Emulation circuit for superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensor in magnetocardiography system
The superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is a transducer that converts magnetic flux into voltage. Its range of linear conversion, however, is very restricted. To overcome its narrow dynamic range, a flux-locked loop (FLL) is used to feedback the output field to cancel the input field. This prevents the operating point of the SQUID from moving far away from the null point. In this paper, an emulator for the SQUID sensor and the feedback coil has been proposed. Magnetic coupling between the original field and the generated field by the feedback coil was emulated by electronic circuits. By using the emulator, FLL circuits can be analyzed and optimized without use of SQUID sensors. This is a useful feature, especially in the early stage of development of the MCG system when a magnetically shielded room or real SQUID sensors may not yet be available. The emulator may also be used as a test signal generator for multi-channel gain calibration and for system maintenance.
superconducting quantum interference device flux-locked loop squid sensor emulator magnetocardiography