Inkjet-printed Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticle core for fluxgate

Non-planar fluxgate sensors measuring the magnetic fields in the mu T range are required for electric current, position, and torque transducers. We report the first sensor based on an inkjet-printed 17 mm diameter ring core. The sensor wide open-loop linear range of +/- 1.5 mT allows to operate it without feedback. We describe the preparation of the very stable magnetic ink based on citrate-stabilized 13 nm diameter Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles that occur in superparamagnetic regime at room temperature. By printing 100 layers the total thickness of the inkjet-printed core was 2.2 mu m. The achieved sensitivity was 10 mV/mT for 25 kHz excitation frequency.

Automated summary

This article reports a novel non-planar fluxgate sensor based on inkjet-printed magnetic ink. The sensor features a wide open-loop linear range and relatively high sensitivity, meeting the requirements of electric current, position, and torque transducers.