| 摘要 |
<p>A magnetometer having only a single coil winding for sensing the magnetic field along a single axis. Functionally, the invention comprises an oscillator, an integrator, and a voltage-controlled current source. The oscillator uses a saturating inductor which also serves as the magnetic-field-sending element. The inductor is driven with a positive voltage and when the current through the inductor exceeds a value switches to an equal-magnitude negative value. This negative drive is maintained until the current again indicates the core to be saturated, at which point the driving voltage switches back to the positive value. With no externally applied field, the inductor current averages to a zero value. An externally applied field helps the core saturate in one direction and hinders it in the other, resulting in a change in average inductor current. An integrator is used in a force-balance feedback arrangement to provide a compensation current to the coil winding. The voltage output of the integrator, which is used to generate this compensation current, directly reflects the strength of the magnetic field causing the imbalance, and is the instrument's output signal.</p> |
