Hall Probe and Sensor

Definition :
A Hall generator is a solid state sensor which provides an output voltage proportional to magnetic flux density. As implied by its name, this device relies on the Hall Effect. The Hall Effect is the development of a voltage across a sheet of conductor when current is flowing and the conductor is placed in a magnetic field

Electrons (the majority carrier most often used in practice) “drift” in the conductor when under the influence of an externally produced electric field. These moving electrons experience a force proportional and perpendicular to the product of their velocity and the magnetic field vector. This force causes the charging of the edges of the conductor, one side positive with respect to the other, resulting in an internally generated transverse electric field which exerts a force on the moving electrons equal and opposite to that caused by the magnetic-field-related Lorentz force. The resultant voltage potential across the width of the conductor is called the Hall voltage and can be measured by attaching two electrical contacts to the sides of the conductor. Hall generators come in axial and transverse configurations

Proper selection of a Hall probe is probably the most difficult, and important, decision to make after choosing a gaussmeter. Using the improper probe could lead to less than optimal accuracy or, even worse, costly damage. Lake Shore offers a complete line of gaussmeter probes to work in a variety of magnetic measurement applications. Lake Shore probes are factory calibrated for accuracy and interchangeability. Lake Shore-calibrated probes feature a programmable read-only memory (PROM) in the probe connector so that calibration data can be read automatically by the instrument