Three-dimensional hall sensor for detecting a spatial magnetic field

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9494661-B2
Application number	US-201414284368-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2014
Priority date	May 22, 2013
Publication date	Nov 15, 2016
Grant date	Nov 15, 2016

Abstract

A three-dimensional Hall sensor can be used for detecting a spatial magnetic field. A method for measuring a spatial magnetic field can be performed using this Hall sensor. The Hall sensor comprises an electrically conducting base body and at least three electrode pairs, wherein each electrode pair has a first terminal and a second terminal, which are arranged such on the base body, that a current can flow from the first terminal to the second terminal through the base body. At least three first terminals are arranged on a first surface of the base body and at least three second terminals are arranged on the second surface, different from the first surface of the base body, wherein the first and the second surfaces oppose each other.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a three-dimensional Hall sensor for detecting a spatial magnetic field, in which the Hall sensor comprises an electrically conducting base body and at least three electrode pairs (C 1 , C 1′ ; . . . C N , C N′ ),
wherein each electrode pair comprises a first terminal and a second terminal, which are arranged on the base body so as to allow a current flow through the base body from the first to the second terminal,
wherein at least three first terminals are arranged on a first surface of the base body and at least three second terminals are arranged on a second surface of the base body different from the first surface, wherein the first surface and second surface oppose each other,
wherein at least three pairs of electrode pairs are associated to form at least three four-contact structures, each of which is operable to provide a variable voltage difference to allow measurement of one spatial component of the magnetic field using a Hall effect, wherein directions of at least three measured components of the magnetic field span a three-dimensional space.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein different pairs of electrode pairs have common first terminals and/or common second terminals among the electrode pairs, the common first terminals being on the first surface and the common second terminals being on the second surface.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first and the second surfaces are arranged substantially in parallel with each other.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein pairs of electrode pairs are arranged rotational symmetrically about an axis, which crosses the first and the second surfaces.

5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein the shape of the base body is symmetric and has the same rotational symmetry as the arrangement of the electrode pairs.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least three first terminals and the at least three second terminals are arranged such that their respective interconnecting lines each form a triangle.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least three first terminals are at least partially surrounded by a current guiding structure with an electrical conductivity lower than a material of the base body.

8. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the current guiding structures are formed as structuring, comprising at least one of grooves, trenches or cavities, integrated into the base body.

9. The device according to claim 8 , wherein the structuring is at least partially filled with a non-conducting material.

10. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the current guiding structures are formed by areas diffused into a semiconductor substrate with a doping opposite to a doping of the substrate material.

11. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the current guiding structures have a same rotational symmetry as the electrode pairs.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the base body is manufactured from silicon, indium arsenide, indium antimonide or another semiconductor material.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the base body is manufactured from n-conducting silicon.

14. A method comprising:
measuring a spatial magnetic field using a three-dimensional Hall sensor comprising an electrically conducting base body and at least three electrode pairs (C 1 , C 1′ ; . . . C N , C N′ ), wherein each electrode pair comprises a first terminal and a second terminal, the step of measuring comprising:
applying a first supply current, which flows from the first terminal to the second terminal of a first one of the electrode pairs;
measuring a Hall voltage between the first terminal and the second terminal of a second one of the electrode pairs; and
evaluating a first magnetic field component, which is perpendicular to the applied supply current and perpendicular to a connection line between the first and the second terminal of the second one of the electrode pairs, from the measured Hall voltage.

15. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising carrying out the measuring using an Orthogonal-Switching-Principle or a Spinning-Current-Principle of single or repeated interchanges of the electrode pairs so as to eliminate a geometric, piezoresistive, or thermoelectric offset component.

16. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the spatial magnetic field can be evaluated in a desired coordinate system from the at least three determined magnetic field components.

17. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the at least three pairs of electrode pairs are associated to form at least three four-contact structures, each of which is operable to provide a variable voltage difference to allow measurement of one spatial component of the magnetic field using a Hall effect, wherein directions of at least three measured components of the magnetic field span a three-dimensional space.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein at least three first terminals are arranged on a first surface of the base body and at least three second terminals are arranged on a second surface of the base body different from the first surface, wherein the first surface and second surface oppose each other, and the method further comprises using a Hall sensor wherein the at least three first terminals and the at least three second terminals are arranged such that their respective interconnecting lines each form a triangle, so that the three determined magnetic field components are ideally mutually orthogonal.

Assignees

• Micronas Gmbh

Inventors

• Paul Oliver
• Ruther Patrick
• Taimur Aftab

Classifications

• G01R33/07

  Hall effect devices · CPC title

• G01R33/0206

  Three-component magnetometers · CPC title

• G01R33/0005 Primary

  Geometrical arrangement of magnetic sensor elements; Apparatus combining different magnetic sensor types (G01R33/0206 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01R33/072 Primary

  Constructional adaptation of the sensor to specific applications · CPC title