Design and Calibration of Multi-Featured Large H-Coil Sensor Intended for 2D and Rotational Measurements

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Dual H-coils are essential for accurate 2D and rotational magnetic field (H) measurements.
• Achieving high orthogonality in H-coils is critical for measurement precision.
• Printed circuit board (PCB) technology offers a pathway to improved H-coil design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and manufacture a multi-feature H-coil utilizing PCB technology.
• To enhance the precision, functionality, and applicability of H-coils for magnetic field measurements.
• To demonstrate novel features and improvements in H-coil design and performance.

Main Methods:

• Designed and manufactured a multi-feature H-coil on a large PCB substrate (165 mm diagonal).
• Incorporated two sensing coils (X and Y) with controlled orthogonality per turn.
• Implemented a sectioned design for accommodating B-coil wires, enabling direct placement on sample surfaces.
• Estimated self-capacitance and experimentally verified bandwidth up to 100 kHz.

Main Results:

• Achieved controlled orthogonality and suppressed sensitivity to the HZ component.
• Demonstrated the first instance of an H-coil designed for direct sample surface placement.
• Provided the first estimation of self-capacitance for H-coils and verified bandwidth up to 100 kHz.
• Sensitivity calibration showed excellent agreement (within 2%) between dimensional estimates and experimental results.

Conclusions:

• The developed multi-feature H-coil represents a state-of-the-art advancement, integrating multiple improvements suggested in prior literature.
• PCB technology enables the creation of highly precise and versatile H-coils.
• The novel design features significantly expand the capabilities for magnetic field measurements, particularly in close proximity to sample surfaces.