Patent ID: 8076927

Claim:
A method of calibrating a magnetic-field sensor comprising a plurality of magnetoresistive sensor elements selectable for forming different measurement arrangements, each measurement arrangement comprising a measurement tap, wherein the sensor elements are arranged in a laterally offset manner on a chip of the magnetic-field sensor, and wherein the magnetic-field sensor is exposed to a magnetic field periodically changing at least in portions, the method comprising: supplying the measurement arrangements with an excitation signal, to generate a tappable measuring signal at each measurement tap of the measurement arrangements; detecting the measuring signals of at least two measurement arrangements over at least one period of the magnetic field; evaluating the detected measuring signals by determining the respective maximum and minimum measuring values of the detected measuring signals; and determining the measurement arrangement with the greatest difference of the respective maximum and minimum measuring values and selecting the measurement arrangement with the greatest difference for all subsequent measurement operations until a further calibration is performed.