Patent ID: 6362617
Filing Date: 2002-03-26
Classification: G01R,H01Q,Y10S

Abstract:
A wideband, high linear dynamic range sensor for detecting the magnetic field component of incident electromagnetic radiation over a bandwidth from about DC to at least 10 GHz, comprising:magnetic field transducing means for providing a signal indicative of the magnitude of the magnetic component of the incident electromagnetic radiation over a bandwidth from about DC to at least 10 GHz, the magnetic field transducing means including a plurality of responsive elements for responding to the incident magnetic component coupled together in an array, the array being constructed to combine a signal produced by each element to provide a combined signal indicative of the magnetic component of the electromagnetic radiation detected; bias means, coupled to the array, including a DC constant current generator, for providing bias energy to the elements of the magnetic field transducing means; and energy focusing means for collecting the incident magnetic field into a collected signal and for distributing the collected signal to the array to provide a maximum to minimum detectable magnetic field ratio of at least about 124 dB; wherein some responsive elements in the array define an array perimeter, the sensor further comprising a plurality of dummy elements electrically coupled to the responsive elements and positioned at the array perimeter to eliminate edge effects for the responsive elements otherwise occurring in the responsive elements, the dummy elements being arranged so that each responsive element receives substantially uniform magnetic flux, each dummy element being responsive to the bias energy to create a compensating magnetic field but not being responsive to the incident electromagnetic radiation.