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APPLICATION NOTE

SET/RESET FUNCTION FOR MAGNETIC SENSORS

ABSTRACT sensitive axis, the field rotates the magnetic moment
creating a change in resistance. If the external
Honeywell’s Anisotropic Magneto-Resistive (AMR) magnetic fields are in the operational field range, the
sensors are fabricated with Permalloy (NiFe) thin films magnetic moments will return to their set or reset
that create changes in resistivity with respect to orientations after the field is removed.
external magnetic fields. These film materials are
similar to magnetic recording tapes in that strong To put some numbers on the magnetic fields involved,
magnetic fields can disrupt the magnetic domains of typically a “set” or “reset” field requires about 40 or
the film particles from a smooth factory orientation to more gauss to be applied to completely orient the
arbitrary directions. Accuracy and resolution of these magnetic domains. The typical “linear” range of
sensors will suffer until the film magnetic domains are Honeywell’s linear-mode magnetic sensors is ±2
“reset” to recreate a uniform direction. This application gauss (HMC100X series) to ±6 gauss (HMC102X and
note shall detail the set and reset functions for AMR HMC105X series). Exposure to fields under 10 gauss
sensors including the reasons to perform this function, (HMC100X series) or fields under 20 gauss
characteristics of set/reset components, and example (HMC102X and HMC105X series) will not disturb the
circuits showing the present state of the art in set/reset set or reset orientations.
pulse generation.
Magneto- 'R
Resistance R
WHAT GETS SET AND RESET?

AMR sensors are designed in wheatstone bridge Linear

Operating
configurations, with four magneto-resistive elements Region
that remain identical electrically when no external
magnetic fields are applied. With linear-mode AMR
T
sensors, the externally applied magnetic fields are to
-90° 0° 45° 90° Angle of
be limited in strength so as to not disrupt the factory Barber Pole Magnetization Field
set magnetic domains of the permalloy thin-film Bias
To Current Flow
elements. Figure 1 shows three examples of magnetic
orientation of the film domain structure. Figure 2
Characteristic Curve
Permalloy (NiFe) Magneto-Resistive Element

Random Magnetic WHY SET AND RESET?

Domain Orientations

The reasons to perform a set or reset on an AMR

Easy Axis Set Magnetization sensor are: 1) To recover from a strong external
magnetic field that likely has re-magnetized the
Sensitive After a sensor, 2) to optimize the magnetic domains for most
Axis Set Pulse
sensitive performance, and 3) to flip the domains for
extraction of bridge offset under changing temperature
Reset Magnetization
conditions.
Easy Axis

Sensitive After a Strong external magnetic fields that exceed a 10 to 20

Axis Reset Pulse
gauss “disturbing field” limit, can come from a variety
of sources. The most common types of strong field
Figure 1 sources come from permanent magnets such as
Magnetic Orientations speaker magnets, nearby high-current conductors
The alignment of the magnetic domains is up along the such as welding cables and power feeder cables, and
“easy” axis of the material. The “sensitive” axis is by magnetic coils in electronic equipment such as CRT
perpendicular to the easy axis direction and serves as monitors and power transformers. Magnets exhibit
the driving function of the magneto-resistive pole face strengths in hundreds to thousands of gauss.
characteristic curve shown in Figure 2. When an These high intensity magnetic field sources do not
external magnetic field has a vector component in the permanently damage the sensor elements, but the

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magnetic domains will be realigned to the exposed
fields rather than the required easy axis directions.
The result of this re-magnetization of the sensor Offset Strap

elements will be erronious measurements and Set/Reset Strap

indications of “stuck” sensor outputs. Using the set and
reset pulses will magnetically “restore” the sensor.

