Fraunhofer-gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.v.

Markus Stahl-Offergeld

Hans-Peter Hohe

Michael Hackner

Markus Sand

Roland Ernst

Dennis Krause

Philip Beran

Christian Kohlbrenner

A method for determining a sensitivity of a Hall sensor element in consideration of an interdependency between the temperature dependence of the sensitivity and the temperature dependence of the operational quantity of the Hall sensor element includes: identifying a reference sensitivity and a reference value of the operational quantity of the Hall sensor element; determining an instantaneous value of the operational quantity of the Hall sensor element on the basis of a drive signal of the Hall sensor element; and determining the sensitivity of the Hall sensor element on the basis of the reference sensitivity, the reference value of the operational quantity, the identified instantaneous value of the operational quantity, and the interdependency.

Method for determining a sensitivity of a hall sensor element, and hall sensor with at least one hall sensor element

Magnetic-field sensor arrangement comprises a magnetic-field sensor for providing a sensor output signal based on a magnetic field acting on the sensor; an excitation-conductor array including selectively driveable excitation conductors spaced from the magnetic-field sensor; a driver for selectively driving the excitation conductors to generate different magnetic test fields in different drive states by driving a different excitation conductor, and to generate a set of detected output signal values of the magnetic-field sensor according to the different drive states; and evaluator configured to provide different parameter sets including comparison output signal values for the different drive states and representing variations of the architecture of the magnetic-field sensor including the excitation-conductor array, and further configured to determine, based on the set of detected output signal values of the magnetic-field sensor, that parameter set whose comparison output signal values exhibit a best match with the set of detected output signal values.

Magnetic-field sensor arrangement and method of calibrating a magnetic-field sensor of a magnetic-field sensor arrangement

The present invention relates to a Hall effect sensor which is integrated in a semiconductor substrate and enables measurement of a magnetic field component. perpendicularly to the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The Hall effect sensor comprises several Hall elements having an electrically conductive semiconductor region which has a straight-line row of electrical measuring and control contacts on an end face on the substrate surface. The Hall elements are designed or can be operated in such manner that they have a sensitivity both to a magnetic field component parallel to and the magnetic field component perpendicular to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate (). Several of the Hall elements are arranged such that their sensitivity to a magnetic field component parallel to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate can be compensated mutually by circuitry or in a signal evaluation. In this way, a sensitivity of these Hall elements to the magnetic field component perpendicular to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate is obtained. By using these Hall elements for measuring the magnetic field component perpendicularly to the substrate surface, a very low sensitivity to mechanical stresses can be achieved.

Hall sensor with hall elements measuring magnetic field components perpendicularly to the substrate surface

A central idea of techniques herein is that by means of modulation or variation of the supply signal of a Hall sensor, the useful signal portion in the resulting sensor output signal can be separated from the offset portion during operation of the Hall sensor, with no previous calibration or previous serial tests. That course of the sensor output signal resulting from the modulation or variation of the supply signal can then be evaluated or decomposed relative to the components which can be attributed to the offset portion and the useful signal portion. Thus, the offset portion in the sensor output signal can be determined with no (or a negligibly small) external magnetic field applied or with an external magnetic field applied, in case the external magnetic field is constant within a tolerance range while determining the offset portion.

Method for offset compensation of a sensor signal of a hall sensor and sensor arrangement

Magnetic field sensor having a vertical Hall sensor element arranged in a semiconductor substrate, and an exciting conductor arrangement having at least one exciting conductor, the exciting conductor being arranged within an exciting conductor plane which is spaced apart, in parallel to the substrate surface, from the vertical Hall sensor element at a vertical distance hhaving a tolerance range &#x394;hwhich is due to the manufacturing process, and which exciting conductor further has a lateral distance das an offset from a center position which is located, in relation to the substrate surface, perpendicularly to the vertical Hall sensor element, and the lateral distance dbeing dimensioned such that a vertical calibration component Bof a magnetic flux density Bcreated by the exciting conductor arrangement in the vertical Hall sensor element changes by less than 5% within the tolerance range &#x394;hfor the vertical distance h.

Calibratable magnetic field sensor and method of producing same

A magnetic field sensor for detecting first, second, and third spatial components of a magnetic field at a reference point includes a first sensor element arrangement for detecting the first magnetic field component having a first measurement field component and a first calibration field component with respect to a first spatial axis at a reference point, a second sensor element arrangement for detecting the second magnetic field component having a second measurement field component and a second calibration field component with respect to a second spatial axis y at the reference point and a third sensor element arrangement for detecting the third magnetic field component having a third measurement field component and a third calibration field component with respect to a third spatial axis x at the reference point. An excitation line is arranged such with respect to the three sensor element arrangements that when impressing a predetermined current into the excitation line respective predetermined calibration field components with respect to the spatial axes in the sensor element arrangements are generated.

Magnetic field sensor calibratable during measurement operation and method for calibrating a magnetic field sensor during measurement operation

In determining an exciter conductor spacing of an exciter conductor of an exciter conductor structure from a sensor element of a calibratable magnetic field sensor, first and second electric currents are impressed into the first and second exciter conductors of the exciter conductor structure to generate first and second magnetic field components in the sensor element of the magnetic field sensor, and a quantity is determined depending on the first and second magnetic field components by means of the sensor element. Further, the exciter conductor spacing of the exciter conductor from the sensor element of the magnetic field sensor is established in dependence on an exciter conductor intermediate spacing between the first exciter conductor and the spaced-apart second exciter conductor and the quantities depending on the first and second magnetic field components.

Method for determining an exciter conductor spacing from a magnetic field sensor, method for calibrating the magnetic field sensor as well as calibratable magnetic field sensor and usage of an exciter conductor structure for determining an exciter conductor spacing

An embodiment of a method for a determination, section after section, of a parameter-dependent correction value approximation course includes determining a first measurement signal value with a first parameter value associated with a sensor arrangement when the first parameter value fullfils a predetermined condition or a trigger condition is fulfilled, changing the first parameter value to obtain a second parameter value, determining a second signal value with the second parameter value and determining a second partial section of the correction value approximation course for a second parameter range based on a functional connection describing the second partial section, the first parameter value, the second parameter value, the first measurement signal value, the second measurement signal value and an initial correction value.

Method for determining, section after section, a parameter-dependent correction value approximation course and sensor arrangement

A calibratable magnetic field sensor for sensing a first and a second spatial component of a magnetic field in a reference point, wherein the magnetic field includes a first and a second measurement field component and/or a first and a second calibration field component. The magnetic filed sensor includes a first sensor element arrangement including at least a first and a second sensor element for sensing the first magnetic field component, which includes a first measurement field component and/or a first calibration field component, with respect to a first spatial axis in the reference point. Furthermore, the magnetic field sensor includes a second sensor element arrangement for sensing the second magnetic field component, which includes a second measurement field component and/or a second calibration field component, with respect to a second spatial axis in the reference point. The magnetic filed sensor also includes an excitation line arranged with respect to the first sensor element arrangement so that, when impressing a default current into the excitation line, a pair of different asymmetrical default calibration field components in the first sensor element and in the second sensor element is generated with respect to the first spatial axis in the first sensor element arrangement, wherein the two spatial axes pass along linearly independent position vectors.

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Erlangen, Germany

Markus Stahl-Offergeld