A device for detecting a magnetic field and a system for measuring a magnetic field comprising such a device

Abstract

Magnetic field detection device and magnetic field measurement system comprising such a device This description relates to a magnetic field (Bz) measurement system (10) comprising a magnetic field detection device (20) comprising a tapered acoustic waveguide (40), an electrically conductive wire (50) rigidly coupled to a tapered end of the guide and an electroacoustic transducer (60) rigidly coupled to the base of the guide;and a control and acquisition device (30) connected to the magnetic field detection device comprising a generator (33I) supplying a pair of opposite-direction current pulses or a plurality of frequency-modulated current pulses in the conducting wire and an acquisition circuit (32) detecting electrical signals (S) supplied by the electroacoustic transducer or a generator supplying a pair of opposite-signal voltage pulses or a plurality of frequency-modulated voltage pulses controlling the electroacoustic transducer and an acquisition circuit detecting electrical signals supplied by the conducting wire. Figure for the abstract: Fig. 7;

Description

Title of the invention: Device for detecting a magnetic field and a system for measuring a magnetic field comprising such a device. Technical field

[0001] The present description relates generally to the measurement of static or time-varying magnetic fields. Previous technique

[0002] For certain applications, it would be desirable to be able to measure a static or time-varying magnetic field with a spatial resolution of less than 0.2 mm. Furthermore, for certain applications, it would be desirable to be able to measure a time-varying magnetic field, particularly a pulsed or high-frequency magnetic field. In addition, for certain applications, it would be desirable to be able to measure a low-intensity or high-intensity magnetic field with the same device.

[0003] US patent 20240230795 describes a magnetic field detection device comprising a tapered acoustic waveguide having a base and a tapered first end, an electrically conductive wire rigidly coupled to the tapered end, and an electroacoustic transducer rigidly coupled to the base. Such a device is suitable for measuring static or time-varying magnetic fields with a spatial resolution of less than 0.2 mm.

[0004] Although such a detection device is quite satisfactory for many applications, it would be desirable for it to be able to measure weak magnetic fields, in particular those of lower amplitude than the Earth's magnetic field, and to achieve a resolution below the microtesla. Summary of the invention

[0005] An embodiment overcomes all or part of the drawbacks of known magnetic field detection devices and magnetic field measurement systems comprising such devices.

[0006] An object of an embodiment is that the magnetic field detection device allows the measurement of a weak magnetic field.

[0007] An object of an embodiment is that the magnetic field detection device has a resolution of less than one microtesla.

[0008] One embodiment provides a system for measuring a magnetic field comprising: - a magnetic field detection device comprising a tapered acoustic waveguide having a base and a tapered end, a conductive wire electrically rigidly coupled to the tapered end, and an electroacoustic transducer rigidly coupled to the base; and - a control and acquisition device connected to the magnetic field detection device comprising a generator configured to supply a pair of opposite-direction current pulses or a plurality of frequency-modulated current pulses in the electrically conducting wire and an acquisition circuit configured to detect electrical signals supplied by the electroacoustic transducer or a generator configured to supply a pair of opposite-signal voltage pulses or a plurality of frequency-modulated voltage pulses controlling the electroacoustic transducer and an acquisition circuit configured to detect electrical signals supplied by the electrically conducting wire.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the generator is configured to provide a plurality of pairs of current pulses of opposite direction in the electrically conductive wire or a plurality of pairs of voltage pulses of opposite signs controlling the electroacoustic transducer.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the generator is configured to provide pulses having maximum amplitudes in absolute value identical to better than 2%.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the frequency modulation of the plurality of frequency-modulated current or voltage pulses is located in the bandwidth of the electroacoustic transducer.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the acquisition circuit is configured to determine the difference between the electrical signals supplied for the first pulse of the pulse pair and the second pulse of the pulse pair.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the control and acquisition device is configured to determine the transit time of the acoustic waves in the tapered acoustic waveguide between the base and the tapered end, the acquisition circuit being configured to acquire the electrical signals in a time window whose start relative to the first of the pulses depends on the transit time.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the electrically conductive wire comprises first and second ends, the electroacoustic transducer comprises first and second electrodes, and the generator comprises first and second voltage sources. The first voltage source is connected to the first end of the electrically conductive wire or to the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the second voltage source is connected to the second end of the electrically conductive wire or to the second electrode of the electroacoustic transducer.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the generator further comprises a first transformer having a first primary winding connected to the first source and a first secondary winding connected to the first end of the electrically conductive wire or to the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the second source is connected to the first primary winding.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the generator further comprises a second transformer having a second primary winding connected to the second source and a second secondary winding connected to the first end of the electrically conductive wire or to the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the generator further comprises resistors of different values ​​and a switch configured to put one of the resistors in series with the first end of the electrically conductive wire or with the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the generator further comprises a discharge gas tube between the first source and the first end of the electrically conductive wire or the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer and a capacitor having an armature connected to a node between the first source and the discharge gas tube.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the system further comprises a device for emitting electromagnetic radiation onto the discharge gas tube.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the electrically conductive wire comprises a rigidly thinned portion coupled to the tapered end.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the tapered acoustic waveguide comprises two tapered acoustic waveguide half-halfs made of an electrically conductive material and each comprising a pointed end, the two tapered acoustic waveguide half-halfs being separated from each other except for the two points which are fused.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the tapered acoustic waveguide further includes an electrically insulating block between the two tapered acoustic waveguide half-halfs and the electroacoustic transducer. Brief description of the drawings

[0025] These features and advantages, as well as others, will be described in detail in the following description of particular embodiments, given by way of non-limiting example, in relation to the accompanying figures, among which:

[0026] [Fig.1] is a partial and schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a magnetic field detection system comprising a probe and a control and acquisition device;

[0027] [Fig.2], [Fig.3], [Fig.4], and [Fig.5] are partial and schematic cross-sectional views of other embodiments of the probe of the detection system;

[0028] [Fig.6] is a partial and schematic perspective view of the end of the probe of [Fig.3];

[0029] [Fig.7] and [Fig.8] are block diagrams of the detection system of [Fig.1] illustrating embodiments of the control and acquisition device of the detection system;

[0030] [Fig.9] represents timing diagrams of the measurement signal provided by an amplifier of the detection system illustrating a thermoacoustic effect of the probe;

[0031] [Fig. 10] represents timing diagrams of the measurement signal in the absence of a magnetic field, and in the presence of magnetic fields of the same amplitudes and opposite directions;

[0032] [Fig.1 1] represents a timing diagram of a bipolar current pulse;

[0033] Figure 12 is a timing diagram of the measurement signal provided by the detection system for measuring a reflected acoustic wave:

[0034] [Fig. 13] represents a voltage evolution curve due to the thermoacoustic effect and a sensitivity evolution curve of the detection system as a function of the intensity of current pulses;

[0035] [Fig.14], [Fig.15], [Fig.16], and [Fig.17] are electrical diagrams of embodiments of a current pulse generator of the detection system of [Fig.7];

[0036] [Fig. 18] is a partial and schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a conductive wire of the probe of the detection system having a thinned portion;

[0037] [Fig. 19] is a partial and schematic perspective view of the conductor wire at an intermediate stage of a process for manufacturing the conductor wire having a thinned portion;

[0038] [Fig.20] and [Fig.21] are partial and schematic cross-sectional views of embodiments of the probe of the detection system;

[0039] [Fig.22] represents timing diagrams of the measurement signal respectively without processing and after the implementation of a thermoacoustic effect compensation process;

[0040] [Fig.23] represents a timing diagram of the impulse response of a matched filter;

[0041] [Fig.24], [Fig.25], and [Fig.26] represent timing diagrams of measurement signals;

[0042] [Fig.27] is a timing diagram of control signals for pulse generators;

[0043] [Fig.28] is an electrical diagram of an embodiment of a voltage pulse generator of the detection system of [Fig.8];

[0044] [Fig.29] represents a timing diagram of an amplified measurement signal;

[0045] [Fig. 30] represents a curve of the Fourier transform of the measurement signal amplified from [Fig. 29]; and

[0046] [Fig.31] and [Fig.32] are electrical diagrams of other embodiments of the current pulse generator of the detection system of the detection system of [Fig.7]. Description of the implementation methods

[0047] The same elements have been designated by the same reference numerals in the different figures. In particular, the structural and / or functional elements common to the different embodiments may have the same reference numerals and may have identical structural, dimensional and material properties.

[0048] For the sake of clarity, only the steps and elements useful for understanding the described embodiments have been represented and are detailed.

[0049] Unless otherwise specified, when referring to two elements connected together, this means directly connected without intermediate elements other than conductors, and when referring to two elements coupled together, this means that these two elements can be connected or linked through one or more other elements.

[0050] In the following description, when reference is made to absolute position qualifiers, such as the terms "front", "back", "up", "down", "left", "right", etc., or relative position qualifiers, such as the terms "above", "below", "superior", "inferior", etc., or to orientation qualifiers, such as the terms "horizontal", "vertical", etc., reference is made, unless otherwise specified, to a probe in a normal operating position.

[0051] Unless otherwise specified, the expressions "approximately", "roughly", "about", and "on the order of" mean to the nearest 10% or 10°, preferably to the nearest 5% or 5°. Furthermore, the terms "insulator" and "conductor" are taken to mean "electrically insulating" and "electrically conductive", respectively.

[0052] Figure 1 is a partial and schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a system 10 for detecting a component Bz of a magnetic field g.

[0053] The system 10 comprises a magnetic field detection device 20, hereinafter referred to as the probe, and a control and acquisition device 30 connected to the probe 20. The probe 20 includes an acoustic waveguide 40, an electrically conductive wire 50, and an electroacoustic transducer 60.

[0054] The acoustic waveguide 40 has a tapered shape along an axis D with a cross-section whose surface area decreases from a base 41 to a tapered end 42, hereafter referred to as the tip, opposite the base 41. The acoustic waveguide 40 is hereafter referred to as the tapered waveguide 40. The conductive wire 50 extends along the side wall 43 of the tapered waveguide 40 to the tip 42. In one embodiment, the conductive wire 50 is folded over the tip 42 and fixed to the tip 42 by an adhesive material 70.

[0055] According to one embodiment, the tapered guide 40 has a general shape of a cone or a truncated cone. Preferably, the tapered guide 40 exhibits rotational symmetry about the axis D. According to another embodiment, the tapered guide 40 has a general prismatic shape, in particular with a triangular base. At least in a plane containing the axis D, the tapered guide 40 has a triangular cross-section with apex angle α of less than 15°, preferably less than 10°, and more preferably less than 5°. When the tapered guide 40 has a general shape of a cone or a truncated cone, the apex angle α corresponds to the angle at the apex of the cone. When the tapered guide 40 has a general shape of a triangular prism, the apex angle α corresponds to the angle at the apex of the triangular base on the side of the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40.The conducting wire 50 has a portion 52 covering the tapered guide tip 40 in which the current flows substantially perpendicular to the axis D of the tapered guide 40.

[0056] In operation, the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 is placed at the location of the magnetic field §. The system 10 allows the component Bz, along the axis D of the tapered guide 40, of the magnetic field § to be measured.

[0057] In one embodiment, the conductive wire 50 has a cylindrical cross-section. In another embodiment, the conductive wire 50 has a non-cylindrical cross-section. In the case where the conductive wire 50 has a non-cylindrical cross-section, the diameter of the conductive wire 50 is defined as the diameter of a disk with the same surface area as the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductive wire 50. In one embodiment, the conductive wire 50 has a diameter ranging from 10 µm to 200 µm, for example, approximately 40 µm. In one embodiment, the conductive wire 50 comprises a conductive core surrounded by an insulating sheath, for example, an enameled wire. In another embodiment, the conductive wire 50 corresponds to a conductive track deposited on the tapered guide 40.

