A Miniature Two-Axis Fluxgate Magnetometer

A two-axis miniature fluxgate magnetometer for sounding rocket applications is described. The distinctive feature is that this instrument simultaneously measures, with a single sensing element, two orthogonal components of an external magnetic field. Observed performance is accurately predicted by means of a quantitative linear mathematical model. The dependence of the output voltage on several design parameters is obtained by a Fourier analysis of the output waveform. Computer-aided analyses are presented for core materials of 4-79 Mo-Permalloy and 50-50 Ni-Fe.