AMR sensors are also ferromagnetic devices with a

crystalline structure. This same thin film structure that
makes the sensor sensitive to external magnetic fields AMR Bridge

also has the downside that changing magnetic field Elements

directions and thermal energy over time will increase

the self-noise of the sensor elements. This noise, while
very small, does impair the accurate measurement of Figure 3
sub-milligauss field strengths or changes in field AMR Die
strength in microgauss increments. By employing
frequent set and reset fields on the sensor, the Each set/reset strap has a set of electrical
alignment of the magnetic domains in each permalloy characteristics that will be of unique values for each
element drops the self-noise to its lowest possible family of sensor products. The important three
level. electrical characteristics for the set/reset strap are: 1)
the strap resistance, 2) the set/reset current range,
As the sensor element temperature changes, either and 3) the strap resistance tempco. The following is
due to self-heating or external environments, each the characteristic values for Honeywell’s three AMR
element’s resistance will change in proportion to the sensor families:
temperature. In the wheatstone bridge configuration
with the elements configured as a sensor, the bridge HMC100X family: (per bridge)
offset voltage and bridge sensitivity will drift with Set/Reset Strap Resistance: 1.5 to 1.8 ohms
temperature. In compassing applications, the Set/Reset Strap Current: 3.0 to 5.0 amps
sensitivity drift of multiple sensor bridges are ignored Set/Reset Strap Ohmic Tempco: 0.37%/°C
due to the proportional method of deriving heading, but
the bridge offset voltages must be updated and HMC102X family: (per bridge)
corrected for best accuracy as the temperature Set/Reset Strap Resistance: 5.5 to 9.0 ohms
changes. One way to eliminate the bridge offset Set/Reset Strap Current: 0.5 to 4.0 amps
voltage is to make stable magnetic field Set/Reset Strap Ohmic Tempco: 0.37%/°C
measurements of the bridge output voltage in between
each set and reset field application. Since the external HMC105X family: (per two bridges)
field components of the bridge output voltage will flip Set/Reset Strap Resistance: 3.0 to 5.0 ohms
polarity, the set and reset bridge output voltages can Set/Reset Strap Current: 0.4 to 4.0 amps
be subtracted and the result divided by two to Set/Reset Strap Ohmic Tempco: 0.37%/°C
calculate the bridge offset. See application note
AN212 for the details on bridge offset voltage The set/reset strap resistance specification includes
computation and correction. the complete ohmic value for the set/reset strap
metalization, the bond wires and welds, and the
SET/RESET STRAP CHARACTERISTICS package lead pins from “S/R+” to “S/R-“. Typically the
on-die metalization is the biggest contributer of the
To perform the application of set and reset magnetic total ohmic value with milli-ohm contributions provided
fields on the AMR sensor elements, Honeywell by the bond wires and pins.
employs a patented coil co-located on the silicon die
with the sensor. This coil is a planar winding or “strap” The set/reset strap current is a user applied value and
of metal wound through the active area of the is generally designed so that external set/reset current
elements so that an electrical current in the strap pulse source circuitry will guarantee at least the
creates a corresponding magnetic field into the sensor. minimum peak current of the pulse under worst case
Figure 3 shows a photo of a typical AMR die depicting operational conditions. This minimum peak current
the sensor bridge elements and metalization for the value corresponds to an equivalent magnetic field
set/reset and offset straps. imposed on the sensor bridge elements (>40 gauss) to
repeatably re-align the element magnetic domains.
The maximum strap current value generally is limited
by the bond wire “fuzing” currents. In other words,
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current exceeding the specified maximum value risks The above tempco math shows the importance of
melting open the bond wires between the strap and choosing appropriate strap voltages to create the
the pins. The consequence of this scenario is that the correct strap currents and that both resistances and
set/reset circuit is “opened” and no longer functional. currents are variables to be dealt with. The direction of
the strap currents also determines what is considered
The set/reset strap ohmic tempco value enters into the a “set” or a “reset” pulse. Set pulses are defined as
designer’s tolerance analysis for worst case circuit pulsed currents that enter the positive pin of the
analysis. One design corner of the circuit will be set/reset strap. Like-wise negative pulsed currents are
minimum specified strap resistance further reduced by considered reset pulses. Figure 4 shows a simplistic
colder than ambient temperatures. This impacts the schematic of a set/reset circuit.
set/reset pulse source circuits so that they shall not
W = R*C = ~2Psec
provide excessive peak strap currents. The other
design corner is the maximum specified strap
resistance further increased by warmer than ambient Iset
temperatures. The impact of this tempco influenced
1 Ireset
resistance is that the designer must allot more power
S/R+
supply voltage to the pulse source circuit to reach the
minimum required strap current. The following is an Vsr Rsr
example of the calculations required: Set/Reset 5 Resistance
Strap

Pulse Source
S/R-
Given: HMC1021 sensor and an industrial temperature
range of –40°C to +85°C.