[0058] According to one embodiment, the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 includes a surface 44, hereafter referred to as the bearing surface 44, on which rests the portion 52 of the conducting wire 50.

[0059] In one embodiment, the bearing surface 44 is flat and perpendicular to the axis D of the tapered guide 40. In another embodiment, the bearing surface 44 is inscribed in a disk. The diameter of the disk in which the bearing surface 44 is inscribed is then called the diameter of the bearing surface 44. In another embodiment, the bearing surface 44 is not flat. In this case, the diameter of the disk in which the bearing surface 44 is inscribed is called the diameter of the disk when viewed along the axis D.

[0060] In one embodiment, the bearing surface 44 has a diameter between the diameter of the conducting wire 50 and five times the diameter of the conducting wire 50, for example, between twice and five times the diameter of the conducting wire 50. In another embodiment, the bearing surface 44 has a diameter between twice and five times the diameter of the conducting wire 50. In yet another embodiment, the bearing surface 44 has a diameter equal to the diameter of the conducting wire 50. The periphery of the bearing surface 44 then constitutes a protective bearing surface for the conducting wire 50. The closer the diameter of the conducting wire 50 is to the diameter of the bearing surface 44, the less propagation effects are felt in the vicinity of the tip 42. For example, for a conducting wire 50 with a diameter of 40 µm, the diameter of the bearing surface 44 can be close to 100 µm.

[0061] In addition, to avoid crushing the conductive wire 50 during measurements, a notch of depth equal to the diameter of the conductive wire 50 can be made in the plane of the bearing surface 44 so as to bury the conductive wire 50 in the tip 42.

[0062] Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, and Fig. 5 are partial and schematic sectional views of other embodiments of the probe 20. The section plane of Figures 2 to 5 contains the axis D of the tapered guide 40 and is perpendicular to the section plane of Fig. 1.

[0063] In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, the diameter of the bearing surface 44 is equal to the diameter of the conducting wire 50, and the bearing surface 44 includes a notch 45 in which the conducting wire 50 is embedded. This embodiment is particularly suitable for low-amplitude magnetic fields. The adhesive material 70 can be distributed within the notch 45. The portion 52 of the conducting wire 50 resting on the bearing surface 44 extends substantially in a straight line along an axis perpendicular to the axis D of the tapered guide 40. Preferably, the length of the straight portion 52 of the conducting wire 50 does not exceed half a wavelength of the phase velocity of the transverse waves, typically less than 0.5 mm at 1 MHz and 0.1 mm at 5 MHz. The embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 allows the detection of the magnetic field § with the best spatial resolution compared to the embodiments illustrated in Figures 3 to 5.

[0064] In the embodiment illustrated in [Fig.3], the bearing surface 44 is flat and the diameter of the bearing surface 44 is approximately 3 times the diameter of the conducting wire 50. The conducting wire 50 is laid flat on the bearing surface 44 and is protected by the adhesive material 70.

[0065] In the embodiment illustrated in [Fig.4], the diameter of the bearing surface 44 is about 3 times the diameter of the conducting wire 50 and the bearing surface 44 includes a notch 45 in which the conducting wire 50 is buried.

[0066] In the embodiment illustrated in [Fig. 5], the tapered guide 40 includes a through-hole 46 in the tip 42 near the end of the tip 42, for example at a distance from the end of the tip 42 varying from one to two times the diameter of the conducting wire 50. The diameter of the through-hole 46 is slightly larger than the diameter of the conducting wire 50, and the conducting wire 50 passes through the opening 46. The conducting wire 50 is rigidly coupled to the tapered guide 40 by the adhesive material 70 or by compression and deformation of the end of the tip 42, which slightly pinches the conducting wire 50.

[0067] The embodiments illustrated in Figures 3, 4, and 5 are advantageously more robust than the embodiment illustrated in [Fig. 2]. The embodiments illustrated in Figures 3, 4, and 5 are particularly suitable for applications where it is anticipated that the probe 20 may come into contact with a magnetic surface. Furthermore, the risk of crushing the conductive wire 50 in the embodiments illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 is reduced compared to the embodiments illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

[0068] The larger the diameter of the bearing surface 44, the less distortion there is in the measurement when the tip 42 comes into contact with a hard surface. Indeed, the radiation impedance of the tip 42 drops considerably as one approaches its tip. Its obstruction by a hard surface could limit the amplitude of the mechanical impulse generated by the Lorentz force acting on a small, laterally free volume of material. This could distort the measurement by reducing the signal amplitude. Furthermore, contact of the tip 42 with a solid medium can generate ultrasonic waves in the medium that can return to the tip 42 and distort the measurement.

[0069] Advantageously, the lateral dimensions of the tip 42 of the probe 20 are at least ten times smaller than the lateral dimensions of commercially available Hall effect probes.

[0070] According to an operating mode of the system 10, hereafter referred to as the direct operating mode, the control and acquisition device 30 is configured to control the electroacoustic transducer 60 for the generation of an acoustic wave in the tapered guide 40. In the direct operating mode, the tapered guide 40 allows the ultrasonic wave to propagate from the base 41 to the tip 42. The ultrasonic wave causes the tip 42 to bend. The displacement of the tip 42, and therefore of the conducting wire 50, in the magnetic field § results in the appearance of an electromotive force (EMF) in the conducting wire 50. The EMF is proportional to the Bz component of the magnetic field g to be measured. The control and acquisition device 30 is configured to measure the EMF at the ends of the conducting wire 50 and to deduce from this the Bz component of the magnetic field g and the polarization of the magnetic field g present at the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide 40.

[0071] In the direct operating mode, the Lorentz force applied to the portion 52 of the conducting wire 50 located on the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 has a maximum amplitude Fmax given by the following relation:

[0072] Fmax~QvmaxBz

[0073] where Q is the space charge located at the end of the conducting wire 50, and vmax is the maximum flapping speed of the tip 52 of the tapered cone 40. This results in a voltage VN at the ends of the conducting wire 50.

[0074] Fig. 6 is a partial, schematic perspective view of the end of probe 20 of Fig. 3 illustrating an example of determining the space charge Q.

[0075] The conducting wire 50 has a diameter d] and surmounts the bearing surface 44 of diameter d2 at the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 of axis D. The conducting wire 50 corresponds to a certain volume of vibrating space charges in the Y direction.

[0076] The voltage VN across the terminals of the conducting wire 50 is given by the following relation, obtained by explicitly stating that the Lorentz force is balanced by the Coulomb force:

[0077] VN=(d2+2dl)vmaxBz

[0078] According to one operating mode of the system 10, hereafter referred to as the inverse operating mode or reciprocal operating mode, the control and acquisition device 30 is configured to supply a current pulse in the conducting wire 50. The current pulse has an intensity I and a duration At, also hereafter referred to as the pulse width. In the presence of the magnetic field [Math.2] B At the point 42 of the tapered guide 40, a Lorentz force appears in the part of the conducting wire 50 located at the point 42 of the tapered guide 40 [Math.2] F whose amplitude F is defined by the following relation:

[0079] F=IAtveBz

[0080] where ve is the speed of electrons in the conducting wire 50.

[0081] In the reciprocal operating mode, the tapered waveguide 40 transforms the Lorentz force F into a broadband ultrasonic bending wave that propagates through the waveguide 40. The fundamental amplitude of the ultrasonic bending wave is proportional to the component Bz of the magnetic field b to be measured, the intensity I of the current pulse, and the duration At of the current pulse. The bending wave is polarized in the direction of the cross product Ïab perpendicular to the plane of Figure 1 defined by the axis D and the tangent to the conducting wire 50 defining the current vector ï where the conducting wire 50 is rigidly fixed to the tip of the point 42.Due to its generally tapered shape with a small apex angle, the tapered waveguide 40 facilitates the propagation of a bending acoustic mode generated at the tip of the 42 to the base 4L. The intrinsic impedance of the material constituting the tapered waveguide 40 is equal to the product of the fundamental velocity of a transverse wave in the material and the material's density. The mechanical radiation impedance of the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide 40 is defined as the product of the phase velocity of an acoustic wave at the coupling point and the density of the material constituting the tapered waveguide 40. The mechanical radiation impedance is particularly low, typically 3 to 4 times lower than the intrinsic impedance of the material. This characteristic is advantageously suited to the efficient transfer of the Lorentz force appearing in the conductive wire 50, which is rigidly coupled to the tip 42 by bonding.The acoustic wave reaches the electroacoustic transducer 60, which converts it into an analog electrical measurement signal S, for example, a voltage. The control and acquisition device 30 is configured to measure the electrical signal S provided by the electroacoustic transducer 60 and deduce from it the amplitude of the component Bz of the magnetic field b and the polarization of the magnetic field § present at the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide 40.

[0082] According to one embodiment, the intensity I of the current pulse is preferably as high as possible, in practice between 1 A and 100 A, preferably about 50 A. According to another embodiment, the duration At of the current pulse is as short as possible, for example between 1 ns and 500 ns, preferably about 10 ns. In the case where the magnetic field to be measured corresponds to a magnetic pulse, the duration At of the current pulse is less than the duration of the magnetic pulse to be measured. In the case where the magnetic field to be measured corresponds to a sinusoidal magnetic field, the duration At of the current pulse is less than half the period of the sinusoidal magnetic field to be measured. In general, in the case where the magnetic field to be measured varies with time, the duration At of the current pulse is less than the half-period corresponding to the maximum frequency of variation of the magnetic field.

[0083] In reciprocal operating mode, the tapered guide 40 advantageously introduces an acoustic propagation delay of 1 ps to 100 ps between the electrical pulse present at the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 and the supply of the electrical signal S by the electroacoustic transducer 60. This makes it possible to avoid interference of the receiving amplifier of the control and detection device 30 by a direct air coupling between the electrical pulse and the receiving electronics.

[0084] The conducting wire 50, for example made of copper, has a density ρCu and a cross-sectional area SCu. The tapered guide 40, for example made of aluminum, has a density ρA and a cross-sectional area SAi, considered locally as a cylinder of height X / 2 where X is the wavelength of the bending point at the tip of the end 42. The total mass M of material set in motion by the Lorentz force is given approximately by the following relation: [°°S51 M=p ScW^d.i+n SA1i

[0086] The maximum speed vmax can be approximated by the amplitude of the vibration generated in point 42 by the following relationship:

[0087] (d^-I-At-B,, MCuSCl,(d2+2d,)+,uA|SAl|

[0088] This bending wave propagates in the tapered guide 40 whose characteristic gain is g(z) where z is a negative abscissa along the axis D of the tapered guide 40 with g(0) corresponding to the gain at the tip of the tip 42 and g(H) to the gain at the base 41 of the tapered guide 40 of height H measured along the axis D.

[0089] When the tapered guide 40 corresponds to a cone, the empirical gain g of a mechanical vibration of amplitude u(x) measured on the axis D of the cone, for a bending mode propagating along the cone, can be approximated by the following relation:

[0090] utx (ri GcH -H+K(l -Gc)x

[0091] where Gc corresponds to the gain of the cone measured at the tip of the point 42 with respect to at a reference vibration amplitude measured at an abscissa zref, measured along the D axis, equal to -H / K. The parameter K is a constant characteristic of the rate of change of the mechanical gain near the tip of the cone 42. As an example, for an aluminum cone with a height H of 84 mm, the constant K is equal to 11.2, the gain Gc is equal to 12.4, and the abscissa zref is equal to 7.5 mm. At the base of the cone, the gain g(-H,0) is equal to 130, meaning that the cone offers a transverse mechanical gain of approximately a factor of 130.

