Hall element
The Hall effect occurs when charge carriers move in a magnetic field that is orthogonal to the direction of the current. A force, the Lorentz force, then acts on the charge carriers, causing a charge displacement. Hall sensors make use of this effect for current measurement.
Hall sensors are used in magnetometers and current measurement sensors and in contactless motion sensors. To achieve the greatest possible Hall effect in these sensors, the Hall sensor is placed as close as possible to the magnetic field. Hall sensors are also used to study semiconductor materials.
With the IMC(Integrated Magnetic Concentrator) Hall sensor, there is a more sensitive Hall technology that is somewhat different in design from the CMOS Hall sensor. In this current sensor, the Hall element is covered by a thin layer of amorphous ferromagnetic material of high permeability and low coercivity, the IMC layer. The IMC layer acts as a magnetic concentrator and focuses the magnetic field lines of the external magnetic field onto the Hall element, making it much more sensitive than normal Hall elements.