The maximum set/reset strap resistance at ambient

(+25°C) is 9.0 ohms.
Figure 4
Set/Reset Circuit
+85°C is 60 degrees above ambient, and multiplied by
the 0.37%/°C tempco, adds 2 ohms of strap These set and reset pulses are shown in Figure 4 as
resistance; for 11.0 ohms total at +85°C. dampened exponential pulse waveforms because the
most popular method of generating these relatively
The minimum current of a HMC102X set/reset strap is high current, short duration pulses is via a capacitive
0.5 amperes peak, so 0.5 amperes times 11.0 ohms “charge and dump” type of circuit. Most electronics,
results in 5.5 volts of peak pulse voltage across the especially in consumer battery powered devices, do
pins of a HMC1021 sensor. Extra supply voltage not have the capability to supply these high current
headroom must be added to account for voltage drops pulses from their existing power supply sources. Thus
through the set/reset pulse source circuits. “Vsr” is actually a charged up capacitor that is
suddenly switched across the set/reset strap. The
Note that the set/reset strap capacitance and value of this capacitor is usually a couple hundred
inductance values are not included as part of the nano-Farads (KF) to a few micro-Farads (PF)
electrical characteristics of the set/reset strap. While depending on the strap resistance to be driven. The
these values are non-zero, they are very small relative decay of the exponential waveform will mostly be
to the design of microsecond length pulses to be fed governed by a time constant (W or Tau) that is the
into the set/reset strap. The small ohmic value of the capacitance in farads multiplied by the resistance, and
strap resistance, the planar orientation of the strap is measured in seconds.
turns, and few turns used makes the circuit analysis of
the set/reset strap non-parasitic and simulated by a Designers may also use pulse circuits that apply
simple resistor. squared top waveforms instead of exponential
waveforms. The only precaution is that the duration of
SET/RESET OPERATION pulse peaks should be kept as short as reasonable to
minimize heating of the sensor bridge elements. For
The above description explained that providing pulses example, a HMC1021 with a nominal 1100 ohm bridge
of electrical current creates the needed magnetic fields resistance will dissipate about 23 milliwatts with a
to realign the magnetic domains of the sensor resistive continuous 5 volts bridge source voltage. To prevent
elements. Also the rationale for performing these set excessive thermal drift, the power dissipated via the
and reset pulses has been justified. The following strap resistance should be much smaller than the
paragraphs shall show when and how to apply these bridge element thermal input. In this example, a 120
pulsed currents, and circuits to implement them. microsecond pulse width would be an additional 1%