[0092] When the bending point reaches the level of the external face of the transducer 60, the mechanical vibration Vi corresponding to a mechanical displacement Ui is transformed under high electrical load impedance (and in the case where the rear face of the transducer 60 is either blocked or much weaker) into an electrical voltage V3 across the terminals of the transducer 60 which can be expressed approximately by the following relation:

[0093] V3=h.U1=èV,

[0094] where h is the piezoelectric constant and co is the angular frequency, which is equal to 2irf, where f is the fundamental oscillation frequency of bending. If we express the fact that the mechanical vibration vi is simply the mechanical vibration v at the tip of the point 42 divided by the gain of the cone, we obtain the following relationship:

[0095] v _ h (d2+2d1) lÀt-B2 3 œ g(-H) 'Pc,SCn(d2+2d!)+pA1SAlt

[0096] Equations Math 2 and Math 8 are two formulas modeling the output voltage of the probe 20 as a function of its operating parameters. Equation Math 2 corresponds to the case where the transducer 60 is active and, after a propagation delay Tr in the tapered waveguide 40, generates an amplified beat of the tip 42 and an electrical voltage VN across the terminals of the conductor wire 50 in the presence of the magnetic field Bz, and equation Math 8 corresponds to the case where a current pulse I sampling the magnetic field Bz generates a bend that transforms into a wave which propagates to the base 41 of the tapered waveguide 40 and is converted into an electrical voltage V3 across the terminals of the transducer 60.

[0097] According to the principle of reciprocity, these two formulas provide the same signal shape, provided that the phenomena are linear. However, a difference in input and output impedances between the direct operating mode, in which the transducer 60 is the emitter, and the reciprocal operating mode, in which the measurement pulse current has a low source impedance, is advantageous for the reciprocal operating mode.Indeed, with a tapered guide 40 corresponding to a truncated aluminum cone of height H equal to 85 mm and base diameter equal to 7 mm truncated with a bearing surface 44 having a diameter d2 equal to 0.2 mm, and with a conductor wire 50 of enameled copper of diameter di equal to 100 µm, we obtain in the reciprocal operating mode using an amplifier of gain 66 dB (2000 in linear) a sensitivity V3 equal to 91 with I expressed in Amperes, i.e. practically 630 V / T for a current of 70 A, while in the direct operating mode, we obtain VN equal to 10 mV / T for a voltage pulse of 300 V, which leads to a sensitivity of 20V / T after a gain of 66 dB.

[0098] In reciprocal operating mode, in order for the voltage V3 to be significant, the sampling pulse current I must therefore be as strong as possible. However, there is a certain limit due to an effect described later, called the thermoacoustic effect, which introduces non-linearity.

[0099] In one embodiment, the conductive wire 50 comprises at least one core made of an electrically conductive material, optionally surrounded by an electrically insulating sheath. In one embodiment, the conductive material is chosen from copper, a material with an electron mobility greater than 30 cm² / V / s (in particular gold, silver, or a semiconductor material such as graphene), or a mixture of at least two of these materials. The nature of the conductor composing the conductive wire 50 is important for both direct and reciprocal operation when it is desired to increase the sensitivity of the probe 20 to low-intensity magnetic fields. By default, an enameled copper conductive wire 50 can be used for magnetic fields ranging from a few milliteslas to several tens of teslas.However, for applications requiring high sensitivity to low-intensity magnetic fields, typically when they are comparable to or lower than a millitesla or the Earth's magnetic field, materials with higher electron mobility than copper (which is 30 cm² / V / s) can be used, for example, gold (43 cm² / V / s), silver (68 cm² / V / s), or semiconductor materials such as graphene. Alternatively, a copper wire coated with a layer of graphene, whose electron mobility can reach 200,000 cm² / V / s, can be chosen. The electrical voltage appearing across the terminals of the conductor 50 in forward mode is thus increased by the higher electron mobility of the material constituting the conductor 50, and the probe 20 produces a usable signal and an improved signal-to-noise ratio at lower magnetic fields compared to the case where a simple enameled copper conductor 50 would have been used.

[0100] According to one embodiment, the tapered guide 40 is made of a non-magnetic solid material, in particular a material selected from the group comprising glass, silicon, ceramics, alumina-zirconia composites, non-magnetic metals (in particular aluminum, copper, or titanium), austenitic steel and non-magnetic metal alloys, in particular alloys based on aluminum, copper, and / or titanium.

[0101] The tapered guide 40, by virtue of its tapered geometric shape, advantageously provides a thermal buffer between the measurement area at the tip 42 and a receiving area at the electroacoustic transducer 60. The measurement area can then be brought to a high temperature of several hundred degrees Celsius while the receiving area can be subjected to a lower temperature compatible with the temperature range tolerated by the electroacoustic transducer 60.

[0102] The bonding material 70 can be a cyanoacrylate resin, or an epoxy resin, or a polyimide resin, or a ceramic resin, or a fused glass, or a sintered powder or an enamel coating the conductive wire 50. According to one embodiment, the bonding material 70 is adapted to withstand high temperatures, for example up to 1000°C, or up to the lower of the melting temperatures of the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40, and the melting temperature of the conductive wire 50. The bonding material 70 corresponds, for example, to the high-temperature adhesive marketed under the name Ceramabond by the company Aremco.

[0103] In reciprocal operating mode, the acoustic transducer 60 is configured to receive an acoustic wave and provide an analog electrical signal, for example, a voltage or a current, hereafter referred to as the measurement signal. The amplitude of the measurement signal depends on the acoustic background amplitude and is preferably proportional to the acoustic background amplitude. In reciprocal operating mode, the acoustic transducer 60 receives a packet and provides an electrical measurement signal comprising at least one peak, and generally several positive and negative peaks. In direct operating mode, the acoustic transducer 60 is configured to receive an analog electrical signal, for example, a voltage or a current, hereafter referred to as the control signal, and provide an acoustic wave. The acoustic background amplitude depends on the amplitude of the control signal and is preferably proportional to the amplitude of the control signal.The acoustic transducer 60 can be a transverse wave acoustic transducer. Depending on one embodiment, the acoustic transducer 60 is a piezoelectric transducer or an electromagnetic acoustic transducer. The transducer 60 corresponds, for example, to the piezoelectric transducer marketed by Evident (formerly Olympus, formerly Panametrics, Waltham, MA, USA) under the name V153, which can have a center frequency around 1 MHz.

[0104] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of the detection system 10 illustrating one embodiment of the control and acquisition device 30 for implementing the reciprocal operating mode. According to one embodiment, the electroacoustic transducer 60 is a piezoelectric transducer.

[0105] The control and acquisition device 30 includes, in particular, a control chain 31 and an acquisition chain 32. The control chain 31 includes: - a current pulse generator 331 in the conducting wire 50 connected to the two ends of the conducting wire 50; and - a control module 34 of the current pulse generator 331 receiving a synchronization signal Sync.

[0106] The acquisition chain 32 comprises: - a programmable amplifier 35 receiving the analog measurement signal S supplied by the electroacoustic transducer 60, equal for example to the voltage across the electroacoustic transducer 60, and supplying an amplified analog measurement signal Samp substantially equal to the measurement signal S multiplied by an amplification gain G1; and - a processing module 36 receiving the amplified measurement signal Samp supplied by the amplifier 35 and providing a measurement signal Sf equal to the amplified measurement signal Samp after various processing steps have been applied, for example, filtering.

[0107] The control and acquisition device 30 further comprises: - a microcontroller 37 connected to the amplifier 35, the processing module 36, the control module 34, and the generator 331; - a computer 38 connected to the microcontroller 37; and - a human-machine interface 39 connected to the microcontroller 37 and / or the computer 38 and including in particular a display screen.

[0108] As an alternative, the control module 34 and / or the processing module 36 can be integrated into the microcontroller 37. The acquisition chain 32 can include an oscilloscope, for example the oscilloscope marketed under the name Pico 5242A by the company Pico Technology.

[0109] The control and acquisition device 30 illustrated in [Fig.7] is configured for the generation of a current pulse in the conductor wire 50 of intensity I and duration At and occurring possibly after the elapsed time Td following a pulse of the synchronization signal Sync in the case of a synchronous measurement.

[0110] The computer 38 is configured to exchange signals with the microcontroller 37, for example via a UART port (English acronym for Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter), including the values ​​of the delay Td, the duration At, the intensity I, and the value of the gain G1 of the programmable amplifier 35.

[0111] According to one embodiment, the value of the gain G1 of the programmable amplifier 35 is determined from the amplitude Bz of the magnetic field determined during the previous measurement. The lower the amplitude Bz determined during the previous measurement, the higher the value of the gain G1, for example, according to steps corresponding to measurement ranges of the amplitude Bz.

[0112] According to one embodiment, the measurement process is triggered by the Sync signal if the measurement is synchronous. According to another embodiment, the measurement process is triggered automatically and periodically with a user-defined measurement period if the measurement is asynchronous. In this case, the measurement period is preferably greater than to the damping time of the acoustic impulse propagating in the tapered guide 40 due to the previous current impulse.

[0113] According to one embodiment, the generator 331 applies a current pulse of intensity I to the conducting wire 50 coupled to the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide 40 with a delay Td and a duration At defined in the control module 34. In the presence of the magnetic field §, an ultrasonic acoustic wave, whose peak amplitude is proportional to the component Bz, travels from the tip 42 to the base 41 of the tapered waveguide 40. The acoustic wave is converted into an electrical measurement signal S by the acoustic transducer 60 coupled to the base 41, and the electrical measurement signal S is amplified by the programmable amplifier 35 to provide the amplified measurement signal q^amp*

[0114] In one embodiment, the processing module 36 is configured to detect the peak amplitude of the amplified measurement signal Samp and provide an analog value of the detected peak amplitude to the microcontroller 37. In another embodiment, the processing module 36 is further configured to determine a binary Polar I / O value representing the positive or negative sign of the first pulse of the amplified measurement signal Samp. This is because the acoustic ground phase changes by 180° depending on whether the polarization of the Bz component is oriented in one direction or the opposite direction. The microcontroller 37 may further include an analog-to-digital converter adapted to receive the analog value of the detected peak amplitude and provide a digital signal of the peak amplitude.

[0115] According to one embodiment, the microcontroller 37 is configured to directly receive the amplified measurement signal Samp and to perform sampling of the amplified measurement signal Samp, for example, to a depth of 10 to 16 bits and at a rate of 5 to 12 megasamples per second over a time window of 1 ps to 100 ps. According to another embodiment, the microcontroller 37 is configured to perform interpolation of the measurement points so as to accurately reconstruct the amplified measurement signal and obtain a precise value of the peak amplitude and phase of the amplified measurement signal.

[0116] According to another embodiment, the microcontroller 37 is configured to determine the Fourier transform of the amplified measurement signal Samp. Preferably, the Fourier transform is determined from the time trace of the amplified measurement signal Samp, including the peaks of the amplified measurement signal Samp and excluding the parasitic coupling of the current or voltage pulse, so that only the peaks due to the reception of the acoustic wave packet by the transducer 60 with a zero measurement signal before and after its arrival remain in the time trace.

