Enhancing the magnetoelectric response of Metglas/polyvinylidene fluoride laminates by exploiting the flux concentration effect

Magnetic flux concentration effect of Metglas as a function of its sheet aspect ratio was investigated for Metglas/polyvinylidene fluoride laminates. Taking advantage of this effect, the magnetoelectric voltage coefficient of 21.46 V/cm.Oe for a laminate with 1 mm wide and 30 mm long Metglas sheet (25 mu m thick) is achieved, which is much higher than those reported earlier in similar laminates without making use of the flux concentration effect. The results demonstrate an effective means to significantly enhance the sensitivity of magnetostrictive/piezoelectric composite laminates as weak magnetic field sensors. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3231614]