Magnetometer with a miniature transducer and automatic scanning

The magnetometer is based on the time variation of the magnetic permeability in the magnetic material of its transducer; however, its operation is substantially different from the ordinary flux-gate magnetometer. The transducer uses 0.05 mm diameter plated magnetic wire and is made flat enabling it to make measurements of transverse magnetic fields as close as 0.08 mm from the surface, and it has very good spatial resolution because of its small active region of approximately 0.64 mm by 0.76 mm. The magnetometer uses an inexpensive clip-on millimeter for driving and processing the electrical signals and readout. It also utilizes an automatic scanning technique which is made possible by a specially designed transducer holding mechanism that replaces the ink pen on an X-Y recorder.