Milestone in Magnetometer Development

Lucent Technologies Bell Labs (Murray Hill, NJ) and mPhase Technologies (Little Falls, NJ) announced a milestone in their joint magnetometer project with the development of an un-cooled metal detector prototype. This prototype is the first working metal detector using technology pioneered by Bell Labs, and is a significant step towards the development of a device that will be theoretically 1,000 times more magnetically sensitive than comparable solutions available on the market today.

Magnetometers detect changes or disturbances in magnetic fields and derive information such as presence, size, location and orientation of objects, such as metal, that have magnetic properties.

mPhase has licensed this magnetometer technology from Bell Labs and is working to commercialize the new class of magnetometers for use as un-cooled ultra-sensitive sensors for a host of possible defense and civilian applications including automated battlefield sensors and integrated compass and direction functionality in handheld devices.

“This is a disruptive technology,” said Ron Durando, CEO, mPhase Technologies. “These magnetometers can be used in metal detection and perimeter security applications for defense and homeland security. They can also be used in healthcare systems and retail security detection like RFID tags.”

“Bell Labs advanced nanotechnology and MEMS research and manufacturing capability position us to deliver cutting edge applications and products either directly or through our partnerships,” said Dave Bishop, vice president of Physical Research for Bell Labs. “Our close working relationship with mPhase is a first step towards the commercialization of this promising technology.”

The most sensitive of commercially-available magnetometers, called Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) can measure extremely small magnetic fields, such as the flux or force of magnetism on a single human red blood cell with a diameter about 7 microns. In practice, this level of sensitivity is only possible at the temperature where liquid helium boils, 455 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, limiting the applications in which they can be used.

This magnetometer prototype, which incorporates Bell Labs-designed micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), requires no cooling to achieve very high magnetic sensitivity. Additionally, as the sensing component is manufactured through a silicon-based process, production costs are expected to be significantly lower than with traditional magnetometers.

Visit www.mPhaseTech.com and www.bell-labs.com.