[0117] According to one embodiment, the amplified measurement signal Samp is processed so that its values ​​are zero after the fourth or fifth zero crossing of the amplified measurement signal Samp, which corresponds to the moment when the bulk of the acoustic wave packet has been received by the transducer 60 and the tail of the acoustic wave packet is entered. The spectral line of maximum amplitude in the obtained spectrum corresponds to the center frequency of the acoustic wave packet. The amplitude of the spectral line is representative of the maximum amplitude value of the amplified measurement signal Samp.

[0118] Determining the peak amplitude of the amplified measurement signal Samp from the Fourier transform of the amplified measurement signal Samp, rather than directly from the amplified measurement signal Samp, is more accurate and more independent of the analog noise present in the amplified measurement signal Samp. This allows access to weak magnetic fields close to the Earth's magnetic field. In these extreme cases, sensitivity is increased by replacing the current pulse with a pulse train, comprising, for example, 2 to 10 pulses and preferably 4 equidistant current pulses, with a carrier centered on the center frequency of the electromechanical transducer 60. Furthermore, and advantageously, the Fourier transform of the amplified measurement signal Samp is independent of the propagation time of the acoustic waves in the tapered waveguide 40.The effect of a temperature change in the tapered waveguide 40 then amounts to an advance or delay in the arrival of the acoustic wave packet at the transducer 60, or simply a phase change in the Fourier space.

[0119] The microcontroller 37 is configured to determine the value of the Bz field by multiplying the peak value by a calibration coefficient. The value of the magnetic field Bz and its polarization (north, south) are displayed on the display 39 in a chosen unit of measurement or transmitted to the computer 38 for further processing.

[0120] According to one embodiment, the control and acquisition device 30 can drive one, two, or more than two probes 20 from the same synchronization signal Sync, each probe 20 being able to be excited with an identical or different delay Td relative to the other probes 20 so that the spatial and temporal sampling can be multiplied by the number of probes 20 used. If several probes 20 are excited with slightly different delays Td and arranged practically at the same location on a relatively spatially extended but very rapidly oscillating magnetic source, the number of sampling points of the magnetic field can be multiplied by the number of probes 20 used.

[0121] Figure 8 shows a block diagram of the detection system 10 illustrating one embodiment of the control and acquisition device 30 for implementing the direct operating mode. The control and acquisition device 30 shown in Figure 8 comprises the same elements as the control and acquisition device 30 shown in Figure 7, except that the analog measurement signal S received by the amplifier 35 corresponds to the voltage across the conductor wire 50, and the current pulse generator 331 is replaced by a voltage pulse generator 33V supplied to the transducer 60.

[0122] A drawback in implementing the reciprocal operating mode is related to the appearance of the thermoacoustic effect corresponding to the expansion of the conducting wire 50 when the current intensity I flowing through it generates a significant Joule effect. The current pulse I generates a heat pulse which, under adiabatic conditions, transforms into an impulsive thermal expansion.

[0123] A first test was carried out. In the first test, the probe 20 shown in [Fig. 1] is used and the system 10 is used in reciprocal operation. The height H of the tapered waveguide 40, measured along its axis of revolution D, is 82 mm and the diameter at the base 41 is 7 mm. The angle α at the apex of the tapered waveguide 40 is 4.6°. The conducting wire 50 has a diameter di of 40 µm. The tapered waveguide 40 is made of aluminum and the conducting wire 50 is an enameled copper wire bonded with cyanoacrylate resin to the bearing surface 44 of the tapered waveguide 40. The electroacoustic transducer 60 is the broadband transverse wave piezoelectric transducer marketed by Evident Technologies (Waltham, MA, USA) under the name V153 centered on 1 MHz. The amplification gain of the programmable amplifier is equal to 48 dB.For the first test, probe 20 is used in reciprocal operating mode and the current pulse through the conductor wire 50 has a duration At equal to 270 ns and an intensity I equal to 30 A.

[0124] Figure 9 shows the timing diagrams Cl_1 and Cl_2 of the amplified measurement signal Samp provided by the amplifier 35 of the detection system 10 for the first test. The ordinate scale is 50 mV per graduation for curve Cl_1 and 5 V per graduation for curve Cl_2. Curve Cl_1 is obtained for a zero magnetic field, and curve Cl_2 is obtained for a magnetic field with an amplitude of 480 mT. Time t0 corresponds to the sending of the synchronization signal Sync for controlling the current pulse generator 331. The amplified measurement signal Samp reaches 80 mV peak in the absence of a magnetic field and is due solely to the thermoacoustic effect. The amplified measurement signal Samp in the presence of a magnetic field reaches 1.2 V peak, which is fifteen times higher than the amplified measurement signal Samp in the absence of a magnetic field. In the absence of a field

[0125]

[0126] magnetic, the current pulse can therefore generate in the tapered guide 40, alone, a parasitic acoustic wave. The following formula gives the expected expansion of a conducting wire 50 with cross-sectional area SCu and length LG, and electrical resistivity p, undergoing Joule heating for a pulse width At corresponding to a dissipated energy AQ. Using the specific heat capacity Cp of the copper conducting wire 50 with density pCu, we deduce the temperature increase AT in the conducting wire 50 and, knowing the coefficient of thermal expansion [3], we deduce the increase in free length of the wire ALG under adiabatic conditions: pW-I2-At AT=- p-I2-At Sc:u2-pCu-Cp

[0127]

[0128] alg=^^ SCli pCu -Cp For copper, the coefficient of thermal expansion [3] is equal to 17*10⁶ / °C, the electrical resistivity p is equal to 1.66*10⁸ Qm, the density pcu is equal to 8920 kg / m³, and the specific heat capacity Cp is equal to 315 J / kg / K. Choosing the length LG equal to 2 cm, the current I equal to 60 A, the duration At equal to 0.5 ps, and the cross-section SCu equal to 0.75*10⁸ m², then the dissipated energy AQ is equal to 0.8 pJ / pulse, the temperature increase AT is equal to 0.2°C / pulse, and the increase in free length of the wire ALG is equal to 64 nm and the maximum speed vmax of the vibration amplitude generated in the tip 42 is equal to AW*At or 0.12 m / s. As can be seen, this parasitic signal evolves inversely with the square of the diameter of the conductor wire 50, and proportionally to the square of the pulse current I and linearly with the reduction of the pulse width At, because heat cannot be dissipated during the pulse, making the process adiabatic. In practice, between a conductor wire 50 with a diameter di equal to 40 pm and a conductor wire 50 with a diameter di equal to 100 pm, if the pulse current I is reduced from 60 A to 20 A, the thermoacoustic effect is reduced by a factor of 56. Knowing also that the average current must not exceed 4 A / mm² in a cross-section of the conductor wire 50, it can be verified that at a firing rate of 1000 pulses / s, the average current remains at an acceptable level of 2.5 A / mm².Finally, if the conductive wire 50 is closely coupled to the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40, the process is no longer adiabatic, and heat can be more efficiently dissipated to the tapered guide 40 and its long-term thermal expansion is reduced, which is advantageous in preventing the conductive wire 50 from detaching.

[0129] It is necessary to eliminate this parasitic acoustic wave in order to measure weak magnetic fields, typically less than 100 qT. This is achieved by implementing a method of compensating the thermoacoustic effect and / or by providing a structure that reduces the thermoacoustic effect.

[0130] According to one embodiment, the compensation method comprises measuring a compensation signal that corresponds to the amplified measurement signal Samp obtained in the absence of a magnetic field, for example by placing the probe 20 in a zero-gauss cavity. When performing a magnetic field measurement, the amplified and processed measurement signal Sf corresponds to the difference between the amplified measurement signal Samp and the compensation signal.

[0131] A second test was carried out. In the second test, the probe 20 from the first test was used. The amplification gain of the amplifier 35 was 66 dB. For the second test, the probe 20 was used in reciprocal operating mode and the current pulse I through the conductor 50 had an intensity of 8 A.

[0132] Figure 10 shows the C2_0, C2_1, and C2_2 time-domain plots of the amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf obtained for the second trial. Curve C2_0 is obtained in the presence of a magnetic field with an amplitude of -1.7 mT and without compensation. Curve C2_1 is obtained in the presence of a magnetic field with an amplitude of 1.7 mT, the amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf being equal to the difference between the amplified measurement signal Samp and the compensation signal. Curve C2_2 is obtained in the presence of a magnetic field with an amplitude of -1.7 mT, the amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf being equal to the difference between the amplified measurement signal Samp and the compensation signal. Curves C2_0, C2_1, and C2_2 are obtained by averaging 1000 acquisitions.

[0133] One drawback of the compensation method described above is that if the temperature changes, a shift in the transit time within the tapered waveguide 40 of a few nanoseconds / °C occurs, and the compensation signal must be updated regularly. In this embodiment, the highest currents do not provide the best detection because high pulsed currents create a sharp local temperature increase, which then leads to slow drifts in the transit time within the tapered waveguide 40.

[0134] Another embodiment of a compensation method includes supplying current pulses through the conductor wire 50 by alternating the direction of current flow through the conductor wire 50 during two successive acquisitions.

[0135] Figure 11 shows a timing diagram of the current I flowing in the conducting wire 50 for carrying out a magnetic field measurement in the mode of reciprocal operation. The current I consists successively of a first current pulse 1+ and a second current pulse I- flowing in the conductor 50 in opposite directions. The combination of the two pulses 1+ and I- is hereafter called a bipolar pulse. In [Fig. 1 1], the current pulses 1+ and I- each have the shape of a square wave. However, the current pulses 1+ and I- can have a different shape, for example, a triangular or sinusoidal shape. The period T of the bipolar pulse, which corresponds to the time between the rising edge of the first pulse 1+ and the rising edge of the first pulse I+ of the following bipolar pulse, is denoted. Furthermore, At is denoted the duration of the first pulse 1+, which is equal to the duration of the second pulse I-. Additionally, Atd is denoted the time between the falling edge of the first pulse 1+ and the rising edge of the second pulse I-.

[0136] The two opposing current pulses 1+ and I- create corresponding opposing Lorentz forces and analog measurement signals S that are also opposing, except for the component due to the thermoacoustic effect, which varies with the square of the current intensity and inversely with the square of the cross-section of the conductor wire 50. The amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf corresponds to the difference between the two amplified measurement signals Samp obtained for the two pulses 1+ and I-. An advantage of the present embodiment is that it does not require the measurement of a compensation signal that needs to be refreshed regularly.

[0137] Thanks to low jitter of less than one nanosecond, we can efficiently subtract two successive acquisitions sampled at a rate high compared to the signal frequency F, for example 62.5 MS / s (megasamples per second) with 15 bits of resolution. This eliminates thermoacoustic signals as well as spurious pulse coupling and residual longitudinal axial modes. This differential measurement also doubles the useful magnetic signal and therefore the sensitivity of probe 20.

[0138] The two current pulses 1+ and I- must be inverse but strictly identical in absolute value to 99.8% in order to divide the thermoacoustic noise by a reduction factor equal to 500. This is the maximum reduction factor that can be obtained since, if we take for simplicity two sinusoidal waves 1+ and I- opposite but very slightly offset in time by a delay equal to the jitter, the relative residual signal rate after subtraction is equal to 2.ir.F.jitter or 0.18% if the jitter is equal to 0.4 ns rms and the frequency F is equal to 700 kHz.

[0139] Therefore, if the time interval Atd between the two opposing pulses 1+ and I- is sufficiently short, for example equal to 1 ms, the slow diffusion of the heat fluxes appearing in the conducting wire 50 during the successive pulses 1+ and I- does not have time to significantly change the temperature of the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 between Two successive pulses are used to generate a transit time variation greater than the jitter (approximately 0.4 ns rms) between the two successive opposing pulses 1+ and I-. This compensation is therefore much more effective than recording the compensation signal in a zero-gauss cavity and then subtracting this signal from subsequent measurements in the presence of a Bz field to be measured. It is also more effective than a compensation method that involves acquiring measurements with 1000 successive 1+ pulses averaged in one direction of current, followed by 1000 successive I- pulses averaged in the opposite direction of current. Indeed, by nesting the opposing 1+ and I- pulses, the thermal conditions of tip 42 for the two successive 1+ and I- pulses remain virtually identical.

