Principle and Performance of a Dual-Band Search Coil Magnetometer: A New Instrument to Investigate Fluctuating Magnetic Fields in Space

Christophe Coillot (1) , Joel Moutoussamy (1) , Richard Lebourgeois (2) , Sébastien Ruocco (3) , Gérard Chanteur (1)

1 LPP - Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas
2 Thales Research and Technology [Palaiseau]
3 HELIOS - LATMOS

Search-coil magnetometers are of common use in space physics thanks to their simplicity, robustness and ability to measure weak magnetic fields: their sensitivity can reach a few tens of in the range 10-100 kHz. The frequency band is grossly determined by the resonance of the coil. Simply adding a second coil does not efficiently extend the frequency band beyond the first resonance due to the mutual impedance of the two coils. We present a solution, called "mutual reducer," which allows us to take full benefit of the second coil and efficiently extends the frequency band. The physical principle is described first, followed by a detailed presentation of this "dual-band search-coil" (DBSC) that will be part of the Plasma Wave Instrument (PWI) onboard the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) of the ESA-JAXA mission BepiColombo dedicated to the exploration of the plasma environment of planet Mercury.

Mots clés: search coil; magnetometers; mutual coupling; magnetic sensors

Domaines: Electronique

Christophe Coillot, Joel Moutoussamy, Richard Lebourgeois, Sébastien Ruocco, Gérard Chanteur. Principle and Performance of a Dual-Band Search Coil Magnetometer: A New Instrument to Investigate Fluctuating Magnetic Fields in Space. IEEE Sensors Journal, 2009, 10 (2), pp.255-260. ⟨10.1109/JSEN.2009.2030977⟩. ⟨hal-00602761v1⟩