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thermal input (0.23 milliwatts) with a nominal Joule per pulse expenditure would provide roughly for
HMC1021 strap resistance (7.7 ohms) and minimal 40 million pulses. Now divide this number by two for
peak pulse current (0.5 amps). both set and reset operation, and another division by
two for the two sensors (two HMC1021 or a single
The frequency of performing the set/reset pulses is HMC1022); and 10 million set/reset actions would be
entirely application dependant, with dependencies on available for the two-year duration. This comes out to
the power source energy capacity, and on the a set/reset interval of 6.3 seconds to eat up 10% of the
resolution of the magnetic field measurement. In the battery’s capacity during those two years.
case of a casual sport watch with a compass feature,
the set/reset action may occur as infrequently each Another operational aspect of the set/reset function is
time the user navigates to the compass display menu, the duration of the pulses. The previous information
to a set/reset update every several seconds. For mentioned that the pulses should have microsecond
precision magnetometer functions, such as a metal durations to minimize die heating, and that charge and
detector for security applications, the set/reset action dump circuits have certain capacitances so that the
may occur many times per second. exponential pulses have enough duration near the
peaks for a complete set or reset magnetization. The
In a typical charge and dump circuit for set and reset typical minimum duration for Honeywell’s AMR
applications, each capacitor charge will store a fixed sensors is 10 to 50 nano-seconds at the peak current
amount of energy which will be dissipated or “dumped” specification. By designing the exponential pulse
into a load resistance composed of the set/reset strap circuits with 1 to 2 micro-second time constants
and pulse circuit components. For example, the (W! Psec), the pulse peak will remain at 95% or
HMC1021 with a 5-volt supply used in the previous more of its peak value for more than 50 nano-seconds.
thermal example required at least 3.85 volts across the
set/reset strap. A good design practice would be to As noted during the energy calculations, the voltages
also charge the dump capacitor further to 6.0 volts, to applied to the set/reset straps are likely to exceed the
allocate for additional voltage losses in components supply voltages used on the sensor bridges. When this
and strap resistance variation. Using the energy occurs, at least two methods can be considered to
equation of: create this increased peak pulse voltage when the
circuit supply voltage is less. The first method is to
E = 0.5*C*V2 Joules employ “H-bridge” type pulse drive circuits in which
both ends of the set/reset strap reverse polarity. This
And substituting 6.0 volts for V and 0.22Pf for C, gives: creates twice the supply voltage across the straps with
a near-perfect pulse source circuit. Figure 5 shows a
E = (0.5)*(2.2E-7)*(6.0)2 Joules = 3.96 micro-Joules basic schematic.

Or
C1
.15U
Rsr
E = 39.6 erg (1 Joule = 1E7 erg) 3 5 Ireset
1 2
Note this is not power (Watts), but energy (Watt- 3 3
C2 0
second or Joules). This small number means that the 0
V2
.15U
V1
0
circuit is delivering many hundreds of milli-amperes,
but the duration of the pulses are so small that the 6

energy required is very small on a per pulse basis. H Bridge Drive Circuit

Figure 5
To show how a designer could allocate the set/reset Simple Bridge Circuit
pulse energy, take the 3.96 micro-Joule number and
work through some energy budget assumptions. For From the figure, sources V1 and V2 are combinations
example, a typical 3.0 volt lithium watch battery has a of charged capacitors and transistor switches that are
150mA-hour rated capacity. By multiplying the voltage timed to change voltage levels at the same moment,
by the capacity and converting hours to seconds, creating a double supply voltage swing across C1, C2,
1620 Watt-seconds or Joules is the result. A prudent and the set/reset strap resistance (Rsr). Since the
budget would be to allocate 10% of this capacity (162 capacitors can not suddenly change their voltage, all
Joules) to set and reset pulses. Also, an assumption of the voltage change is across Rsr until C1 and C2
can be made that a watch battery in a watch/compass begin to store a charge. With 3 volts as the supply,
application would be replaced in a nominal 2 year then 6 volts is theoretically available for the strap.
increment. So 162 Joules divided by the 3.96 micro-

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Another method of providing increased voltage across (C1||C2), the strap resistance loading, and the
the set/reset strap is to employ a separate voltage dynamic saturation resistance of the BJT.
boosting circuit from the normal supply. These circuit
VCC = 3.0 volts
topologies run from standard switch-mode “boost”
circuits to transformer based doubler circuits to 5

capacitor charge-pump circuits. While each has R4

220 C1
differing advantages and drawbacks, all will allow 0.1U
simpler single-ended set/reset circuits. 3
0V
Ysr
volts
-3V
SET/RESET CIRCUIT IMPLEMENTATION C3
3V
1 -
C2
0.1U Rsr1 Rsr2
0V 0.1U
A first circuit implementation is a “set – set – set” type 4 2 Q1
4 4

