Systems and methods to test and/or recover magnetic sensors with ESD or other damage

摘要

A system for testing a magnetic sensor according to one embodiment includes a discharge circuit to cause a discharge event on a magnetic sensor; a bias generation circuit to apply at least one first bias current to the sensor and at least one second bias current to the sensor, the second bias current being different than the first bias current; a resistance determination circuit to determine a resistance of the magnetic sensor at each of the applied bias currents; and a damage determination circuit to determine whether the magnetic sensor is damaged and/or was fixed by a discharge event based on the resistances.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
measuring resistances of a magnetic sensor at multiple bias currents; determining that the magnetic sensor is damaged based on the measured resistances; selecting a bias voltage sufficient to cause a discharge event that repairs the damaged magnetic sensor to a proper magnetic state thereof; applying the bias voltage to the magnetic sensor; and coupling a lead of the magnetic sensor to ground after applying the bias voltage for causing the discharge event, wherein the discharge event repairs the damaged magnetic sensor.