A transmission range selection sensor includes a housing defining a bore extending along a central axis. A piston is slideably disposed within the bore. A magnet carrier is attached to and moveable with the piston. A magnet is supported by and moveable with the magnet carrier. A first magnetic sensor and a second magnetic sensor are supported by the housing and are spaced from each other along the central axis. A position of the magnet carrier along the central axis is determinable from a sensed magnetic flux from the first and second magnetic sensors. The sensor includes at least one magnetic flux concentrator attached to one of the magnet carrier or the housing. The flux concentrator is operable to concentrate the magnetic flux toward at least one of the first magnetic sensor or the second magnetic sensor depending upon a position of the magnet along the central axis.

A three-axis upstream-modulated low-noise magnetoresistive sensor comprises an X-axis magnetoresistive sensor, a Y-axis magnetoresistive sensor, and a Z-axis magnetoresistive sensor, wherein the X, Y, and Z-axis magnetoresistive sensors respectively comprise X, Y, and Z-axis magnetoresistive sensing unit arrays, X, Y, and Z-axis soft ferromagnetic flux concentrator arrays, and X, Y, and Z-axis modulator wire arrays. The X, Y, and Z-axis magnetoresistive sensing unit arrays are electrically interconnected into X, Y, and Z-axis magnetoresistive sensing bridges respectively. The X, Y, and Z-axis modulator wire arrays are electrically interconnected into individual two-port X, Y, and Z-axis excitation coils. In order to measure external magnetic fields, the two-port X, Y, and Z-axis excitation coils are separately supplied with high-frequency alternating current at a frequency f, from a current supply. The X-axis magnetoresistive sensor, Y-axis magnetoresistive sensor, and Z-axis magnetoresistive sensor each output harmonic signal components having a frequency of 2f, which are then demodulated to obtain the X, Y, and Z-axis low-noise signals. This device is small in size, has low noise, and a simple structure.

A torsion bar of a torque detection device converts torque applied between an input shaft and an output shaft to a torsional displacement. A pair of yokes is secured to the output shaft, and forms a magnetic circuit in a magnetic field of a multipolar magnet secured to the input shaft. A magnetic flux guide member has a main body facing the yoke to guide magnetic flux of the magnetic circuit. A magnetic sensor is placed at an extension, and detects magnetic flux guided by the magnetic flux guide member. The magnetic flux guide member is configured to allow magnetic permeance per unit area between the magnetic flux guide member and the yoke to be greater at a location in the main body from which the extension is branched, than at a circumferential end portion of the main body.

A current sensor includes an electrical-conduction member, a magnetoelectric converter, and a shield. The shield includes a first shield and a second shield each having a plate shape. The first shield and the second shield being arranged such that surfaces are opposed to and spaced away from each other. A part of the electrical-conduction member and the magnetoelectric converter are located between the surface of the first shield and the surface of the second shield. The part of the electrical-conduction member extends in an extension direction that is along the surface of the first shield. At least one of the first shield and the second shield has an anisotropy in magnetic permeability in which the magnetic permeability in a lateral direction that is along the surface of the first shield and perpendicular to the extension direction is higher than the magnetic permeability in the extension direction.

Aspects of the present disclosure generally pertain to a magnetic field sensor with flex coupling structures. Aspects of the present disclosure are more specifically directed toward Nanoscale Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (nanoSQUIDs) with very low white flux noise characteristics can be fashioned into very sensitive magnetic field sensors by using external structures to increase the amount of flux that passes through the nanoSQUID aperture. One such structure is a superconducting coupling loop that shares part of a circuit with the nanoSQUID, and couples flux into the nanoSQUID primarily through kinetic inductance rather than geometric inductance.

A magnetic flux concentrator (MFC) structure comprises a substrate, a first metal layer disposed on or over the substrate, and a second metal layer disposed on or over the first metal layer. Each metal layer comprises (i) a first wire layer comprising first wires conducting electrical signals, and (ii) a first dielectric layer disposed on the first wire layer. A magnetic flux concentrator is disposed at least partially in the first metal layer, in the second metal layer, or in both the first and the second metal layers. The structure can comprise an electronic circuit or a magnetic sensor with sensing plates. The structure can comprise a transformer or an electromagnet with suitable control circuits. The magnetic flux concentrator can comprise a metal stress-reduction layer in the first or second wire layers and a core formed by electroplating the stress-reduction layer.

A magnetic field sensor for sensing an external magnetic field along a sensing direction oriented perpendicular to a plane of the magnetic field sensor comprises a sensor bridge. The sensor bridge has a first sensor leg that includes a first magnetoresistive sense element and a second sensor leg that includes a second magnetoresistive sense element. The first and second sense elements include respective first and second pinned layers having corresponding first and second reference magnetizations within the plane and oriented in the same direction. The first and second sense elements further include respective first and second sense layers, each having an indeterminate magnetization state. A permanent magnet layer is proximate the magnetoresistive sense elements. In the absence of an external magnetic field, the permanent magnet layer magnetically biases the indeterminate magnetization state of each sense layer to produce a sense magnetization of the first and second sense layers.

There is provide a magnetic field measurement device including: a magnetic sensor array configured by a plurality of magnetic sensor cells, each of which has a magnetic sensor; a magnetic field acquisition section configured to acquire measurement data measured by the magnetic sensor array; a signal space separation section configured to perform signal separation to separate, into internal space data and external space data, a spatial distribution of a magnetic field which is indicated by the measurement data, based on a position and a magnetic sensitivity of each magnetic sensor; and a calculation processing section configured to remove, from the internal space data, at least a part of a variation component common to magnetic field measurement data that indicates the spatial distribution of the magnetic field which is indicated by the measurement data, and the external space data.

An electronic device may be provided with an electronic compass. The electronic compass may include magnetic sensors. The magnetic sensors may include thin-film magnetic sensor elements such as giant magnetoresistance sensor elements. Magnetic flux concentrators may be used to guide magnetic fields through the sensor elements. The magnetic flux concentrators may be configured to reduce the angular sensitivity of the magnetic sensors. A magnetic flux concentrator may be formed from multiple stacked layers of soft magnetic material separated by non-magnetic material. The non-magnetic material may have a thickness allows the magnetic layers to magnetically couple through the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction.

A magnetic field sensor for sensing an external magnetic field along a sensing direction comprises a sensor bridge. The sensor bridge has a first sensor leg that includes a first magnetoresistive sense element and a second sensor leg that includes a second magnetoresistive sense element. The first and second sense elements have respective a first and second pinned layers having corresponding first and second reference magnetizations. The second reference magnetization is oriented in an opposing direction relative to the first reference magnetization. The first and second sense elements have respective first and second sense layers, each having an indeterminate magnetization state. A permanent magnet layer is proximate the magnetoresistive sense elements. In the absence of an external magnetic field, the permanent magnet layer magnetically biases the indeterminate magnetization state of each sense layer in an in-plane orientation to produce a sense magnetization of the first and second sense layers.