencing IMC's magnetic concentrating effect, including material property and sensor structure, are investigated and discussed using the developed model. Comparing to traditional IMC-based three-axis angular sensors, a reference permanent magnet is no longer needed in the sensor. A measurement accuracy of 0.8 and 1.2 degrees are achieved respectively for the angles of α and θ of external magnetic field.