[0140] According to one embodiment, a succession of bipolar pulses is performed, and then an average of the measurement signal pairs S corresponding to opposite pulses is performed to refine the resolution with a possible time recalibration of the acquisition pairs when the temperature variation is strong and rapid.

[0141] To be able to time-recalibrate a pair of measurement signals S in response to opposing pulses with respect to other pairs of measurement signals S, the transit time Tr in the tapered waveguide 40 is determined as a function of temperature. For this purpose, the detection system 10 is used in direct operating mode to emit an acoustic wave by the electroacoustic transducer 60 into the tapered waveguide 40, and then the detection system 10 is used in reciprocal operating mode to measure the reflected acoustic background, also called an echo, by the electroacoustic transducer 60. The time between the emission of the acoustic background by the electroacoustic transducer 60 and the reception of the acoustic background reflected at the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide is twice the transit time Tr.

[0142] A third test was carried out. In the third test, the probe 20 used for the first test is used with the difference that the height of the tapered guide 40, measured along its axis of revolution D, is equal to 84 mm.

[0143] Figure 12 is a timing diagram of the amplified measurement signal Samp measured by the detection system 10 when an acoustic wave is emitted by the electroacoustic transducer 60 and the reflected acoustic background is measured by the electroacoustic transducer 60. In Figure 12, the electroacoustic background 60 is emitted at the initial time t0 equal to 0 ps and the peaks P of the Samp signal correspond to the reflected background reaching the electroacoustic transducer 60. The time elapsed between the initial time t0 and the first peak of the amplified measurement signal Samp corresponds to twice the transit time Tr.

[0144] Numerous pairs of measurement signals S are then acquired using bipolar current pulses, and the average of these pairs is calculated, taking a first pair of measurement signals S as the reference pair and temporally aligning the subsequent pairs of measurement signals S with this first pair of measurement signals S from the maximum of the cross-correlation function between the first pair of measurement signals S and the subsequent pairs of measurement signals S. This requires that the signal sampling frequency be sufficiently high so that the period between two samples is small compared to the signal period, typically at least 10 times smaller, and preferably fifty to 100 times smaller.Thus, for an ultrasonic signal centered at 700 kHz, a sampling frequency of 62.5 MHz (or MSPS) corresponding to a period of 16 ns is 89 times higher than the ultrasound frequency and is a good configuration for averaging pairs of successive measurement signals S. Nevertheless, the 16 ns period remains large compared to the pulse generator jitter, which is less than 0.4 ns rms, and to the time shift between the two members of a measurement signal pair S.

[0145] The conditions requiring time alignment between the measurement signals S must be severe, i.e., generate temperature differences of several degrees Celsius inside the tapered waveguide 40 between the first pair of measurement signals S and the pair for which an initial alignment of 16 ns would be required. Averaging over 1000 pairs in 1 second, it can be calculated that the temperature rise of a conducting wire 50 with a diameter di of 100 μm, through which a current I of 13.3 A flows for 0.5 iis under adiabatic conditions, increases by less than 20°C between the first pulse and the 2000th pulse. This corresponds to an alignment of less than 5 sampling periods or 80 ns, which is nearly 18 times smaller than the acoustic period.Furthermore, for a pair of opposing traces, the temperature rise of the conductive wire 50 between two pulses as close as possible under adiabatic conditions is less than 0.01°C. If this temperature rise were that of the tapered waveguide 40, it would represent a transit time variation nearly ten times smaller than the jitter of 0.4 ns. In practice, the heat produced in the conductive wire 50 diffuses throughout the entire volume of the tapered waveguide 40, and the overall temperature rise is much lower. Nevertheless, if the pulse current is increased to 67 A, then the heating of the conductive wire 50 under adiabatic conditions will be 25 times greater. This heating will first diffuse at the tip of the waveguide 40, generating a transit time variation Tr of the wave packet, and re-timing may prove useful to ensure that successive signal pairs remain in sync. long-term phase (on the scale of one second) and that averaging remains advantageous for improving the signal / noise ratio.

[0146] Given that the measurement signal S is sampled with a sampling period Ts equal to 1 / Fs, where Fs is the sampling frequency, if the temperature-related offset relative to a reference signal corresponding to a reference temperature or a first reference measurement signal S is greater than one sampling period, then a time-correction offset is applied in the opposite direction to subsequent measurement signals S in order to average the measurement signals. The signal sampling frequency is in practice greater than 12 times the ultrasound frequency and preferably greater than 100 times the ultrasound frequency, which implies a sampling frequency of approximately 100 MSPS (MegaSamplesPerSecond), or a sampling period Ts equal to 10 ns.

[0147] In practice, the sensitivity of the probe 20 increases linearly with the measurement current intensity I, while the thermoacoustic noise increases with the square of the current I. There is therefore a current threshold value beyond which the thermoacoustic noise can no longer be compensated, either due to jitter, saturation of the analog-to-digital converter's scale, or insufficient resolution of the analog-to-digital converter. The residual thermoacoustic noise after compensation then becomes visible when it reaches the shot noise (Nyquist noise) generated by the resistive network measured at the output of the receiving amplifier 35 (Nout). If this is, for example, 0.5 mV rms after a gain of 66 dB (2000 linear), then it is pointless to further increase the measurement current intensity unless the aim is to reduce the measurement time, which linearly reduces the thermoacoustic noise.

[0148] Figure 13 represents a curve showing the evolution of the noise due to the thermoacoustic effect Nout and a curve showing the evolution SB of the sensitivity as a function of the intensity of the current pulses I. The curves are obtained by averaging 1000 successive acquisitions.

[0149] By way of example, we see in [Fig. 13] that, when the noise Nout at the output of the receiving amplifier 35 after a gain of 66 dB is 0.5 mV rms, the sensitivity SB of the probe 20 for a measurement based on two opposing current pulses of amplitude 13.3 A reaches 120 V / T, with the differential mode model SB equal to 9.1 (SB expressed in V / T and I in amperes) and the thermoacoustic noise Nout equal to 2.8.12 (Nout in pV and I in amperes).

[0150] The ultimate resolution of the system 10 can then be calculated and estimated at Nout / SB equal to 500 pV / 120(pV / pT), or 4.2 pT. If the current is increased by a factor of 5 and the pulse duration reduced by a factor of 6 to approximately 100 ns, then the ultimate resolution degrades by a factor of approximately 4 to reach 20 pT. Similarly, with a conducting wire 50 of diameter di equal to 100 iim arranged on a tapered guide 40 having the shape of a truncated conical cone whose bearing surface 44 has a diameter d2 equal to 0.2 mm, the magnetometric sensitivity area is at best about 0.4 mm by 0.1 mm.

[0151] The [Fig. 14] is an electrical diagram of an embodiment of the current pulse generator 331 of the detection system 10 of the [Fig.7].

[0152] According to one embodiment, the current pulse generator 331 comprises: - a first pulse generator GEN1 comprising a first voltage pulse source SI, controlled by a first control signal Trigl, and having a first terminal connected, preferably connected, to a source of a low reference potential Gnd, for example ground, of the detection system 10 and a second terminal connected, preferably connected, to a first output resistance Rsl; - a first current limiting resistor Rsal, one terminal of which is connected, preferably connected, to the first pulse generator GEN 1; - a first coaxial cable Coaxl whose shield is connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, of which a first terminal is connected, preferably connected, to the first resistance Rsal and of which a second terminal is connected, preferably connected, to a first end 53 of the conductor wire 50; - a second pulse generator GEN2 comprising a second voltage pulse source S2, controlled by a second control signal Trig2, and having a first terminal connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, of the detection system 10 and a second terminal connected, preferably connected, to a second output resistance Rs2; - a second current limiting resistor Rsa2, the first terminal of which is connected, preferably connected, to the second pulse generator GEN2; and - a second coaxial cable Coax2, the shield of which is connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, the first terminal of which is connected, preferably connected, to the second resistor Rsa2 and the second terminal of which is connected, preferably connected, to a second end 54 of the conductor wire 50.

[0153] Preferably, the first pulse generator GEN1 is identical to the second pulse generator GEN2. In particular, when the pulse generators GEN1 include MOS transistors, the same type of MOS transistors (e.g., N-channel or P-channel) is used for each pulse generator GEN1 and GEN2. The generators GEN1 and GEN2 are adapted to provide voltage pulses, for example, equal to 60 V. The generators GEN1 and GEN2 are triggered by the control signals Trigl and Trig2, which are logic signals, typically 100 ns wide, with an amplitude, for example, of 3.3 V, and a short switching time typically less than 16 ns and preferably less than 5 ns. The duration of the voltage pulses provided by the GEN 1 and GEN2 pulse generators is programmable. Both generators comprise the same components (resistors, transistors) matched with characteristics that are within 0.1% of each other, resulting in voltage pulses that are overall within 0.2% of each other. Both generators can source or sink current with a low output impedance, typically 0.2 ohms.

[0154] The pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2 can inject or absorb current. When current is to flow through the conductor 50 in one direction, source SI is activated and injects current while the output of source S2 is switched to ground (Gnd) and absorbs current. To reverse the direction of the current, the output of source SI is switched to ground (Gnd), while source S2 is activated. Both sources SI and S2 can simultaneously source or absorb current. They operate synchronously with their own control signals Trigl and Trig2, which activate them for a duration At.

[0155] The current pulses are brought to the conductor 50 by the coaxial cables Coaxl or Coax2, which advantageously limit parasitic inductive and capacitive coupling, particularly with the amplifier 35. The two resistors Rsal and Rsa2 are identical. By way of example, each resistance Rsal and Rsa2 is between 0 ohms and 2 ohms, and is preferably equal to 1 ohm. The purpose of the two resistors Rsal and Rsa2 is to limit the maximum current that must be absorbed by each of the generators GEN1 and GEN2 when it is subjected to current injection from the other generator. Since the injection capacity is potentially greater than the absorption capacity, the current limitation prevents exceeding the absorption capacity and maintains good similarity between the opposing pulses.

[0156] The direction of the current generated in the conductor wire 50 depends on which pulse generator GEN 1 or GEN2 is active. Pulse generators GEN 1 and GEN2 are never active at the same time.

[0157] According to one embodiment, the pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2 are alternately active, each producing a single positive current pulse of duration At. The duration At is preferably equal to half the period of the electroacoustic transducer 60. The current pulse emitted by one of the pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2 is separated from the current pulse emitted by the other pulse generator GEN1 and GEN2 by an interval 1 / PRF (where PRF denotes the pulse repetition frequency for performing the differential measurement). The interval 1 / PRF can be between 0.1 ms and 100 ms and is preferably approximately 1 ms.

[0158] According to another embodiment, the pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2 are activated so as to produce a bipolar pulse whose center frequency is preferably that of the electroacoustic transducer 60. This increases the sensitivity of the measurement at the cost of an increase in the sampling time of the magnetic field Bz. For example, a bipolar pulse can be triggered (which is obtained by a pulse of the control signal Trig1 followed by a pulse of the control signal Trig2), the two pulses being separated by a duration equal to 0.5 qs, then, 1 ms later, a second opposing bipolar current pulse (which is obtained by a pulse of the control signal Trig2 followed by a pulse of the control signal Trig1), used to implement the differential measurement.

