Open AccessThe Magneto-Resistive Magnetometer of BCU on the Tatiana-2 Satellite
Author(s) -
Li Yeh Liu,
Shyh Blau Jiang,
Tse Liang Yeh,
HundDer Yeh,
Jann Yeng Liu,
Ying Hao Hsu,
Ji Yi Peng
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
terrestrial, atmospheric and oceanic sciences/terrestrial, atmospheric, and oceanic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.35
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 2223-8964
pISSN - 1017-0839
DOI - 10.3319/tao.2011.11.07.01(aa
Subject(s) - magnetometer , magneto , satellite , resistive touchscreen , physics , astronomy , electrical engineering , magnetic field , engineering , voltage , quantum mechanics
The magneto-resistive magnetometer (MRM) of the Block of Central University (BCU) payload onboard the Tatiana-2 satellite is made of anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR) sensor chips, which have appealing features of small size (10 × 15 × 7 mm3), light weight (2 grams) and low power consumption (100 mW). The small MRM is packaged together with other instrument/subsystems of the BCU into a 1.6 kg payload box for convenient installation. In this report, we present the design, calibration, and flight data analysis of the MRM. In particular, the detailed methods of pre-flight calibrations are described. The calibrated data revealed typical patterns of the global geo-magnetic field structure and of field-aligned current (FAC) distribution in the high latitude ionosphere, though the MRM of BCU only has a resolution of 24 nT and a sampling rate of 2.22 Hz. Moreover, the current density derived from our magnetic field measurements are about 2 and 3 μA m-2, respectively, for downward and upward FAC, which are comparable to those typically observed at auroral latitudes during a quiet geomagnetic condition