of circuit. This design is for least critical, lowest cost V1 R3 2N2222 +

compassing or magnetometer implementations of 220

AMR sensors. A true set and reset design forces

rotation of all the magnetic domains of the sensor,
wiping out all the random oriented domains in one
pulse in each direction. A set only design does not Figure 7
completely remove all the randomness in a single Set Only Circuit
pulse and multiple pulse repetition is desired to
achieve similar performance of set and reset circuit. In selecting components for this circuit, the BJT (Q1) is
chosen for its high current gain (beta or Hfe), high
One aspect of these circuits is that completing a “set” current capability (Ic = 800mA cont.), small size, and
pulse through an AMR sensor permits a positive slope low cost due to its popularity of usage. Capacitors C1
of output voltage versus magnetic field intensity. When and C2 could be combined into one 0.22uf capacitor,
a reset pulse is that last pulse through the set/reset but I chose two 0.1uf as their combined Effective
strap, the magnetic domains are opposite of the Series Resistances (ESRs) are now paralleled; making
factory delivered orientation, and a negative slope the capacitor’s voltage/power losses low in
results. Figure 6 is an example graph of these comparison to the total set/reset strap resistance Rsr1
sensitivity plots after a set or a reset. of about 4-ohms. The strap resistance is modeled as a
20
HMC1052 with its set/reset strap transiting through two
Reset HMC1051
sensor bridges.
15 Set Vbridge = 3.00 volts

10 With the combined capacitance of 0.2uf and the strap

resistance of 4-ohms, the approximate time constant
Output (mV)

0
of the pulse decay is 0.8 microseconds and is close to
the one microsecond or more guideline. In actuality,
-5
the resistive losses in the 2N2222 BJT and the C1 and
-10 Bridge
Offset C2 capacitors will accrue with the strap resistance to
-15
Voltage
make the time constant greater than one microsecond.
-20
-6.0 -3.0 0.0 3.0 6.0 The speed of which this circuit can repeat the set
Applied Field (gauss) pulses is driven by the resistor R4 and capacitors C1
Figure 6 and C2. These set up a 44 millisecond time constant,
Sensitivity Graph so that five time constants (220 milliseconds) would
allow the capacitors to fully recharge before dumping
Figure 7 shows a simple set – set – set, or set only again into the set/reset strap. During this recharge
circuit implementation using a single Bipolar Junction period non-critical sensor measurements could be
Transistor (BJT). When driven by a microcontroller made, but it is recommended that the recharge be
logic line, a low to high logic transistion will strongly completed before making precise measurements. With
bias on (saturate) the BJT bringing its collector down 220 milliseconds between measurements, R4’s value
to within 200 mill-volts of its grounded emitter. This permits only about five measurements per second.
sudden collector swing from Vcc (~3.0 volts) to 0.2 This value also limits the peak circuit current draw to
volts level shifts fully charged capacitors C1 and C2 only about 14mA, which is a reasonable maximum
causing a voltage across the set/reset strap until the current when using coin cell lithium batteries.
capacitors discharge down to the BJT saturation
voltage. The resulting strap voltage results in a current The remaining components C3 and R3 have their
spike that decays as a function of the total capacitance values derived from the microcontroller interface and
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the input current needs of the BJT. With a nominal
beta of the 2N2222 being 200 and about a 600mA The IRF7509 part has a couple amperes continuous
peak pulse current from the BJT collector, a 3mA peak drain current rating, appropriate drain-to-source
pulse is needed into the 2N2222’s base. With a voltage rating (Vds >= 5.5 volts), a 5-volt logic gate
nominal microcontroller logic state rise-time of 100 drive compatibility, and on-resistances of 270 milli-
nanoseconds or better, the 0.1uf value of C3 looks like ohms or less. The set/reset strap load in figure is
a near short compared to BJT base current running chosen as two HMC102X straps at nominal
through it. R3’s resistance is chosen in combination resistances of 7.5 ohms for a 3.75-ohm total load
with C3’s capacitance to turn off the BJT completely resistance, and each strap requiring at least 0.5
after the set pulse. A wide range of values could be amperes of peak current.
used, but 220-ohms is chosen to create a 22
microsecond shutoff time constant, or five time With the input logic voltage source (Vsr) initially held at
constants later (110Psec) to complete base drive a high logic level state (Vsr >= 4.5 volts), the N-
shutoff. This value is chosen to be very small in channel MOSFET X2 is fully “on” and effectively
comparison to the C1, C2 recharge time, but large grounding the series circuit of C1, C2, Rsr1, and Rsr2.
relative to the set pulse duration. As the input logic source transitions to a low logic level
(Vsr <= 0.5 volts) MOSFET X2 turns off opening up
TOTEM POLE SET/RESET CIRCUIT the strap resistances, while MOSFET X1 goes from its
“off” state to its “on” state pulling the series R-C circuit
The next circuit implementation is the classic set/reset suddenly toward the Vdd level kept by the node of
design in which a push-pull output stage (totem pole X1’s source and C3-R1. Again because C1 and C2
stage) drives one end of the set/reset strap, with the have near zero voltage initially, the sudden pull from
other end grounded. Figure 8 shows this circuit. ground to Vdd causes all the voltage to be presented
to the straps Rsr1 and Rsr2 less any series resistance
C3
voltage drop on P-channel MOSFET X1. This
R1
1U 220
Vdd = 5v
becomes the reset spike and the current flows into the
5 negative pins of Rsr1 and Rsr2.
4
X1
As the reset pulse decays, capacitor C3 dumps part of
IRF7509P
5v
R its charge down through MOSFET X1 and into C1, C2,
3
C1
0.1U 0
Rsr1, and Rsr2. Eventually capacitors C1 and C2
R S
5v
1 2 -5v S
accumulate a full charge of near Vdd and C3 begins to
0 Y1
volts recharge as well. During the stable time of all three
- -
Vsr Rsr1 Rsr2 capacitors, a sensor measurement can be taken with
C2 7.5 7.5
0.1U the knowledge that the result will be in the opposite
X2 + +
IRF7509N polarity of bridge output voltage to direction of
magnetic field input (sensitive axis component).