[0159] According to another embodiment, the pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2 are activated so as to produce bursts of pulses comprising a current pulse train, for example in the order (Trigl, Trig2, Trigl, Trig2) followed by a current pulse train (Trig2, Trigl, Trig2, Trigl) for differential measurement with slightly different programmable durations for each of the pulses of the pulse generator GEN1 (and therefore of the pulse generator GEN2), slightly higher or lower than the center period of the electroacoustic transducer 60, the reason for which will be explained later in the implementation of the pulse compression technique.

[0160] In the embodiments described above, the control signal Trigl or Trig2 triggers only a positive rectangular pulse of programmable width and delay. Alternatively, the control signals Trigl or Trig2 can each trigger a burst of positive pulses, each pulse in the burst being defined by its rise time relative to the rising edge of the control signal Trigl or Trig2 and its duration defined as an integer number of periods of a high-frequency clock operating, for example, at 150 MHz. Thus, a pulse with a duration of 700 ns starting 6.67 ns after the Trigl or Trig2 signal will correspond to a delay of 1 period of the high-frequency clock and a duration of 105 periods of the high-frequency clock. An entire pulse train can be defined in this way from a single control signal Trigl or Trig2.

[0161] The [Fig. 15] is an electrical diagram of another embodiment of the current pulse generator 331 of the detection system 10 of the [Fig.7].

[0162] The current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 15] comprises all the elements of the current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 14] and further comprises resistors R0, RI, R2, R3, and R4, each having a first terminal connected, preferably connected, to the resistor Rsal, and includes a switch SW configured to connect the second terminal of one of the resistors R0, RI, R2, R3, and R4 to the coaxial cable. The switch SW may be a rotary mechanical selector. The resistors R0, RI, R2, R3, and R4 have different values.

[0163] Resistors RO, RI, R2, R3, and R4 allow selection of a measurement range. For example, Rsal and Rsa2 are equal to 0.5 ohms, RO is equal to 0 ohms, RI is equal to 3.1 ohms, R2 is equal to 84 ohms, R3 is equal to 856 ohms, and R4 is equal to 8570 ohms. Resistor RO provides the highest current pulse intensity, while resistors RI, R2, R3, and R4 select respective ranges, Range 1 to Range 4, as shown in Table 1 below, with a current pulse duration of 0.7 ps.

[0164] [Tables 1] Parameters Range1 Range2 Range3 Range4 Sensitivity (V / T) 120 7 0.7 0.07 Intensity (A) 13.3 0.7 0.07 0.007 Noise (Nout) (pV) 500 1.37 0.014 0.00014 Equivalent Field T AN (pT) 2100 100 10 1 Equivalent Field Nout (pT) 4.2 0.2 0.02 0.002 Detectivity (pT) 4.2 71 714 7143 Compensation required e? YES NO NO NO Max Sampling Rate Bz (Hz) 1000 2000 2000 2000 Measurement Range 0.004 mT - 14 mT 14 mT - 140 mT 140 mT - 1.4 T 1.4 T - 40 T Pico Scale 5242A + / -2V + / - 1 V + / - 1 V + / - 1 V Pico Resolution 15 bits 122 pV 61 pV 61 pV 61 pV Nout rms Avg: 1000 500 pV 500 pV 500 pV 500 pV Resolution (% of max range) <0.03% <0.05% <0.051% <0.024% BZ*I (TA) 0.19 0.1 0.1 0.28 Sound pressure at the tip (at Vmax) <85 dB <85 dB <85 dB <86 dB

[0165] In the preceding table, the equivalent TAN field is the magnetic field corresponding to the observed thermoacoustic noise level without compensation. The limiting detectivity shown in the preceding table corresponds to a bandwidth of 1 Hz and a compromise on the field sampling time, which remains below one microsecond. For static fields, the resolution can be increased by taking a larger number of averaged measurements and therefore longer acquisition periods.

[0166] Advantageously, the intensity of the current I decreases with the increase of the field Bz to be measured so that the product BZ*I is less than 0.28 AT and does not cause any audio or electrical safety problems.

[0167] The [Fig. 16] is an electrical diagram of another embodiment of the current pulse generator 331 of the detection system 10 of the [Fig.7].

[0168] The current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 16] comprises all the elements of the current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 15] except that the coaxial cable Coax2 is not present, that the end 54 of the conductor wire 50 is connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, and that it further comprises an isolation transformer TS1 comprising a primary winding L1 and a secondary winding L2, the resistance Rsal being connected, preferably connected, to a first terminal of the primary winding L1 and the resistance Rsa2 being connected, preferably connected, to a second terminal of the primary winding L1, the first terminal of each resistance R0, RI, R2, R3 and R4 being connected, preferably connected, to a first terminal of the secondary winding L2, and a second terminal of the secondary winding L2 being connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd.According to one embodiment, the inductance of the primary winding Ll of the isolation transformer TS1 is between 0.5 pH and 10 pH, and is preferably equal to 1 pH.

[0169] The inductive load formed by the primary winding L1 of the isolation transformer TS1 is imposed on the positive pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2. The transformer TS1 is preferably a step-down transformer with a turns ratio between 0.25 and 1 so as to be able to increase or maintain a high current at the output of the secondary winding L2. In one embodiment, the number of turns in the primary winding L1 is between 5 and 20 turns, and the number of turns in the secondary winding L2 is between 5 and 20 turns. The transformer TS1 limits the maximum power that must be supplied by the pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2 whose outputs are connected to the primary winding L1. The direction of the current generated in the secondary winding L2 depends on whether the active pulse generator is GEN1 or GEN2.

[0170] This embodiment therefore advantageously allows the use of only one coaxial cable. It also allows for identical current pulses in absolute values ​​while more easily managing the shielding of the pulsed current signal up to the vicinity of the end of the tapered waveguide 40.

[0171] The [Fig. 17] is an electrical diagram of another embodiment of the current pulse generator 331 of the detection system 10 of the [Fig.7].

[0172] The current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 17] comprises all the elements of the current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig.

[16] except that the resistances Rsal and Rsa2 are not present, that the pulse generator GEN 1 is connected, preferably connected to a first terminal of the primary winding L1 of the transformer TS1, that a second terminal of the primary winding L1 of the transformer TS1 is connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, that it further comprises a potentiometer Radl, that the first terminal of each resistance R0, RI, R2, R3 and R4 is connected, preferably connected, to a first terminal of the potentiometer Radl, that a second terminal of the potentiometer Radl is connected, preferably connected to the first terminal of the secondary winding L2 of the transformer TS1, that a second terminal of the secondary winding L2 of the transformer TS1 is connected,preferably connected to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, that it further comprises an isolation transformer TS2 comprising a primary winding L3 and a secondary winding L4, that the pulse generator GEN2 is connected, preferably connected to a first terminal of the primary winding L3 of the transformer TS2, that a second terminal of the primary winding L3 of the transformer TS2 is connected, preferably connected to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, and that it further comprises a potentiometer Rad2, that the first terminal of each resistor R0, RI, R2, R3 and R4 is connected, preferably connected to a first terminal of the potentiometer Rad2, that a second terminal of the potentiometer Rad2 is connected, preferably connected to a first terminal of the secondary winding L4 of the transformer TS2 and that a second terminal of the secondary winding L4 of the transformer TS2 is connected, preferably connectedat the source of the low Gnd reference potential,

[0173] This embodiment advantageously allows the constraint of parity of both current injection and absorption to be applied to the GEN1 and GEN2 generators, but only to the current injection parity constraint.

[0174] The two isolation transformers TS1 and TS2 produce opposing voltages whose outputs are connected. The two isolation transformers TS1 and TS2 are optionally step-down transformers with a factor of 2 to reduce their impedance by output by a factor of 4. In the absence of a load (the load corresponding to resistors RO to R4 and conductor 50), the output impedances of transformers TS1 and TS2 being identical, the height of the resulting pulses is divided by 2 in output voltages. However, in the case of the highest currents (concerning RO and RI), the output impedance of transformers TS1 and TS2 is much greater than that of the load, so that the current supplied by one of the transformers TS1 or TS2 flows primarily into the load and not into the other transformer. In the case of slight differences in transformer efficiency due to their construction (turn positions, etc.).This results in a slight difference in their ability to supply identical currents. Therefore, transformers TS1 and TS2 are balanced using two potentiometers, Radl and Rad2, which also balance the entire chain. This balances any slight difference between the output impedances of generators GEN1 and GEN2, affecting the current injected into the primary windings L1 and L3 of transformers TS1 and TS2. The resistances of potentiometers Radl and Rad2 are between 0.001 ohm and 2 ohms, and preferably less than 1 ohm. Each inductance of windings L1, L2, L3, and L4 ranges, for example, from 0.5 μH to 2 μH. It is best to choose a minimum number of turns to maximize the power of transformers TS1 and TS2 and achieve a rapid current rise relative to the period of the electroacoustic transducer 60.

[0175] According to one embodiment, the SW switch may comprise reed switches, also known as reed switches, switching via an electromagnet surrounding two opposing blades and controlled by a control signal. The switching times of the reed switches are less than 1 ms and the contact resistances are less than 0.2 ohms, while the switching currents can easily exceed 1 A.

[0176] According to one embodiment, the portion 52 of the conducting wire 50 covering the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 is locally thinned compared to the rest of the conducting wire 50 to reduce the thermoacoustic effect.

[0177] Fig. 18 is a partial and schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the conducting wire 50 in which the portion 52, intended to cover the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40, not shown, is thinned and Fig. 19 is a partial and schematic perspective view of the conducting wire 50 at an intermediate stage of a manufacturing process of the conducting wire 50 in which the portion 52 is thinned.

[0178] According to one embodiment, the conductive wire 50 is formed from a metal sheet, the thickness of which is, for example, between 50 µm and 300 µm, preferably 100 µm, which is chemically etched by deep etching. The conductive wire 50 has a rectangular cross-section with a base width W1 varying, for example, from 200 µm to 500 µm. When the tapered guide 40 is made of a material conductor, the tip 42 of the tapered guide 40 can be anodized with a layer of alumina (A12O3) on a film 5 µm to 20 µm thick to ensure its electrical insulation.

[0179] According to one embodiment, the configuration of [Fig. 18] is obtained directly following the etching step. The angle θ is greater than the angle at the apex of the tapered guide cone 40. The thickness of the rectangular cross-sectional conductor wire 50 also decreases from W1 to dl over a height L2 typically equal to 12*(W1 - d1). The width W3 is equal to d2 + 2*dl, and the width d2 is at least equal to the diameter of the truncated section of the tapered guide 40. The configuration shown in [Fig. 18] is particularly well suited to coupling by local fusion of a glass tapered guide 40 or insertion into a truncated anodized aluminum tapered guide 40 with a slot.

[0180] The configuration of [Fig. 19] is obtained following the etching step in an intermediate stage of the manufacturing process of the conductor wire 50. The width W1 is reduced to a width W2 between 50 µm and 200 µm, and preferably equal to 100 µm, over a length L1 equal to 5 to 15 times the difference between W1 and W2, preferably 12 times, i.e., equal to 1.2 mm when W1 is equal to 200 µm and W2 is equal to 100 µm. The conductor wire 50 is then simply folded in half at the neck of width W2 and mounted on the end of a tapered guide 40.

[0181] Figure 20 is a partial, schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of probe 20 allowing to reduce the thermoacoustic effect.

