Overview

Designed and evaluated a low-cost magnetic sensing system using LC resonant oscillator circuits. The project tested how magnetic-field changes affected oscillator frequency, amplitude, and waveform behavior, turning noisy analog circuit measurements into measurable performance data across multiple hardware prototypes.

My Role

Contributed to circuit prototyping, component optimization, waveform analysis, and experimental evaluation. My work focused on improving a NE555-based magnet-sensitive oscillator, where component tuning and output conditioning increased sensitivity from 54.571 kHz/T to 730.336 kHz/T — a 13.44× gain improvement.

Technical Work

• Built and tested LC resonant and NE555 oscillator prototypes to measure frequency shifts, waveform changes, and amplitude response under magnetic-field variation.
• Optimized capacitor values, sensing inductance, output loading, and transistor-based signal conditioning to improve gain, reduce noise, and stabilize the measured waveform.
• Analyzed oscilloscope measurements and experimental voltage/frequency data to compare prototype performance, estimate sensitivity, and identify practical limits such as noise, parasitic capacitance, component tuning, and measurement stability.

Outcome

The final prototypes demonstrated measurable
magnetic-field response, including a NE555 oscillator design with 730.336 kHz/T sensitivity and an estimated 15 mT limit of detection at 13 mm. The project identified a path toward a more scalable sensing system through improved coil geometry, shielding, precision components, and ADC/microcontroller-based digital readout.