A magnetoresistive sensor element including: a reference layer having a pinned reference magnetization; a sense layer having a free sense magnetization comprising a stable vortex configuration reversibly movable in accordance to an external magnetic field to be measured; a tunnel barrier layer between the reference layer and the sense layer; wherein the sense layer includes a first ferromagnetic sense portion in contact with the tunnel barrier layer and a second ferromagnetic sense portion in contact with the first ferromagnetic sense portion; the second ferromagnetic sense portion including a dilution element in a proportion such that a temperature dependence of a magnetic susceptibility of the sense layer substantially compensates a temperature dependence of a tunnel magnetoresistance of the magnetoresistive sensor element. Also, a method for manufacturing the magnetoresistive sensor element.

A magnetic field sensor configured to sense an angle of a magnetic field associated with a rotatable target includes a first magnetic field sensing structure configured to generate a first signal indicative of the magnetic field and a second magnetic field sensing structure configured to generate a second signal indicative of the magnetic field, wherein the first and second magnetic field sensing structures are configured to detect quadrature components of the magnetic field. A controller responsive to the first and second signals includes an angle tracking observer having a sine block and a cosine block operatively coupled to compute the angular position of the target using a control loop based in part on a non-orthogonality error term and a magnitude calculator that uses the sine block and the cosine block to compute a magnitude of the magnetic field.

This sensor unit includes a base having a substantially-rectangular planar shape including a first side and a second side that are substantially orthogonal to each other, and a plurality of first sensors provided on the base and arranged on a first axis. The first axis is substantially parallel to the first side and passes through a center position of the base.

The present invention relates to a Hall effect sensor which is integrated in a semiconductor substrate and enables measurement of a magnetic field component. perpendicularly to the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The Hall effect sensor comprises several Hall elements having an electrically conductive semiconductor region which has a straight-line row of electrical measuring and control contacts on an end face on the substrate surface. The Hall elements are designed or can be operated in such manner that they have a sensitivity both to a magnetic field component parallel to and the magnetic field component perpendicular to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate (1). Several of the Hall elements are arranged such that their sensitivity to a magnetic field component parallel to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate can be compensated mutually by circuitry or in a signal evaluation. In this way, a sensitivity of these Hall elements to the magnetic field component perpendicular to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate is obtained. By using these Hall elements for measuring the magnetic field component perpendicularly to the substrate surface, a very low sensitivity to mechanical stresses can be achieved.

A method of determining a gradient of a magnetic field, includes the steps of: biasing a first/second magnetic sensor with a first/second biasing signal; measuring and amplifying a first/second magnetic sensor signal; measuring a temperature and/or a stress difference; adjusting at least one of: the second biasing signal, the second amplifier gain, the amplified and digitized second sensor value using a predefined function f(T) or f(T, ΔΣ) or f(ΔΣ) of the measured temperature and/or the measured differential stress before determining a difference between the first/second signal/value derived from the first/second sensor signal. A magnetic sensor device is configured for performing this method, as well as a current sensor device, and a position sensor device.

A Hall sensor includes a Hall well, such as an implanted region in a surface layer of a semiconductor structure, and four doped regions spaced apart from one another in the implanted region. The implanted region and the doped regions include majority carriers of the same conductivity type. The sensor also includes a dielectric layer that extends over the implanted region, and an electrode layer over the dielectric layer to operate as a control gate to set or adjust the sensor performance. A first supply circuit provides a first bias signal to a first pair of the terminals, and a second supply circuit provides a second bias signal to the electrode layer.

Disclosed are an electronic device for compensating for geomagnetic sensing data and a method for controlling the same. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, an electronic device may include a processor configured to store, in a memory, a temperature of each of a plurality of heating areas and a variation in a geomagnetic value sensed by a geomagnetic sensor, perform linear fitting using the temperature and the variation in the geomagnetic value, compute an error between the variation in the geomagnetic value and an estimated value for the variation in the geomagnetic value, based on a result of the linear fitting, determine a scheme for compensating for the geomagnetic value based on the computed error, and compensate for the geomagnetic value sensed by the geomagnetic sensor using the determined scheme when a variation in temperature is detected for at least one heating area in the plurality of heating areas.

A first magnetic member is provided in a region farther inward than an outer peripheral edge of a first magnetoresistance element. A second magnetoresistance element is provided in a region farther inward than an inner peripheral edge of the first magnetoresistance element and is covered by the first magnetic member or is provided in a region farther outward than the outer peripheral edge of the first magnetoresistance element and is covered by a second magnetic member. A first conductor includes a first base section and a first narrow section. The area of the exterior surface of the first narrow section as viewed from a direction perpendicular to an insulating layer is smaller than that of the first base section. In the first conductor, the first base section and the first narrow section are arranged side by side in the direction perpendicular to the insulating layer.

An autocalibration method includes generating at least one sensor signal in response to measuring a physical quantity; compensating the at least one sensor signal based on at least one compensation parameter to generate at least one compensated sensor signal; generating the at least one compensation parameter based on the at least one sensor signal or the at least one compensated sensor signal; comparing each of the at least one compensation parameter to a respective tolerance range; on a condition that each of the at least one compensation parameter is within its respective tolerance range, transmitting the at least one compensation parameter as at least one validated compensation parameter to be used for compensating the at least one sensor signal; and on a condition that at least one of the at least one compensation parameter is not within its respective tolerance range, generating a fault detection signal.

In one aspect, a magnetic-field sensor includes main coil circuitry configured to generate a first magnetic field signal at a first frequency. A reflected signal is generated from a target caused by the first signal generated by the main coil circuitry. The magnetic field sensor also includes magnetoresistance circuitry configured to receive an error signal. The error signal is formed from a combination of the reflected signal and a second magnetic field signal. The magnetic-field sensor further includes analog circuitry configured to receive an output signal from the magnetoresistance circuitry, digital circuitry configured to receive an output signal from the analog circuitry, a mixer configured to receive a feedback signal from one of the digital circuitry or the analog circuitry, and secondary coil circuitry configured to receive a driver signal from the mixer causing the secondary coil circuitry to generate the second magnetic field signal at the first frequency.