Patent ID: 8486545

Claim:
A thin-film magnetostrictive sensor (MsS), operable to generate and sense ultrasonic (high-frequency) mechanical waves travelling to and reflected from a flaw at a distance within a material, the MsS comprising: a multi-layer stack comprising a plurality of thin-film elements, each of the elements comprising: a soft magnetization layer; and a hard magnetization layer; an electrical insulation layer positioned on at least one face of the multi-layer stack of thin-film elements; and an electrically conductive planar coil positioned on a face of the electrical insulation layer opposite the multi-layer stack, the windings of the planar coil oriented in a plane adjacent and generally parallel to the face of the electrical insulation layer; wherein the coil generates a varying magnetic flux within a region around the coil as a result of the application of a varying electrical activation signal to the windings of the coil, thereby generating an outward bound mechanical wave into the material, the coil further generating an output electrical signal in the windings in response to a varying magnetic flux within the region around the coil as a result of the passage of an inward bound mechanical wave within the multi-layer stack adjacent the coil, the inward bound mechanical wave reflected from a flaw in the material.