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JP-7854902-B2 - Magnetic sensor

JP7854902B2JP 7854902 B2JP7854902 B2JP 7854902B2JP-7854902-B2

Inventors

  • 川森 啓太
  • 梅原 弘道

Assignees

  • ＴＤＫ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20220902
Priority Date
20210921

Claims (11)

  1. Multiple resistive sections composed of multiple magnetoresistive elements, Equipped with multiple inclined surfaces , The plurality of magnetoresistive elements are divided and arranged into a plurality of regions corresponding to the plurality of resistive parts, The aforementioned multiple regions are arranged so as to be aligned along the first reference direction. Each of the plurality of regions has a first edge and a second edge located at both ends in the first reference direction, and a third edge and a fourth edge located at both ends in the second reference direction perpendicular to the first reference direction. Each of the first edge and the second edge extends along the second reference direction, Each of the plurality of inclined surfaces extends in a direction intersecting the first reference direction and the second reference direction, and is inclined with respect to a reference plane parallel to the first reference direction and the second reference direction in order to allow the plurality of magnetoresistive elements to detect a specific component of the target magnetic field. The aforementioned specific component is a component in a direction inclined with respect to the reference plane, The plurality of magnetoresistive elements are arranged in multiples on each of the plurality of inclined surfaces, The angle that each of the plurality of inclined surfaces makes with respect to the first edge or the second edge is greater than the angle that each of the plurality of inclined surfaces makes with respect to the third edge or the fourth edge. The magnetic sensor is characterized in that the plurality of inclined surfaces include inclined surfaces that extend across at least two of the plurality of regions.
  2. The magnetic sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the third and fourth edges extends in a direction intersecting each of the first and second reference directions.
  3. The magnetic sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that the angle between the first edge and the third edge, and the angle between the second edge and the fourth edge are both obtuse angles, and the angle between the first edge and the fourth edge, and the angle between the second edge and the third edge are both acute angles.
  4. Multiple resistive sections composed of multiple magnetoresistive elements, Each comprises multiple yokes made of soft magnetic material, The plurality of magnetoresistive elements are divided and arranged into a plurality of regions corresponding to the plurality of resistive parts, The aforementioned multiple regions are arranged so as to be aligned along the first reference direction. Each of the plurality of regions has a first edge and a second edge located at both ends in the first reference direction, and a third edge and a fourth edge located at both ends in the second reference direction perpendicular to the first reference direction. Each of the first edge and the second edge extends along the second reference direction, Each of the plurality of yokes extends in a direction intersecting each of the first and second reference directions, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in a direction parallel to a reference plane parallel to the first and second reference directions, in order to cause the plurality of magnetoresistive elements to detect a specific component of the target magnetic field, and receives an input magnetic field that includes an input magnetic field component in a direction perpendicular to the reference plane to generate an output magnetic field, The output magnetic field includes an output magnetic field component in a direction parallel to the reference plane and an output magnetic field component that changes in accordance with the input magnetic field component. The aforementioned specific component is the output magnetic field component, The plurality of magnetoresistive elements are arranged in groups of multiples along the first reference direction and in groups of multiples along each of the plurality of yokes . The angle that each of the plurality of yokes makes with respect to the first edge or the second edge is greater than the angle that each of the plurality of yokes makes with respect to the third edge or the fourth edge. The plurality of yokes include a yoke that extends over at least two of the plurality of regions, Each of the third and fourth edges extends in a direction intersecting each of the first and second reference directions, A magnetic sensor characterized in that the angle between the first edge and the third edge and the angle between the second edge and the fourth edge are both obtuse angles, and the angle between the first edge and the fourth edge and the angle between the second edge and the third edge are both acute angles .
  5. The element arrangement region, which includes the plurality of regions, is characterized in that the dimension in the first reference direction is larger than the dimension in the second reference direction, as described in claim 1 or 4 .
  6. The magnetic sensor according to claim 1 or 4 , characterized in that each of the plurality of regions has a dimension in the first reference direction that is smaller than the dimension in the second reference direction.
  7. The aforementioned plurality of regions include a first specific region and a second specific region, The magnetic sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that the center of gravity of the first specific region and the center of gravity of the second specific region are offset from each other in the second reference direction.
  8. The magnetic sensor according to claim 7, characterized in that the center of gravity of the first specific region and the center of gravity of the second specific region are offset by the distance in the second reference direction between two adjacent inclined surfaces among the plurality of inclined surfaces .
  9. The aforementioned plurality of regions include a first specific region and a second specific region, The magnetic sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that the center of gravity of the first specific region and the center of gravity of the second specific region are offset from each other in the second reference direction.
  10. The magnetic sensor according to claim 9, characterized in that the center of gravity of the first specific region and the center of gravity of the second specific region are offset by the distance between two adjacent yokes in the second reference direction among the plurality of yokes.
  11. Furthermore, the power supply terminal and At the edge of the field, The first output terminal and It comprises a second output terminal, The plurality of resistors include a first resistor provided between the power supply terminal and the first output terminal, a second resistor provided between the ground terminal and the first output terminal, a third resistor provided between the ground terminal and the second output terminal, and a fourth resistor provided between the power supply terminal and the second output terminal. The aforementioned plurality of regions include a first region, a second region, a third region, and a fourth region. The plurality of magnetoresistive elements include a plurality of first magnetoresistive elements arranged in the first region, a plurality of second magnetoresistive elements arranged in the second region, a plurality of third magnetoresistive elements arranged in the third region, and a plurality of fourth magnetoresistive elements arranged in the fourth region. The magnetic sensor according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that the plurality of first magnetoresistive elements, the plurality of second magnetoresistive elements, the plurality of third magnetoresistive elements, and the plurality of fourth magnetoresistive elements each constitute the first resistive portion, the second resistive portion, the third resistive portion, and the fourth resistive portion, respectively.