To perform the “set” pulse function, MOSFETs X1 and

Figure 8
X2 flip on and off states, shutting off the Vdd source
Set/Reset Circuit
through X1 and suddenly connecting capacitors C1
The totem pole moniker comes from the stacked and C2 to ground, creating a negative Vdd voltage
semiconductors between the positive supply voltage across Rsr1 and Rsr2. The voltage application then
(Vdd) and the negative connection (Ground). In the creates the requisite current pulse that decays at a
above example circuit, the semiconductors depicted rate determined by the on resistance of X2 added to
are two complementary power MOSFETs, with the P- the paralleled strap resistances and capacitances of
channel device on top and the N-channel device on C1 and C2. This current pulse now flows into the
the bottom. The International Rectifier IRF7509 part is positive pins of Rsr1 and Rsr2, defining a “set” pulse.
chosen in this circuit as it contains both P-channel and
N-channel MOSFET die in a very small “micro-8” As the pulse current decays to zero, the sensors
package, and has the electrical characteristics needed bridges are now at their normal factory “set” states,
for this circuit. Other manufacturers can be used as ready for measurements. One caution in this kind of
well with the requirements that they can be fully turned circuit is that extreme precision magnetic field
on/off with a 5-volt logic stimulus, handle the peak measurements should back off a few milliseconds of
set/reset strap load currents, and present an “on” time after the resets and sets so that all the currents
resistance at those peak currents this fairly small in have died down below microampere levels. Even small
comparison to the connected strap load resistance. set/reset strap currents could create measurement
errors as they can couple into the bridge magneto-
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resistive elements attempting to sense subtle field
levels. R5
220

Component selection for the Totem Pole circuit starts R1

C2
10

10U Vdd
with selecting C1 and C2 for the pulse time constant 1000
Q1
with total strap load resistance provided. The choice of 3 2N2222 2

one or two or more capacitors is driven by a number of 1

X1
IRF7105P
constraints including the capacitor size, parasitics Q2
Rsr1
1.8
Rsr2
1.8

