An electromagnetic gradiometer that includes multiple torsionally operated MEMS-based magnetic and/or electric field sensors with control electronics configured to provide magnetic and/or electric field gradient measurements. In one example a magnetic gradiometer includes a first torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensor having a capacitive read-out configured to provide a first measurement of a received magnetic field, a second torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensor coupled to the first torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensor and having the capacitive read-out configured to provide a second measurement of the received magnetic field, and control electronics coupled to the first and second torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensors and configured to determine a magnetic field gradient of the received magnetic field based the first and second measurements from the first and second torsionally operated MEMS electromagnetic sensors.

A magnetic sensor 1 includes a plurality of sensitive elements 31 made of a soft magnetic material. The sensitive elements 31 have a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction and have a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction. The sensitive elements 31 are configured to sense a magnetic field by a magnetic impedance effect. The sensitive elements 31 are arranged with a gap in between in the transverse direction. The magnetic sensor 1 includes a connecting portion 32 configured to connect longitudinal ends of transversely adjacent ones of the sensitive elements 31. The connecting portion 32 has a width in the transverse direction that narrows as the connecting portion 32 approaches the ones of the sensitive elements 31 along the longitudinal direction.

It is an object of the invention to improve processes, apparatuses and systems for measuring a measured variable. To this end, a measured variable is measured in a measuring process on the basis of an NV center as a quantum sensor. The NV center has a plurality of quantum states and is optically excitable on the basis of an occupancy of one of the quantum states into at least one excited state of the quantum states by means of an excitation light. The at least one excited state can decay at least with emission of emission light of the NV center. In the measuring process, the NV center is irradiated by the excitation light, the excitation light having a time periodic modulation, and a respective occupancy probability and/or a respective lifetime of the quantum states depending on the measured variable and the excitation light. A phase shift is determined between the emission light of the NV center and the modulation of the excitation light and a measurement value for the measured variable is determined on the basis thereof.

A magneto-inductive DC magnetometer is provided that is operable to output fluxgate quality measurements in a low mass, volume, power and cost package. The magnetometer enables constellation-class missions not only due to its low-resource requirements, but also due to its potential for commercial integrated circuit fabrication. In addition, the magnetometer will be part of a ground-based Space Weather Underground Citizen Science instrument package that enables dense arrays of space weather-relevant observations at mid-latitudes. The magneto-inductive operating principle is based on a simple resistance-inductor (RL) circuit and involves measurement of the time it takes to charge and discharge the inductor between an upper and lower threshold by means of a Schmitt trigger oscillator. This time is proportional to the inductance that in turn is proportional to the field strength.

A measurement apparatus is provided, which includes a magnetic sensor array formed by three-dimensionally arranging a plurality of magnetic sensor cells each including a magnetic sensor, and capable of detecting an input magnetic field in three axial directions; a measurement data acquiring section that acquires a plurality of measurement values based on the input magnetic field detected by the magnetic sensor array; a magnetic field calculating section that calculates the input magnetic field based on the measurement values; an error calculating section that calculates a detection error of the input magnetic field, based on the plurality of measurement values and a calculation result obtained by calculating the input magnetic field; and a measurement data selecting section that selects a plurality of measurement values to be used for calculating the input magnetic field by the magnetic field calculating section, from among the plurality of measurement values, based on the detection error.

The present invention relates to a hall electromotive force signal detection circuit and a current sensor thereof each of which is able to achieve excellent wide-band characteristics and fast response as well as high accuracy. A difference calculation circuit samples a component synchronous with a chopper clock generated by a chopper clock generation circuit, out of an output voltage signal of a signal amplifier circuit, at a timing obtained from the chopper clock, so as to detect the component. An integrating circuit integrates an output from the difference calculation circuit in the time domain. An output voltage signal from the integrating circuit is fed back to a signal amplifier circuit via a third transconductance element.

An electromagnetic gradiometer that includes multiple torsionally operated MEMS-based magnetic and/or electric field sensors with control electronics configured to provide magnetic and/or electric field gradient measurements. In one example a magnetic gradiometer includes a first torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensor having a capacitive read-out configured to provide a first measurement of a received magnetic field, a second torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensor coupled to the first torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensor and having the capacitive read-out configured to provide a second measurement of the received magnetic field, and control electronics coupled to the first and second torsionally operated MEMS magnetic sensors and configured to determine a magnetic field gradient of the received magnetic field based the first and second measurements from the first and second torsionally operated MEMS electromagnetic sensors.

A system for detecting analytes in a test sample, and a method for processing the same, is provided. The system includes a cartridge reader unit that has a control unit and a pneumatic system, and a cartridge assembly that prepares the samples with mixing material(s) through communication channels. The assembly has a memory chip with parameters for preparing the sample and at least one sensor. The assembly, pneumatic system, and control unit operate together to prepare the sample and provide the prepared sample to the sensor for detecting analytes, and also process measurements from the sensor to generate test results.

A magnetic field detection apparatus includes a magnetoresistive effect element and a helical coil. The magnetoresistive effect element includes a magnetoresistive effect film extending in a first axis direction. The helical coil includes a parallel connection including first and second parts extending in a second axis direction inclined with respect to the first axis direction. The first and second parts are adjacent to each other in a third axis direction and coupled to each other in parallel. The helical coil is wound around the magnetoresistive effect element while extending along the third axis direction. The magnetoresistive effect film overlaps the first and second parts in a fourth axis direction orthogonal to the second and third axis directions. The helical coil is configured to be supplied with a current and thereby configured to generate an induction magnetic field to be applied to the magnetoresistive effect film in the third axis direction.

A structure for magnetic flux sensor conditioning is presented which partitions an input analog signal of unknown integrity into two: susceptible and insusceptible. The structure scrutinizes the susceptible signal partition, in view of additional guard sensor information, through a mixed-signal processing side-chain that employs a non-invasive physical magnetic attack detection algorithm. The side-chain either validates, or replaces with a best estimate, the susceptible signal partition, depending upon the absence or presence of attack, respectively. The structure finally recombines the scrutinized susceptible signal partition with the insusceptible signal partition. The result is an analog magnetic flux sensor signal that is robust against skillful, surreptitious, spoofing attacks. If unmitigated, such attacks may induce catastrophic consequences into systems relying upon the magnetic flux sensor.