Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Other

Futoyoshi Kou

Akihiro Fuse

Junichi Azumi

Yoshiyuki Kiyosawa

Akihro Fuse

A disclosed magnetic sensor includes a substrate having a plane surface and multiple sloping surfaces; multiple soft magnetic films each disposed on a different one of the sloping surfaces and magnetized according to strength of a magnetic field; and multiple detecting devices each disposed on the plane surface, including a free layer and a pinned layer and configured to produce a detection output according to magnetization of the free layer and the pinned layer. Each of the soft magnetic films is magnetically coupled with the free layer of a different one of the detecting devices. The pinned layers of the detecting devices have magnetization directions different from each other.

Mobile information terminal apparatus and magnetic sensor, including magnetoresistive detecting device

A magnetic sensor including sensor bridge circuits, each including a pair of magnetic field detectors and a pair of fixed resistors. The magnetic field detectors in each bridge circuit are located on the same inclined surface, while the fixed resistors are each located on a different inclined surface. The inclined surface configuration reduces the number of fabrication steps necessary to fabricate the magnetic sensor.

Magnetic sensor including magnetic field detectors and field resistors arranged on inclined surfaces

A magnetoresistance effect element which is used in a magnetic sensor is disclosed. The magnetoresistance effect element includes a soft layer whose magnetization easy direction is changed by a direction of an external magnetic field, and a magnetization fixing layer whose magnetization direction is fixed by having a magnetic layer and an anti-ferromagnetic layer. A magnetoresistance effect is generated by a change of electric conduction which is caused by a relative angle between the magnetization easy direction of the soft layer and the magnetization direction of the magnetization fixing layer. When the magnetic sensor includes two or more magnetoresistance effect elements for having two-axis or more vectors of the magnetization directions, the two or more magnetoresistance effect elements are adjacently disposed.

Magnetoresistance effect element, substrate therefor and manufacturing method thereof

A sensor module maintaining high detection accuracy. Correction data of a detected magnetic field is updated only in a case that a fluctuation band acquired from an output signal of an acceleration sensor is less than a threshold value and a difference between an azimuth angle acquired from an output signal of a terrestrial magnetism sensor and an inclination angle acquired from an output signal of acceleration sensor is less than the threshold value. Therefore, the correction data is updated only in a case that a magnetic field at a position of a mobile object is stably detected, and an accuracy of the correction data can be maintained.

Sensor module, method of correction therefor, and mobile object including the sensor module

A magnetic field probe includes a substrate and a conductive layer provided on the substrate. The conductive layer has a coil, lead wires, and pads. The coil has at least one turn and outputs a signal indicative of a magnetic field from a device under test in a vicinity of the magnetic field probe. The lead wires extend from the coil to the pads, the signal from the coil being transmitted to the pads through the lead wires. An isolating layer of a dielectric material is provided on the lead wires to protect the lead wires between the coil and the pads in the conductive layer. A shielding layer of a conductive material is provided on the isolating layer to protect the isolating layer. The shielding layer prevents distortion of the magnetic field at the lead wires in conjunction with the isolating layer.

Magnetic field probe having a shielding layer to protect lead wires with an isolating layer

The present invention provides a highly sensitive TMR device. Since a TMR device is normally manufactured by a thin-film formation technique, the size and weight can be reduced. The thickness of a first spin polarization layer that is stacked on a soft magnetic layer for assisting magnetic field sensing operations and has a higher coercive force and a higher spin polarization rate than the soft magnetic layer is adjusted to a value that is smaller than the thickness of a tunneling layer or smaller than 2 nm, whichever is smaller. With the first spin polarization layer having such a thickness, both a low coercive force and a desirable TMR rate can be obtained. As a result, the magnetic field sensitivity of the TMR device as a sensor can be increased.

Growing community of inventors

Miyagi, Japan

Futoyoshi Kou