An article movement detection system includes a first sensor and a second sensor disposed facing a movement path of an article and is capable of individually detecting that the article has moved, and a detection unit detecting movement of the article on the basis of a first output being output from the first sensor and a second output being output from the second sensor. The first sensor and the second sensor are disposed at different positions in a moving direction of the article, and a first detection signal and a second detection signal are output with a time lag therebetween. The detection unit detects movement of the article on the basis of the first detection signal and the second detection signal.

A magnetic material observation method in accordance with the present invention includes: an irradiating step including irradiating a region of a sample with an excitation beam and thereby allowing a magnetic element contained in the sample to radiate a characteristic X-ray; a detecting step including detecting intensities of a right-handed circularly polarized component and a left-handed circularly polarized component contained in the characteristic X-ray; and a calculating step including calculating the difference between the intensity of the right-handed circularly polarized component and the intensity of the left-handed circularly polarized component. Reference to such a difference enables precise measurement of the direction or magnitude of magnetization without strict limitations as to the sample.

Provided is a method of measuring a magnitude of magnetization of a perpendicular magnetic thin film, including: forming a stripe pattern in which a first magnetic domain that extends in a y direction and is magnetized in a z direction and a second magnetic domain that extends in the y direction and is magnetized in a direction opposite to the z direction are arranged alternately in an x direction, in a perpendicular magnetic thin film that extends in an xy plane; changing widths in the x direction, of the first and second magnetic domains by applying a magnetic field having a predetermined magnitude, in the z direction, to the perpendicular magnetic thin film; and calculating an absolute value of the magnetization of the perpendicular magnetic thin film on the basis of a ratio between the widths in the x direction, of the first magnetic domain and the second magnetic domain.

A system includes a magnetic sensor that can store a magnetic state associated with a number of accumulated turns of a magnetic target. The magnetic sensor may work in conjunction with a magnetic target. The magnetic target may produce a magnetic field that, at some positions, drops below a magnetic window of the magnetic sensor. The magnetic target may produce a magnetic field that is within the magnetic window when needed to update the magnetic state of the sensor to keep track of the accumulated turns of the magnetic target. The magnetic sensor may be initialized with one or more domain walls.

The disclosure relates to a method of determining the initialization state of a multi-turn sensor based on the sensor outputs. The method takes a reading of the sensor outputs, and then determines whether the sensor outputs are feasible based on an assumption that the sensor is initialised in one of two states. If the sensor outputs are correct, this initial assumption is taken to also be correct. However, if an incorrect sensor output is read, then it is taken that the assumed initialization state is incorrect. The sensor is therefore taken to be initialised in the alternative state. The method will then determine whether the sensor outputs are feasible based on this second assumption, and if an incorrect sensor output is still being read, then there is a fault in the multi-turn sensor.

A magnetoresistance effect element includes a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, a nonmagnetic layer that is disposed between the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer, and an insertion layer that is disposed at least one of a position between the first ferromagnetic layer and the nonmagnetic layer and a position between the second ferromagnetic layer and the nonmagnetic layer, in which the nonmagnetic layer is composed of an oxide containing Mg and Ga, and the insertion layer is a ferromagnetic component containing Ga.

The present disclosure provides a magnetic multi-turn sensor comprising a continuous coil of magnetoresistive elements and a method of manufacturing said sensor. The continuous coil is formed on a substrate such as a silicon wafer that has been fabricated so as to form a trench and bridge arrangement that enables the inner and outer spiral to be connected without interfering with the magnetoresistive elements of the spiral winding in between. Once the substrate has been fabricated with the trench and bridge arrangement, a film of the magnetoresistive material can be deposited to form a continuous coil on the surface of the substrate, wherein a portion of the coil is formed in the trench and a portion of the coil is formed on the bridge.

Position sensing units, comprising a magnetic assembly (MA) having a width W measured along a first direction and a height H measured along a second direction and including at least three magnets having respective magnetic polarizations that define along the first direction at least a left MA domain, a middle MA domain and a right MA domain, wherein the magnetic polarizations of each MA domain are different, and a magnetic flux measuring device (MFMD) for measuring a magnetic flux B, wherein the MA moves relative to the MFMD along the first direction within a stroke L that fulfils 1 mm?L?100 mm, stroke L beginning at a first point x.sub.0 and ending at a final point x.sub.max, and wherein a minimum value D.sub.min of an orthogonal distance D, measured along the second direction between a particular MA domain and the MFMD, fulfills L/D.sub.min>10.

The present disclosure provides magnetic sensor system that includes a magnetic sensing device comprising a magnetic multi-turn sensor, and an initialization device for setting the magnetic multi-turn sensor in a known state ready for use. The initialization device is in the form of a substrate, such as a printed circuit board, comprising one or more wires. A strong electrical pulse is applied to the one or more wires, which thereby generate a magnetic field that is strong enough to cause the magnetoresistive elements of the magnetic multi-turn sensor to be filled with domain walls, thereby magnetizing each element into an initialized state.

A giant magnetoresistance (GMR) element is provided for use in a magnetic multi-turn sensor in which the free layer, that is, the layer that changes its magnetization direction in response to an external magnetic field so as to provide a resistance change, is thick enough to provide good shape anisotropy without exhibiting an AMR effect. To achieve this, at least a portion of the free layer comprises a plurality of layers of at least two different materials, specifically, a plurality of layers of at least a first material that is ferromagnetic and a plurality of layers of at least a second material that is known not to exhibit an AMR effect and that does not interfere with the GMR effect of the layers of ferromagnetic material.