[0182] In this embodiment, the tapered guide 40 is made of a conductive material and incorporates the conducting wire 50. For this purpose, the tapered guide 40 comprises two half-guides 47, 48 made of an electrically conductive material, of the same dimensions, and joined by an electrically insulating adhesive 71. Alternatively, the electrically insulating adhesive 71 may be omitted and replaced by an air gap. The two half-guides 47, 48 correspond, for example, to two half-cones. Alternatively, the two half-guides 47, 48 correspond to two cones. The two half-guides 47, 48 are electrically connected to the pointed end 42 at an extremely limited, almost point-like area forming the tapered portion 52 of the conducting wire 50.Each of the half-guides 47, 48 thus becomes a part of the conducting wire 50 whose cross-section decreases linearly to reach a small cross-section only at the end of the two half-guides 47, 48 forming the thinned portion 52 of the conducting wire 50. .

[0183] The tapered guide 40 further comprises a cylindrical section 49 made of an electrically insulating material, for example glass or ceramic, fixed to the base of the half-guides 47, 48, preferably of the same diameter as the half-half-guides 47, 48 when these correspond to half-cones. This allows the current pulse of the ultrasonic transducer 60 to be spatially isolated. The length of the cylindrical section 49 is between 1 mm and 20 mm and preferably equal to approximately 10 mm. The electrically insulating section 49 has a comparable acoustic impedance to the electrically conductive half-guides 47 and 48, so that acoustic transfer between the half-guides 47 and 48 and the cylindrical section 49 is relatively efficient, with a transverse wave transmission rate exceeding 70%. The probe 20 may include a shielding metal skirt 21 surrounding the half-guides 47 and 48, at a distance from them, and connected to the low reference potential source Gnd. The skirt 21 may be fixed to the cylindrical section 49.

[0184] When the half-guides 47, 49 correspond to half-cones, the tapered guide 40 can be manufactured by assembling two metal parallelepipeds of the same square cross-section, which are bonded together using electrically insulating adhesive 71, facing each other on one of their large faces, and machined to obtain the two half-cones 47, 48 of the same dimensions. The two half-cones 47, 48 are then welded to the pointed end 42. The base of the half-cones 47, 48 is then coupled to the cylindrical section 49.

[0185] This embodiment makes it possible to considerably reduce thermal expansion and optimizes the efficiency of the generation of flexural end by the Lorentz force.

[0186] Fig. 21 is a partial, schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the probe 20 of the detection system 10 allowing the thermoacoustic effect to be reduced.

[0187] The probe 20 shown in [Fig.21] includes all the elements of the probe 20 represented in [Fig.20] with the difference that it also includes a damping element 22, such as a polymer loaded with metallic powder, interposed between the base of one of the half-guides 47, 48 and the section 49. In this case, only one of the half-guides 47, 48 is connected to the ultrasonic transducer 60. This makes it possible to use only one of the two half-guides 47, 48 for the transmission of acoustic waves to the electroacoustic transducer 60, which is advantageous when the two half-guides 47, 48 are not strictly identical, a small difference in profile near the end can generate a variation in phase velocity responsible for a significant phase difference at the base of the half-guides 47, 48.

[0188] The base of the half-guide 47, 48 in contact with the damping element 22 acts as an acoustic output intended to dampen the signal via the damping element 22 and reduce the reverberation time in the half-guides 47, 48 and thus allow a higher PRF (Puise Repetition Frequency) measurement rate.

[0189] An embodiment of a method for improving the magnetometric sensitivity of the measuring system 10 via pulse compression signal processing, which advantageously takes into account the length of the tapered waveguide 40 and its dispersive properties, will now be described. The gain of Sensitivity obtained by the pulse compression technique can be obtained either via the dispersive effect which manifests itself during propagation in the tapered guide 40, or by creating a current pulse train with frequency modulation.

[0190] An embodiment in which the sensitivity gain obtained by the pulse compression technique is obtained via the dispersive effect will now be described.

[0191] In reciprocal operating mode, during propagation in the tapered guide 40 from the pointed end 42 to the base 41, the bending mode generated at the pointed end 42 undergoes a dispersive effect and while the magnetic field is sampled at the pointed end 42 of the tapered guide 40 for a duration equal to the duration At of the current pulse, the resulting base at the base 41 of the tapered guide 40 has changed shape and its analysis highlights a spectral distribution with the highest frequencies located at the head of the wave packet and the lowest frequencies located at the tail of the wave packet.

[0192] This observation is particularly valid if the signal observed at the terminals of the electroacoustic transducer 60 has a much higher electrical load impedance than the impedance relative to the intrinsic capacitance of the electroacoustic transducer 60. For example, the electroacoustic transducer 60 may have an intrinsic capacitance of 1.8 nF, which is approximately 88 ohms at 1 MHz. If the input impedance of the receiving amplifier 35 is significantly higher than this value, for example, at least 5 times greater, i.e., a value between 470 ohms and 1 kiloohm, then the electroacoustic transducer 60 can be considered to be operating under high load impedance and essentially reflects the mechanical displacement propagating along the tapered waveguide 40, which exhibits low frequencies relatively well.Whereas in the case where the input impedance of the receiving amplifier 35 is less than 88 ohms, we can consider that the electroacoustic transducer 60 operates under low load impedance and the amplified measurement signal Samp is more representative of the derivative of the mechanical displacement, therefore of the acoustic velocity, which selects the high frequencies.

[0193] To implement a pulse compression technique, it is preferable to be in a situation where the wave packet at the output of the transducer 60 comprises a frequency-modulated signal and to apply to this signal a suitable filter whose impulse response is, in practice, the time-reverse of the expected received signal shape. This implements a cross-correlation function of the output signal with a suitable filter, which improves the signal-to-noise ratio with a gain theoretically equal to the product of the duration of the frequency-modulated pulse and the frequency band involved in the modulation. To optimize the resolution of the measurement system 10, it is preferable to have a wideband electroacoustic transducer 60 and a pulse train modulated in the received band of the electroacoustic transducer 60 of as long a duration as possible, for example of a duration equal to the transit time in the tapered guide 40. It is therefore preferable to have a relatively long tapered guide 40.

[0194] A fourth test was carried out. In the fourth test, the probe 20 used for the first test was used.

[0195] Figure 22 shows the C4_l and C4_2 time-domain waveforms of the amplified measurement signal Saillp obtained for the fourth trial. The C4_l curve is obtained for a raw amplified measurement signal Samp with an amplifier 35 initially saturated by parasitic coupling during the current pulse due to a lack of shielding and high impedance. The C4_2 curve is obtained after implementing a thermoacoustic effect compensation method as described above.

[0196] Fig. 23 represents a time-dependent evolution curve of the impulse response of the matched filter, i.e. the time return of the analog measurement signal S in compensated mode (cleaned of the parasites related to the capacitive / inductive coupling at the time of the impulse) in the case of a known magnetic field Bz of high intensity to benefit from a good signal-to-noise ratio.

[0197] Figure 24 shows a timing diagram of the amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf obtained after convolving the signal from curve C4_2 of Figure 22 with the impulse response of the matched filter of Figure 23. This produces a cross-correlation function of the output signal with that of the matched filter. The frequency modulation associated with the dispersive effect in the tapered waveguide 40 generates a pulse compression effect at the output of the matched filter and an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio, thus increasing magnetometric sensitivity. Furthermore, it can be seen that the sign of the maximum of the cross-correlation function is directly representative of the measured magnetic pole. If the latter is the same as the pole of the north or south reference field, then the peak is positive; otherwise, if the measured pole is opposite, then the sign is negative. This provides a simple means of identifying the pole.

[0198] An embodiment in which the sensitivity gain by pulse compression is obtained by creating a current pulse train comprising a frequency modulation will now be described.

[0199] A frequency-modulated current pulse train is applied between an initial frequency and a final frequency, and measurement signals S are acquired. A suitable filtering corresponding to the time return of the frequency modulation function is then applied to the amplified measurement signal Samp, and also a filtering adapted to the noise at the output of the amplifier 35 in the absence of a magnetic field.

[0200] Figures 25 and 26 represent timing diagrams, expressed in arbitrary units, obtained by simulation, which illustrate the sensitivity gain by pulse compression obtained by frequency modulation of a sinusoidal current pulse train.

[0201] For the simulation, the current pulses are sinusoidal and last 25 qs, which is slightly less than the transit time Tr of 27 ps in a tapered waveguide 40 corresponding to a cone of height H of 84 mm. The current pulses are frequency modulated between an initial frequency of 500 kHz and a final frequency of 1 MHz, which falls within the bandwidth of the electroacoustic transducer 60.

[0202] Figure 25 shows a timing diagram of an example of an amplified measurement signal Samp obtained without filtering during the application of the frequency-modulated sinusoidal current pulse train described previously. For the simulation, noise is added to the amplified measurement signal Samp so that the signal-to-noise ratio of the amplified measurement signal Samp is equal to 2. The added noise is Gaussian noise with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of 0.5, following a normal distribution.

[0203] Figure 26 shows the timing diagrams C5_1 and C5_2 of the amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf (curve C5_1) and the amplified and filtered noise alone (curve C5_2). The signal-to-noise ratio C5_1 to C5_2 is 25. The signal-to-noise ratio gain of the amplified and filtered measurement signal Sf is therefore 12.5. A sensitivity gain by pulse compression is obtained by frequency modulation of a sinusoidal current pulse train. This gain is equal to the product of the modulation bandwidth and the pulse duration (0.5 MHz * 25 qs).

[0204] According to one embodiment, the current pulses are rectangular, preferably with a current rise and discharge time of the first order.

[0205] Figure 27 is a timing diagram of the frequency-modulated control signals Trigl and Trig2, resulting in a train comprising N frequency-modulated rectangular pulses, where N is an integer, for example, from 2 to 30. The pulses of the control signals Trigl and Trig2 have a duration ranging from Atl to AtN, associated with a period ranging from Tl to TN, implementing AF frequency modulation, for example, between 300 kHz and 1 MHz, specifically around the center frequency F0 of the electroacoustic transducer 60, for example, 1 MHz. The frequency modulation may not be strictly symmetrical around the center frequency F0, but rather performed below the center frequency F0 of the electroacoustic transducer 60, because the focus of the tapered waveguide 40 degrades rapidly towards higher frequencies and for a given apex angle of the tapered waveguide 40.The pulse trains of the Trigl and Trig2 control signals are built from a frequency-modulated sinusoidal signal x(t) starting from the frequency la. The highest frequency, FN, equal to 1 / TN, ends at the lowest frequency, Fl, equal to 1 / T1 (with AF equal to the difference between the frequencies FN and Fl), after a total duration Tburst not exceeding the transit time Tr in the tapered waveguide 40. The frequency FN is, for example, equal to 1 MHz. The frequency Fl is, for example, equal to 300 kHz. The duration Tburst is, for example, equal to 24 ps for a tapered aluminum waveguide 40 with a length of 85 mm. The sinusoidal signal x(t) is given by the following relation:

[0206] x(t)=sin(27î(FN-(0.5-AF / Tburst*t))*t))

[0207] with t varying from 0 to Tburst in the form of NbUrSt samples of index i / Fss (where Fss is the time sampling frequency, for example, 16 MHz). Nburst is equal to Tburst*Fss (rounded to the nearest integer), and i is an integer ranging from 1 to Nburst. The sinusoidal burst is then mathematically converted into Trig1 and Trig2 signals using a level comparator with positive and negative thresholds expressed as a percentage of the sine wave's maximum. The threshold is typically chosen between 5% and 60%, preferably equal to 50% of the sine wave's maximum. When the sine function exceeds the positive threshold, it is rounded to +1; otherwise, it is rounded to zero. The resulting signal has a duty cycle of less than 50%. It is sent into an arbitrary function generator by associating an output amplitude with this signal, for example 3.3 V, which provides the Trigl signal.When the sine wave exceeds the negative threshold of -50%, it is rounded to +1; otherwise, it is rounded to zero. The resulting signal is sent to the arbitrary function generator with an output voltage also adjusted to +3.3 V, which provides the Trig2 signal. It can be seen that the Trigl and Trig2 signals are not exactly identical due to frequency modulation. Furthermore, considering the case of [Fig. 17], the AC measurement consists of simultaneously sending the Trigl and Trig2 signals to the respective generators GEN1 and GEN2 in the first phase. Then, in the opposite AC phase, the Trigl and Trig2 signals are interchanged by sending the Trigl signal to the synchronization input of generator GEN2 and the Trig2 signal to the synchronization input of generator GEN1.The durations of the pulses Ati to AtN are thus less than or equal to the respective half-periods Ti / 2 to Tn / 2 so that the pulse trains of the control signals Trigl and Trig2 always have a zero time intersection.

