AC Magnetic sensor to measure mega-amps current and kilo-tesla magnetic fields up to gigahertz frequencies

Abstract

An AC magnetic sensor is presented for measuring the high speed and high strength magnetic field generated in Z-pinch fusion machines. The proposed magnetic sensor provides the measurement of magnetic fields across a broadband frequency range. The simulation of magnetic probe is presented using a SPICE simulation software LTspice. The magnetic sensors are installed in a Pulsotron-3 Z-pinch machine and measured performance of the sensor are presented. This sensor also can be used to check the ignition conditions of the Z-Pinch by measuring the magnetic field generated by the output streams of large number of reacted alpha particles. The equations for measuring non-stationary magnetic field due to rapidly varying electric currents and a LTspice simulation file are provided to help the engineers to design, build, and install this kind of sensors.