11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
[PCG17-10] A study on characterization of analog circuit chips for fluxgate magnetometters
Keywords:magnetometer, scientific satellite, miniaturization, ASIC, performance evaluation
We measured the performance and characteristics of an analog circuit chip newly designed for fluxgate magnetometers. Fluxgate magnetometers are used to observe magnetic fields in DC and a low frequency range and are the most commonly adopted in scientific satellites because of their excellent measurement accuracy, temperature characteristics and robustness.
Fluxgate magnetometer consists of a sensor part and an electronic circuit part to extract the external magnetic field information.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) dedicated to ring core fluxgate magnetometers.
Applying the ASIC to spaceborne instruments is a significant way in miniaturizing resources of the instruments. Miniaturization, weight reduction, and low power consumption of magnetometers are important for future missions, especially for planetary and small celestial body exploration missions by micro spacecrafts.
First ASIC chip was developed for the sounding rocket SS-520-3 targeting transversely accelerated ions in the polar region. The ASIC consists of essential electronic components such as pre-amplifiers, phase detection circuits and integrator under the feedback system with the connection with sensors.
In this study, we first confirmed functions of performances of each component of internal circuits by using a circuit simulator.
Secondly, the ASIC performance tests were conducted. We found the frequency response of the closed loop system did not show the adequate characteristics. The degradation of this performance was due to the design of the integration circuit. The modification of the integration circuit shows the improvement of the frequency response of the ASIC chip. In addition, we also estimated the sensor-specific coefficients by open-loop tests with the feedback part open, and discussed the limits of the equivalent circuit.
Finally, the input and output characteristics of the magnetometer were clarified from the linearity check test. With this test, the overall performance of the magnetometer was evaluated.
Fluxgate magnetometer consists of a sensor part and an electronic circuit part to extract the external magnetic field information.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) dedicated to ring core fluxgate magnetometers.
Applying the ASIC to spaceborne instruments is a significant way in miniaturizing resources of the instruments. Miniaturization, weight reduction, and low power consumption of magnetometers are important for future missions, especially for planetary and small celestial body exploration missions by micro spacecrafts.
First ASIC chip was developed for the sounding rocket SS-520-3 targeting transversely accelerated ions in the polar region. The ASIC consists of essential electronic components such as pre-amplifiers, phase detection circuits and integrator under the feedback system with the connection with sensors.
In this study, we first confirmed functions of performances of each component of internal circuits by using a circuit simulator.
Secondly, the ASIC performance tests were conducted. We found the frequency response of the closed loop system did not show the adequate characteristics. The degradation of this performance was due to the design of the integration circuit. The modification of the integration circuit shows the improvement of the frequency response of the ASIC chip. In addition, we also estimated the sensor-specific coefficients by open-loop tests with the feedback part open, and discussed the limits of the equivalent circuit.
Finally, the input and output characteristics of the magnetometer were clarified from the linearity check test. With this test, the overall performance of the magnetometer was evaluated.