Theory and experiments of semiconductor directional magnetic sensor

Detailed theory and experimental results are described for a semiconductor directional magnetic sensor which shows a very high sensitivity in one direction of a magnetic field but a negligibly small sensitivity in the other. This is based on the combination of the Hall effect and the magnetoresistive effect in a piece of high-mobility semiconductor. A theory of the geometrical effect on the characteristics has been developed for a rectangular 3-terminal element by using conformal transformations. Experimental results on the InSb sensor agree well with the theoretical results, and thus a design principle of the sensor is established.