SENSORS, TEST & MEASUREMENT | GRAPHENE
GRAPHENE SENSOR GOES NUCLEAR
Cambridge-based sensor
manufacturer Paragraf has
embarked on a working
partnership with the
Magnetic Measurement section at
CERN, the European Organization
for Nuclear Research, with both
parties set to demonstrate how
new opportunities for magnetic
measurements are opened up
through the unique properties of
its graphene sensor, particularly its
negligible planar Hall effect.
Simon Thomas, CEO at Paragraf
commented: “This collaboration with
CERN demonstrates the potential
of graphene-based Hall effect
sensors to improve accuracy in
magnetic measurement applications.
Our Hall effect sensors address
key challenges CERN is facing in
mapping magnetic elds, namely:
highly accurate measurements of
local eld distributions in accelerator
magnets, while eliminating artefacts
A UK-based company’s development of a
graphene sensor has led directly to a working
partnership with CERN, the European
Organization for Nuclear Research.
and reducing uncertainties stemming
from the sensors.”
CERN operates the largest particle
accelerators in the world, for example
its 27 km Large Hadron Collider
(LHC) which straddles the border
between Switzerland and France near
Geneva. Physicists look at how our
world is built at the fundamental level
by colliding sub-atomic particles
in particle accelerators that rely
on large numbers of normal and
superconducting magnets to steer
and focus the particle beam to their
collision points.
The Magnetic Measurements
section at CERN is in charge of
testing magnets for these accelerators
using the latest-available techniques
and instruments. High precision
and reliable measurements are
performed for many of CERN’s
ongoing projects, and therefore
the team is always on the lookout
for new sensors and transducers
for improving their measurement
methods and accuracy.
Existing Hall effect sensors all
exhibit planar Hall effects where
eld components which are not
perpendicular to the sensing plane
produce false signals. This is because
the sensing layer is effectively threedimensional,
with some amount of
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