Coil Optimization in a Fluxgate Magnetometer With Co₆₈.₂Fe₄.₃Si₁₂.₅B₁₅ Amorphous Wire Cores for Geomagnetic Station Observation

The coils in a three-axis fluxgate magnetometer have been investigated to enhance the noise and power performance for the use in geomagnetic stations. The turn number of the excitation and pickup coils in the fluxgate sensors is carefully optimized by measuring the equivalent magnetic noise spectral density of the magnetometers. Correspondingly, the values of the tuning and demodulation capacitors are delicately designed to match the optimized coils. The noise of the fluxgate magnetometer is 6 pT/
$\surd $
Hz at 1 Hz with a power consumption lower than 360 mW. The size of the packaged magnetometer is
$30 \times 30 \times 113$
mm
³
, and its weight is less than 80 g (without cable). The features of the fluxgate magnetometer make it a suitable instrument for geomagnetic stations and other applications.