Investigation of a low-cost magneto-inductive magnetometer for space science applications

Abstract

A new sensor for measuring low-amplitude magnetic fields that is ideal for small spacecraft is presented. The novel measurement principle enables the fabrication of a low-cost sensor with low power consumption and with measuring capabilities that are comparable to recent developments for CubeSat applications. The current magnetometer, a software-modified version of a commercial sensor, is capable of detecting fields with amplitudes as low as 8:7nT at 40Hz and 2:7nT at 1Hz, with a noise floor of 4pT/√Hz at 1Hz. The sensor has a linear response to less than 3% over a range of ±100000nT. All of these features make the magneto-inductive principle a promising technology for the development of magnetic sensors for both space-borne and ground-based applications to study geomagnetic activity.