Abstract
Position sensing is one of the most important tasks in the industrial manufacturing
of goods and materials. Position sensing can take on a variety of forms and is used in the
measurement of a wide range of variables such as distance, speed, the number of
revolutions per minute, orientation, identification, and in collision protection. Proximity
sensors play a significant role and are used in a plethora of industries including
agriculture, consumer goods, transportation, industrial processes, electrical services,
medical, military and avionics.
This research is aimed at improving the performance and manufacturability of
inductive proximity sensors through the design and fabrication of coils using multilayer
ceramic technologies common in the manufacturing of hybrid microelectronics
components and circuits. As another alternative, multilayer structures utilizing polymer
materials and fabrication techniques common to the printed circuit board (PCB) industry
were also investigated.
Manufacture of the coils utilizing ceramic and polymer materials and hybrid and
PCB fabrication techniques would eliminate the problems of repeatability, and the
placement and potting of the coil. The fabrication techniques also lend well to the mass
production of the coils using techniques that are well established in the electronics
industry. The overall result would be a planar inductor with high yield that is suitable for
mass production.
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