Low offset spinning current hall plate and method to operate it
First Claim
1. A Hall effect device, comprising:
- a conductive substrate having a first doping type;
one or more tubs having a second doping type different than the first doping type;
a first plurality of force and sense contact pair comprising multiple force contacts and multiple sense contacts disposed along a first line;
a second plurality of force and sense contact pair comprising multiple force contacts and multiple sense contacts disposed along a second line intersecting the first line;
a plurality of feedback circuits coupled to the plurality of force and sense contact pairs and configured to control a voltage potential at a sense contact of a force and sense contact pair of the Hall effect device by providing one or more feedback signals to the force contact of the sense contact pair;
wherein processing measured feedback signals provided to a force contact of one or more output terminal contact pairs over a current spinning cycle provides a magnetic field value with a substantially zero point offset voltage; and
wherein respective force and sense contact pair comprise distinct force contacts and sense contacts located within the one or more tubs, and wherein respective force contacts are configured to provide electrical energy to the Hall effect device and respective sense contacts are configured to provide an output signal from the Hall effect device.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing the effect of contact resistances for Hall effect device contacts. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a Hall effect device comprising a plurality of force and sense contact pairs. The force and sense contact pairs comprise a force contact and a separate and distinct sense contact. The force contact is configured to act as a supply terminal that receive an input signal while the sense contact is configured act as an output terminal to provide an output signal indicative of a measured magnetic field value. By utilizing separate contacts for inputting a signal (e.g., an applied current) and reading out a signal (e.g., an induced voltage) the non-linearities generated by contact resistances may be removed, thereby minimizing the zero point offset voltage of the measured magnetic field.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A Hall effect device, comprising:
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a conductive substrate having a first doping type; one or more tubs having a second doping type different than the first doping type; a first plurality of force and sense contact pair comprising multiple force contacts and multiple sense contacts disposed along a first line; a second plurality of force and sense contact pair comprising multiple force contacts and multiple sense contacts disposed along a second line intersecting the first line; a plurality of feedback circuits coupled to the plurality of force and sense contact pairs and configured to control a voltage potential at a sense contact of a force and sense contact pair of the Hall effect device by providing one or more feedback signals to the force contact of the sense contact pair; wherein processing measured feedback signals provided to a force contact of one or more output terminal contact pairs over a current spinning cycle provides a magnetic field value with a substantially zero point offset voltage; and wherein respective force and sense contact pair comprise distinct force contacts and sense contacts located within the one or more tubs, and wherein respective force contacts are configured to provide electrical energy to the Hall effect device and respective sense contacts are configured to provide an output signal from the Hall effect device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18)
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7. A Hall effect device, comprising:
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a first sense contact and a second sense contact disposed along a first line between a first force contact configured to receive a first input voltage value and a second force contact configured to receive a second input voltage value different than the first input voltage value; a third sense contact and a fourth sense contact disposed along a second line intersecting the first line at a position between a third force contact configured to receive a third input voltage value and a fourth force contact configured to receive a fourth input voltage value different than the third input voltage value; wherein the sense contacts are configured to provide an output signal indicative of a magnetic field acting on the Hall effect device. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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19. A Hall effect device, comprising:
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a conductive substrate having a first doping type; one or more tubs disposed within the conductive substrate and having a second doping type different than the first doping type; a first sense contact pair disposed along a first line at a first position between a first force contact and a second force contact; a second sense contact pair disposed along a second line, intersecting the first line, at a second position between a third force contact and a fourth force contact; wherein respective force contacts are configured to provide electrical energy to the Hall effect device and respective sense contacts are configured to provide an output signal from the Hall effect device; and wherein the Hall effect device has a first number of the force contacts that is the same as a second number of the sense contacts. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification