Abstract
This study presents anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR) sensor with a Ni pillar array structure as magnetic flux-guide to enhance the out-of-plane magnetic field detection (Fig. 1a). AMR sensors could detect external magnetic fields through the change of magnetization and resistance. Since typically made of thin films, AMR sensors are mainly sensitive to the in-plane magnetic field. This study extends the concept in [1]-[2] to demonstrate magnetic flux-guide array by tuning flux-guide distance with AMR to optimize the sensitivity of out-of-plane magnetic field detection. Features of the design are: (1) The position of AMR and flux-guide can be precisely controlled, (2) The flux-guide array can be batch fabricated and defined at appropriate locations, and further monolithically integrated with AMR sensor, (3) Measurement demonstrates the performance of flux-guide in different distances. The results depict that distance in d=10μm has the highest sensitivity.