Development of Micro-size Search Coil Magnetometer for Magnetic Field Distribution Measurement

For the measurement of the magnetic field distribution with high spatial resolution and high accuracy, the magnetic field sensing probe must be non-magnetic, but the MFM probe and sub-millimeter-meter size Hall probe use a ferromagnetic tip and block, respectively, to increase the sensitivity. To overcome this drawback, we developed a micro-size search coil magnetometer which consists of a single turn search coil, Terfenol-D actuator, scanning system, and control software. To reduce the noise generated by the stray ac magnetic field of the actuator driving coil, we employed an even function $\lambda$-H magnetostriction curve and lock-in technique. Using the developed magnetometer, we were able to measure the magnetic field distribution with a magnetic field resolution of 1 mT and spatial resolution of $0.1mm{\times}0.2mm$ at a coil vibration frequency of 1.8 kHz.