FBG-Galfenol Integrated Magnetic Field Sensors for Harsh Environments

The paper aims to discuss the basic issues related to the analysis and design of magnetic sensors based on the employment of magneto-active materials. In particular, the basic idea is based on the integration of a Galfenol magnetostrictive alloy to a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) embedded into an optic fiber, able to sense the deformation of the material induced by magnetic field. The structure of the alloy and the characteristics of the fiber, make the device suitable to work also in harsh envi- ronments. One of the basic goals is to provide a sensor as simple as possible, with high field range detection and, at the same time, low reconstruction error. It has been observed that the increase of the field range could be achieved by exploiting the effects of the demagnetizing field, without exploit- ing the well-known magnetic hardening induced by the applied stress. In fact, the latter requires a clamping system, resulting in the increase of the sensor size. The demagnetizing field, conversely, provides a shielding of the external field, turning away the undesired approach to saturation. Finally, the employment of a material characterized by weak hysteresis phenomena avoids the use of complex compensation algorithm without losing accuracy. Some result of its characteristics and performances are provided.