(ESR, ESL), and the temperature range for operation. 2N2907 5

C1
9 11 12

R2 Rsr3
Values for C3 and R1 are driven by C3 having many C3
1N 1000
0.22U
1.8

times the charge storage of C1/C2 and recover at a R3

4

prompt time period. Typically C3 is chosen to be 1000

Q3

around 1 to 10 micro-farads with ESR being the 7 6 2N2222

X2
Vset
dominant selection factor followed by size and working D1
8 IRF7105N Vset
Vreset
voltage rating. R1 is chosen after C3 to set the pulse 1N4148 Vreset

supply recovery time and to limit peak current from the

power supply source (battery, transformer). Typical Figure 9
values for R1 are in the range from 100 to 1000 ohms. Higher Voltage Set/Reset Circuit
HIGHER VOLTAGE TOTEM POLE CIRCUITS The three strap resistances are chosen at 1.8 ohms, or
the worst-case high resistance points. Since they
While the previous example uses the convenience of require a minimum of 3 amperes peak, the series
standard 5-volt logic supplies, many sensor designs combination requires at least 16.2 volts, so a circuit
require higher applied voltages to the set/reset straps Vdd of about 18 volts would about the right level to
to achieve greater currents or because the straps are drive the strap load and allocate for losses in the C1
series connected to assure even current distribution capacitor ESR and the MOSFET switches X1 and X2.
across all the straps pulsed. By creating series chains C1’s value is also chosen at 0.22 micro-farad so the
of straps, variances in strap resistance are less likely circuit time constant is at least around 1 micro-second.
to fall out of the minimum or maximum range for peak
pulse currents. If the straps are parallel connected, Supply reservoir capacitor C2 is chosen to many times
wide set/reset strap ohmic tolerances may give rise to the value of C1 and is also picked for small size,
“current hogging” and the straps will provide dissimilar working voltage, and low ESR relative to the strap load
magnetic fields at each sensor, potentially creating resistance. C2 typically will be in the 1 to 10 micro-
non-uniform accuracies at each sensor axis. farad range and best to error on the high capacitance
side since C2 now supplies additional X1 gate drive
The circuit in Figure 8 relies on MOSFETs that could circuitry. Resistor R5 is then chosen after C2 to set the
predictably be turned off and on completely using logic recharge time constant and to limit peak supply
level inputs. At higher voltages, the P-channel device current.
needs its gate drive voltage to approach the source
voltage, which is higher than usual logic levels. To Working backwards from the strap load resistance,
perform this level shifting from logic levels to higher MOSFETs X1 and X2 are chosen as IRF7105 due to
pulse source voltage supply levels, a BJT level shifter the total packaged size (both X1 and X2 in one SOIC-
sub-circuit is employed to perform this task. Figure 9 8), and meeting the requirements for operating
shows this higher voltage operating circuit. voltages, peak currents, and low on resistances. X2 is
directly driven from digital logic denoted as “Vset”, and
From Figure 9, Rsr1, Rsr2, and Rsr3 are three strap “Vreset” drives the level shifting sub-circuit to X1. Note
resistances that are modeled from the HMC1001 or that Vreset turns off X2 first prior to X1 being driven on
HMC1002 products. Three of these strap resistances by Vset, and also X1 is turned off before X2 is turned
are chosen since many users desire 3-axis magnetic on. While one logic line could control the operation of
field sensing that comes from a pairing of a HMC1001 Vset and Vreset, the additional inverter stages and
and a HMC1002. Also this combination of three series pulse delay components may be too space and cost
straps is also used on the HMC2003 hybrid sensor consuming compared to two logic ports in a
module and in the HMR2300 Smart Digital microcontroller. See Figure 4 in Application Note 201
Magnetometer. for the discrete Vset and Vreset pulse forming circuit.

