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handbook of modern sensors

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268 7 Position, Displacement, and Level<br />

(A)<br />

(B)<br />

Fig. 7.15. Transfer functions <strong>of</strong> a linear (A) and a threshold (B) Hall effect sensor.<br />

clean transient from the OFF to the ON position. The hysteresis eliminates spurious<br />

oscillations by introducing a dead-band zone, in which the action is disabled after<br />

the threshold value has passed. The Hall <strong>sensors</strong> are usually fabricated as monolithic<br />

silicon chips and encapsulated into small epoxy or ceramic packages.<br />

For the position and displacement measurements, the Hall effect <strong>sensors</strong> must<br />

be provided with a magnetic field source and an interface electronic circuit. The<br />

magnetic field has two important characteristics for this application: a flux density<br />

and a polarity (or orientation). It should be noted that for better responsivity, magnetic<br />

field lines must be normal (perpendicular) to the flat face <strong>of</strong> the sensor and must be at<br />

the correct polarity. In the Sprague ® threshold <strong>sensors</strong>, the south magnetic pole will<br />

cause switching action and the north pole will have no effect.<br />

Before designing a position detector with a Hall sensor, an overall analysis should<br />

be performed in approximately the following manner. First, the field strength <strong>of</strong> the<br />

magnet should be investigated. The strength will be the greatest at the pole face and<br />

will decrease with increasing distance from the magnet. The field may be measured<br />

by a gaussmeter or a calibrated Hall sensor. For the threshold-type Hall sensor, the<br />

longest distance at which the sensor’s output goes from ON (high) to OFF (low) is<br />

called a release point. It can be used to determine the critical distance where the<br />

sensor is useful. The magnetic field strength is not linear with distance and depends<br />

greatly on the magnet shape, the magnetic circuit, and the path traveled by the magnet.<br />

The Hall conductive strip is situated at some depth within the sensor’s housing. This<br />

determines the minimum operating distance. A magnet must operate reliably with the<br />

total effective air gap in the working environment. It must fit the available space and<br />

must be mountable, affordable, and available. 4<br />

The Hall <strong>sensors</strong> can be used for interrupter switching with a moving object. In<br />

this mode, the activating magnet and the Hall sensor are mounted on a single rugged<br />

assembly with a small air gap between them (Fig. 7.16). Thus, the sensor is held<br />

in the ON position by the activating magnet. If a ferromagnetic plate, or vane, is<br />

placed between the magnet and the Hall sensor, the vane forms a magnetic shunt<br />

that distorts the magnetic flux away from the sensor. This causes the sensor to flip to<br />

4 For more information on permanent magnets, see Section 3.4 <strong>of</strong> Chapter 3.

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