Hall Magnetic Sensors

Hall Generator Theory

A Hall generator is a solid state sensor which provides an output voltage proportional to magnetic flux density. As implied by its name, this device relies on the Hall effect. The Hall effect is the development of a voltage across a sheet of conductor when current is flowing and the conductor is placed in a magnetic field.

Electrons (the majority carrier most often used in practice) “drift” in the conductor when under the influence of an externally produced electric field. These moving electrons experience a force proportional and perpendicular to the product of their velocity and the magnetic field vector. This force causes the charging of the edges of the conductor, one side positive with respect to the other, resulting in an internally generated transverse electric field which exerts a force on the moving electrons equal and opposite to that caused by the magnetic-field-related Lorentz force. The resultant voltage potential across the width of the conductor is called the Hall voltage and can be measured by attaching two electrical contacts to the sides of the conductor.

The Hall voltage can be given by the expression:

	V_H	= γ_BB sinΦ
where	V_H	= Hall voltage (mV)
	γ_B	= Magnetic sensitivity (mV per kG, at a fixed current)
	B	= Magnetic field flux density (kG)
	Φ	= Angle between magnetic flux vector and the plane of Hall generator

As can be seen from the above formula, the Hall voltage varies with the angle of the sensed magnetic field, reaching a maximum when the field is perpendicular to the plane of the Hall generator.

Hall generators come in axial and transverse configurations.

Transverse devices are generally thin and rectangular in shape. They are applied successfully in magnetic circuit gaps, surface measurements, and general open field measurements.

Axial sensors are mostly cylindrical in shape. Their applications include ring magnet center bore measurements, solenoids, surface field detection, and general field sensing. See the individual Hall generator illustrations for physical dimensions.

Active Area

The Hall generator assembly contains the sheet of semiconductor material to which the four contacts are made. This entity is normally called a “Hall plate.” The Hall plate is, in its simplest form, a rectangular shape of fixed length, width and thickness. Due to the shorting effect of the current supply contacts, most of the sensitivity to magnetic fields is contained in an area approximated by a circle, centered in the Hall plate, whose diameter is equal to the plate width. Thus, when the active area is given, the circle as described above is the common estimation.

Using a Hall Generator

A Typical Hall Effect Measurement Scheme

Attaching Discrete Hall Generators to Lake Shore Gaussmeters

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