Transistors Q1 and Q2 in Figure 9 are chosen to be

generic BJTs to force MOSFET X1’s gate charge
quickly into on and off states. Resistors R1 and R2 are
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SENSOR PRODUCTS
selected as nominal 1000 ohm values that can pump In the example in Figure 10, the set/reset strap
or dump X1’s gate charge by supplying Q1 and Q2 resistance is modeled as a HMC1052 set/reset strap in
with enough base drive currents to flip their on and off a nominal value of 4-ohms. Given a typical cold
states. Transistor Q3 is also chosen as a generic, but temperature or End-Of-Life (EOL) lithium battery
reasonably fast switch transistor to perform the level condition of 2.7 volts, this circuit still manages to
shift function with resistors R1 and R2. Components create pulse current peaks of around one ampere. C1
R3, C3 and D1 are chosen to properly drive Q3 from a multiplied by the strap resistance nears the 1
logic level source, with C3 and D1 denoted as a microsecond time constant design goal, and C2 is
“speed-up” network to quickly switch Q3 within a few chosen to be reasonably small physically but yet large
nanoseconds of logic transistions. enough electrically to supply the peak pulse currents
without excessive supply droop.
H-BRIDGE SET/RESET CIRCUIT
MOSFETs X1 through X4 are chosen as IRF5851
The higher voltage drive of the Figure 9 set/reset pulse complementary pairs for their 2.7V logic drive
source circuit is necessary for the HMC100X series of compatibility, small package size, low “on” resistance,
components needing high values of minimum peak and peak current handling ability. This circuit should
pulse currents. Many magnetic sensor circuits may not appeal to circuit designers needing best set/reset
have the convenience of extra high voltage power circuit function for high accuracy magnetic
sources and must use 5-volt supplies or even small measurements, but have a limited size and voltage
battery voltages of 1.8 to 3.6 volts. For these source situation.
applications, use of the HMC102X and HMC105X
magnetic sensors is a necessity, and paralleling the As a reminder, choose capacitors C1 and C2 for best
set/reset strap resistances as well to keep the required ESR values so that the total pulse current paths have
minimum strap voltages low. As mentioned earlier, two low circuit resistances compared to the strap
totem pole stages can be driven in opposite directions resistance load. For example, Figure 10’s reset pulse
across paralleled strap resistances to provide a double current path starts at C2, transits through X2 and then
supply voltage drive. This dual totem-pole circuit is onto C1 and Rsr1. Then it completes the circuit by
called an “H-bridge” circuit as the load and the totem flowing through X4 and ground returns back to C2.
poles schematically depict the letter H in shape. Figure With Rsr1 at 4-ohms, X2 is about 90 milli-ohms and X4
10 shows a typical H-bridge set/reset circuit. at 135 milli-ohms. By keeping the circuit losses to
below 10% to 20% of the strap resistance, an 800
R1
220
Vdd = 2.7V milli-ohm budget is established. This means that 225
6 7
milli-ohms is allocated to the MOSFETs devices and
X2
C2
1U X3
that the remainder can be consumed by the
IRF5851P 5 IRF5851P
X5 cumulative ESRs of C1 and C2.
R S 74LV04
2.7V
2 VCC
-
1
+ SUMMARY
VSS
3
C1 Rsr1
Vsr 0.22U 4
X1 X4 Dealing with the set/reset function in AMR sensors is
4 IRF5851N R IRF5851N
5V one of the “Achilles Heal” parts of magnetic sensor
0 circuit design. Although this circuit to create set/reset
-5V
S pulses consumes printed circuit board space,
component cost, and power supply energy; the benefit
Figure 10
is that using AMR sensors provides a passive circuit
H-Bridge Set/Reset Circuit
element approach to sensing external magnetic fields
in a compact form. A good way of thinking about
From Figure 10, complementary MOSFET pairs X1 set/reset circuits is that they make a good insurance
and X2, plus X3 and X4 form the totem poles of the policy against end users exposing your products
“H”. Components C1 and strap resistance Rsr1 form inadvertently to intense magnetic fields.
the center of the “H” and are driven differentially by the
totem poled MOSFETs, which are in turn driven in
opposite phases by the digital logic source Vsr and
inverter gate X5. Inverter X5 can be substituted with
another digital logic source of opposite polarity, as 900298 08-02 Rev –
long as the logic outputs are sufficiently simultaneous
in switching states.

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