Description

This invention relates to a magnetic sensor having a structure that causes a magnetoresistive element to detect a specific component of a target magnetic field. In recent years, magnetic sensors using magnetoresistive elements have been utilized in various applications. In systems including magnetic sensors, it is sometimes necessary to detect a magnetic field containing a component perpendicular to the substrate surface using a magnetoresistive element provided on the substrate. In this case, a magnetic field containing a component perpendicular to the substrate surface can be detected by providing a soft magnetic material that converts a magnetic field perpendicular to the substrate surface into a magnetic field parallel to the substrate surface, or by arranging the magnetoresistive element on an inclined surface formed on the substrate. Here, the two directions parallel to the surface of the magnetic sensor substrate and orthogonal to each other are defined as the X and Y directions. Generally, in a magnetic sensor with multiple magnetoresistive elements, the elements are arranged in a grid pattern along the X and Y directions, respectively. The longitudinal direction of the magnetoresistive elements coincides with either the X or Y direction. Furthermore, in a magnetic sensor with multiple soft magnetic materials, the magnetoresistive elements are arranged in groups along each of the soft magnetic materials. Typically, the longitudinal direction of the magnetoresistive elements coincides with the longitudinal direction of the soft magnetic material. Patent Document 1 describes a geomagnetic sensor in which an X-axis magnetic sensor, a Y-axis magnetic sensor, and a Z-axis magnetic sensor are provided on a support. In this geomagnetic sensor, the Z-axis magnetic sensor comprises a magnetoresistive element and a soft magnetic material. The soft magnetic material converts the vertical magnetic field component parallel to the Z-axis into a horizontal magnetic field component perpendicular to the Z-axis, and applies this horizontal magnetic field component to the magnetoresistive element. Both the magnetoresistive element and the soft magnetic material have a shape that is elongated in the Y-axis direction. Patent Document 2 describes a magnetic field detection unit in which a slope extending in the V-axis direction is formed. In this magnetic field detection unit, multiple magnetoresistive effect films are formed on the slope and are divided and arranged in multiple element formation regions. International Publication No. 2011/068146Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-092526 This is a perspective view showing a magnetic sensor device including a magnetic sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.Figure 1 is a plan view showing the magnetic sensor device.Figure 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the magnetic sensor device.This is a circuit diagram showing the circuit configuration of the first detection circuit in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a circuit diagram showing the circuit configuration of the second detection circuit in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a circuit diagram showing the circuit configuration of the third detection circuit in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing a part of the first chip in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the first chip in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing a part of the second chip in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the second chip in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a side view showing a magnetoresistive element in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing the element arrangement region in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing a plurality of convex surfaces in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is an explanatory diagram showing the convex surface, the first edge, and the fourth edge in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is an explanatory diagram showing a plurality of magnetoresistive elements in a part of the first region in the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view showing multiple convex surfaces in the magnetic sensor of the first comparative example.This is a plan view showing one convex surface in the magnetic sensor of the second comparative example.This is a plan view showing multiple convex surfaces in the magnetic sensor of the third comparative example.This is an explanatory diagram showing multiple magnetoresistive elements in a portion of the first region of the magnetic sensor of the fourth comparative example.This is a plan view showing the element arrangement region in a first modified example of a magnetic sensor accordi