Calibration of a Novel Three-Axis Fluxgate

Gradiometer for Space Applications

Steven Turner, Michael J. Hall, Stuart A.C. Harmon and Nick Hillier
National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Steven.turner@npl.co.uk

The importance of magnetic cleanliness and inflight The National Physical Laboratory, in collaboration with the NPL have developed facilities and procedures for the calibration
compensation to account for fluctuations in magnetic fields is a Science and Technology Facility Council, Rutherford Appleton of the CLNG. This includes the various Helmholtz coils and
recognized concern within the space industry. Effects from stray Laboratory (RAL Space) and Bartington Instruments, assisted in gradient coils used to generate known diagonal and off-diagonal
magnetic fields must be considered, minimized and developing a compact low-noise gradiometer (CLNG) developed gradients within a magnetically stable environment. These
compensated for throughout the development of spacecraft and under ESA contract reference AO/1-6085/09/NL/AF. This versatile technologies were combined to establish key parameters such as
their subsystems. Within the context of the Laser Interferometer device will be used on-the-ground to assess the magnetic low frequency noise, offset, gain and gradient sensitivity, with
Space Antenna (LISA) Pathfinder mission, the sensitive telemetry cleanliness of spacecraft and inflight, to monitor changes in the specific attention given to the off-diagonal terms of the gradient
systems needed to detect gravitational waves are vulnerable to local magnetic field. tensor matrix.
magnetic disturbances.

Compact Low-Noise Fluxgate Gradiometer Calibration of diagonal terms Calibration of off-diagonal terms
The CLNG in Fig. 1 is capable of measuring both magnetic flux To calibrate the two diagonal components of the gradient The gradient coil was also configured in series opposition to
density vectors and gradient tensors using just five of the nine tensor, the coils of the gradient coil were configured so that form a poor Helmholtz coil, generating gradients in Bx along
pairs of sensors usually required. Each sensor is a pair of rod- the current in each flowed in the same direction. This the Y axis as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Since the gradient
type fluxgate devices comprised of 18 mm long ferromagnetic configuration is similar to a Maxwell pair, optimized to produce uniformity is not uniform when the coil is configured this way,
cores, with a pair of excitation/sensing coils arranged in a a gradient uniformity similar to that of Fig. 3 and used to the calibration uncertainty will increase, but such profiles allow
Fӧrster configuration. Each core and coil has an aggregate determine the gradient sensitivities shown in Fig. 4. off-diagonal terms to be calibrated.
diameter of 2 mm and is housed in a MacorTM block 6 mm
apart in an orthogonal arrangement. The entire probe head has 15
a volume less than 40 cm3. 0.015
Change in gradient from value at centre (%)

𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑥𝑥 0.010

Y = 100 mm
Y = 60 mm
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⋯ ⎤ Y = 50 mm

⎢ 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 ⎥ ⎢ 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 ⎥ 0.005 Y = 40 mm

Y = 30 mm

⎢𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑦𝑦 ⎥ ⎢ 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑦𝑦 ⎥ 0 13 Y = 20 mm

Y = 10 mm
∇𝐵𝐵 = ⎢ → ⎢ ⋯ ⋯ ⎥
𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 ⎥ 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 -0.005

B (uT)
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑧𝑧
⎥
𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵
⎢ 𝑧𝑧 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑧𝑧 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑧𝑧 ⎥ ⎢ 𝜕𝜕𝐵𝐵𝑧𝑧 ⎥ -0.010

⋯ -0.015
⎣ 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 ⎦ ⎣ 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕 ⎦ 11
-0.020

-0.025

-0.030

-0.035 9
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 -300 -150 0 150 300
Distance from centre (mm) X (mm)

Figure 3: Uniformity of magnetic field gradient along the central coil axis Figure 5: Magnetic field profile for the gradient coil configured as a
of the gradient coil configured as a Maxwell pair. Helmholtz coil at distances of 0 to 100 mm along Y, determined by FEM.

10
Figure 1: The full gradient tensor reduced down to five independent terms
and the arrangement of fluxgate sensors within the compact low-noise
magnetic gradiometer prototype.

Shielding and field cancellation

9
B (uT)

Fluctuations in ambient magnetic field must be minimised to

evaluate the noise performance of the CLNG probe at 1 Hz to 8
0.1 mHz. A three-layer mu metal can was used, which was
placed inside a 3 m diameter triaxial Helmholtz coil system,
where noise contributions from the ambient magnetic field 7
were already reduced to 20 pT/√Hz at 1 Hz. Insulation between
layers of mu metal and surrounding the entire can also
reducing thermal drift to 0.05 °C over 20 hours. 0 50 100 150 200
Y (mm)
Measurements such as those in Fig. 2 were repeated using a Figure 4: The Gradient Sensitivity for terms (∂By)/∂y and (∂Bz)/∂z Figure 6: The magnetic field, Bx, parallel to the coil axis at increments of
commercial magnetometer over 15 runs to determine the measured using the gradient coil. 10 mm along the Y axis for the gradient coil configured as a Helmholtz
mean value and estimated uncertainty of coil.
(475 ± 220) pT/±Hz at 0.1 mHz.

Summary
500 • A range of technologies were combined to provide a comprehensive facility for calibration of compact gradiometers, such as that
developed under ESA contract reference AO/1-6085/09/NL/AF.
Magnetometer output (pT/√Hz)

• Passive shielding, field cancellation and thermal insulation we re used to create stable near-zero field environments, in which the
noise performance of commercial magnetometers and gradiometers have been assessed.
200

• A method for determining both diagonal and off-diagonal terms was developed, which uses a single gradient coil configured as
either a Maxwell pair or Helmholtz coil (with poor uniformity) to generate known gradients.

• Parameters such as gain and gradient sensitivity for the CLNG were characterized using a combination of NPL’s existing triaxial
100

Helmholtz coil system and gradient coil with a noise floor of 20 pT/√Hz at 1 Hz.
0.0001 0.001 0.01

Frequency [Hz] Acknowledgements

Figure 2: Power Spectral Density of a commercial magnetometer located The authors would like to thank the European Space Agency for their support under contract AO/1-6085/09/NL/AF and the National Measurement System of
within a combination of passive shielding and field cancellation. (Thermal the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that provided funding to develop the NPL low magnetic field facility.
insulation not shown)

www.npl.co.uk