Design and simulation of an innovative micro-magnetic module with dual-function of actuator and sensor

An innovative magnetic module which is concurrently capable of performing as an actuator and a sensor is proposed and illustrated. The magnetic module is basically similar to a micro-scale linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) which is employed to actively adjust the height of a rotating seismic disc used in a gyroscope so that the induced pitch angle by Coriolis effect, purely due to exerted angular excitation, can be accurately measured. That is, the micro-magnetic module acts like an actuator for height regulation on the seismic proof mass by applying appropriate electric current to the primary coil of the LVDT. On the other hand, the secondary coil pair of the LVDT acts as a sensor which can detect the gap change between the seismic rotating disc doped by magnetic material and the micro-magnetic module and the rotation speed (i.e., frequency) by measurement of the peaks of sine wave of induced electric current.