[0208] In the embodiments described above, the pulse compression method is implemented for a measuring system 10 operating in reciprocal mode. However, the pulse compression method can also be implemented for a measuring system 10 operating in direct mode.

[0209] The [Fig.28] is an electrical diagram of an embodiment of the 33V voltage pulse generator of the detection system 10 of the [Fig.8] allowing the implementation of the pulse compression process in direct operating mode.

[0210] The 33V voltage pulse generator shown in [Fig.28] comprises all the elements of the current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 16] except that it also includes a resistor Rp, one terminal of which is preferably connected to the first terminal of the secondary winding L2 of the transformer TS1, the first terminal of each resistor RI, R2, R3, R4 (the resistor R0 not being present) is preferably connected to a second terminal of the resistor Rp, and is preferably connected to a first terminal of the electroacoustic transducer 60 and the switch SW connects a second terminal of one of the resistors RI, R2, R3, R4 to the source of the low reference potential Gnd.It is noted that in this approach, the mechanical SW switch can easily be replaced by a digital switch with four N-channel MOS transistors individually controlled at their gate by a CMOS digital signal, the drains of the N-channel MOS transistors being connected to one of the second terminals of resistors RI, R2, R3, R4 and the four sources of the MOS transistors being connected to the same low reference potential Gnd.

[0211] The control signals Trigl and Trig2 of the GEN1 and GEN2 generators can be those shown in [Fig. 27]. The sources SI and S2 generate voltage pulses, for example with an amplitude of 60 V, of durations equal to the pulses Atl to AtN, which are transformed by the transformer TS1, for example with a transformation ratio of 4 to 5. Differential detection over two successive acquisitions with opposing current injected into the primary winding L1 of the transformer TS1 can also be implemented so as to double the magnetometric sensitivity. The measurement range is defined via a resistance bridge formed by the resistor Rp and one of the resistors RI, R2, R3, R4 to which it is connected by the switch SW, which adjusts the amplitude of the voltage applied to the electroacoustic transducer 60. The inductance of the primary winding L1 is, for example, 2 ΩH.The inductance of the secondary winding L2 is, for example, 16 times the inductance of the primary winding LL. The resistance Rp is, for example, 100 ohms. The resistance RI is, for example, 1 ohm. The resistance R2 is, for example, 10 ohms. The resistance R3 is, for example, 100 ohms. The resistance R4 is, for example, 10 kiloohms.

[0212] In direct operation, there is no nonlinear effect related to the thermoacoustic effect. The measurement signal S is zero in the absence of a magnetic field. However, it is possible to implement differential measurement on Successive acquisitions using opposing voltage pulses effectively double the sensitivity. Furthermore, burst excitation with two generators, GEN1 and GEN2, can be implemented to generate bipolar pulses, further increasing sensitivity. Additionally, pulse compression can be employed, which also enhances magnetometric sensitivity. Initially, the resolution depends solely on the vibration amplitude, which can lead to the creation of a very high vibration velocity, typically 30 m / s, at the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide 40, using similarly high excitation voltages. This can pose both electrical and acoustic safety risks, given the small size of the tip, which must remain at a distance from the operator's ears.Although the vibration is inaudible and the airborne transmission is very localized, the vibrational energy can be intense and potentially harmful.

[0213] By way of example, a sensitivity of 10 mV / T is obtained with monopolar voltage pulses of duration equal to 0.5 qs and amplitude equal to 300 V. This sensitivity can be doubled with bipolar pulses, and doubled again with successive acquisitions of bipolar pulses. Finally, it is possible to improve this sensitivity by a factor of 10 to 15 via the sensitivity gain provided by pulse compression, so that a detectivity close to the microtesla range and a sensitivity greater than 1000 V / T can be achieved in direct operating mode.

[0214] The linearity of the measurement depends on the processing of the measurement signal S and the selection of a measurement window for the measurement signal S. In one embodiment, the measurement window is limited to a predetermined number of oscillations that terminate at the moment of a zero crossing of the received signal S. To achieve this, any signal value preceding or following this measurement window is set to zero. This has the effect of smoothing the fast Fourier transform and allowing the spectral line of maximum amplitude to be correctly measured if working in Fourier space. The determination of the measurement window is possible regardless of the magnetic field and the signal rebounding due to the Lorentz force because the internal echo in the tapered waveguide 40 is independent of the magnetic field to be measured. It depends only on the temperature distribution in the tapered waveguide 40.

[0215] According to one embodiment, to determine the measurement window, the transit time Tr is determined as previously described in relation to [Fig. 12]. By way of example, the electrostatic transducer 60 is controlled in transmitter mode to emit a wave train with a carrier at the center frequency F0 of the electrostatic transducer 60 or optionally frequency modulated around the center frequency of the electrostatic transducer 60. Immediately after emission, the electroacoustic transducer 60 is controlled in receiver mode and recovers The internal echo is amplified by a gain G2 of a receiving amplifier. The gain G2 is not necessarily very high, and may even be unity, since a simple sinusoidal pulse with a peak amplitude of 10 V is sufficient to produce an echo with a peak amplitude of 160 mV. Therefore, without amplification, the echo has an amplitude of approximately 1 V for a 60 V pulse.

[0216] The measurement window is obtained from the transit time Tr thus determined. The determination of the transit time Tr can be carried out before each magnetic field measurement. According to one embodiment, the measurement window begins after the transit time Tr has elapsed following the first voltage pulse implemented for the magnetic field measurement, possibly reduced by a margin. The measurement window ends after the transit time Tr has elapsed following the last voltage pulse implemented for the magnetic field measurement, possibly increased by a margin.

[0217] In direct operation, in the presence of a magnetic field to be measured Bz, a voltage appears across the terminals of the conducting wire 50, which is amplified by the receiving amplifier 35 with gain Gl. The measurement signal S appears after a transit time of duration Tr in the tapered waveguide 40 after the first voltage pulse applied to the electroacoustic transducer 60. The peak amplitude analysis is performed directly by a dedicated electronic module if the dispersive effect in the tapered waveguide 40 is exploited and an excitation that is as close as possible to the time-reversed value of the signal recovered across the terminals of the conducting wire 50 in the case of an impulse response (i.e., a pulse very short compared to the period 1 / F0 of the electroacoustic transducer 60).If the dispersive effect of the tapered waveguide 40 is disregarded, and a frequency-modulated wave train is generated, for example, the signal must be digitized after G2 amplification with a number of samples limited to the measurement window, for example, 62.5 samples / µs. The digitized signal is then convolved with a reference signal, which is the time-reversed version of a signal obtained with a known magnetic field Bz as the reference. It is then sufficient to measure the maximum amplitude of the resulting signal and relate it to the maximum amplitude of the unreversed reference signal convolved with itself (i.e., the autocorrelation of the reference signal). The magnetic field Bz to be determined is then directly the value of this ratio multiplied by the reference magnetic field Bz.

[0218] A simulation was carried out in which the measuring system 10 is used in direct operating mode for the measurement of a magnetic field having an amplitude equal to 480 mT. The electroacoustic transducer 60 is controlled with a burst of two voltage pulses.

[0219] Fig. 29 represents a timing diagram of the amplified measurement signal Samp which was zeroed before and after the measurement window and Fig. 30 represents a curve of the ABS (FFT) four-factor transformation of the amplified measurement signal Samp of Fig. 29.

[0220] The [Fig.31] is an electrical diagram of another embodiment of the current pulse generator 331 of the detection system 10 of the [Fig.7] allowing sampling of the magnetic field Bz with an ultrashort period, for example less than 5 ns.

[0221] The current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 31] comprises all the elements of the current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 17] except that resistors R0, RI, R2, R3, and R4 are not present, that the switch SW is replaced by a gas discharge tube GDT, one terminal of which is connected, preferably connected, to the conductor wire of the coaxial cable Coaxl, that it further comprises a capacitor Cr, one electrode of which is connected, preferably connected, to resistors Radl and Rad2 and a second electrode of which is connected, preferably connected, to the source of the low reference potential Gnd, and that it further comprises a resistor Rr, one terminal of which is connected, preferably connected, to resistors Radl and Rad2 and a second electrode of which is connected, preferably connected, to a second terminal of the gas discharge tube GDT. The midpoint between resistors Radl and Rad2 is denoted Ns.The braid of the Coaxl coaxial cable is connected to the low reference potential Gnd in order to reduce radiation from the conductor wire.

[0222] The current pulse generator 331 illustrated in [Fig.31] is adapted to produce a very short and high intensity current pulse to take into account the fact that we are moving away from the optimal value of a pulse duration equal to half the resonance period of the electroacoustic transducer 60 while implementing compensation of the electroacoustic effect by current pulses in opposite directions.

[0223] Transformers TS1 and TS2 are step-up transformers with the same turns ratio but opposite signs. Transformers TS1 and TS2 are supplied by pulse generators GEN1 and GEN2, which are medium-voltage generators capable of operating, for example, up to 400 V. These medium-voltage generators GEN1 and GEN2 have low output impedances Rs1 and Rs2, typically less than 4 ohms, and supply transformers TS1 and TS2. Adjustment resistors Radl and Rad2, for example less than 1 ohm, allow for the absolute equalization of the positive and negative voltage loading slopes of capacitor Cr supplied by transformers TS1 and TS2. The rate of increase of the voltage across capacitor Cr must be as fast as possible and is, for example, between 5 V / ns and 150 V / ns, so that the breakdown voltage of the The gas discharge tube (GDT) breakdown is reached before half a period of the electroacoustic transducer 60, i.e., less than 500 ns for an electroacoustic transducer 60 with a center frequency resonance of 1 MHz. Furthermore, even though the breakdown voltage of the GDT fluctuates by a few tens of volts from one breakdown to the next, the slope is sufficiently steep that the jitter thus created is less than a nanosecond.

[0224] Current excitation of the conducting wire 50 surmounting the tip 42 of the tapered waveguide 40 occurs during the discharge of the capacitor Cr via the discharge gas tube GDT. The discharge current follows a second-order law defined by the RLC circuit formed by the resistor Rr, the inductor L2 or L4, and the capacitor Cr. To ensure that the discharge current pulse is unipolar, values ​​for the resistor Rr and the capacitance Cr are chosen such that the damping coefficient of this RLC circuit has a value less than 1 and preferably close to 0.7. By taking appropriate values, a pulse with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of less than 5 ns, and for example close to 2.5 ns, can thus be obtained.For this purpose, a capacitance Cr is chosen preferably less than 150 pF so that transformers TS1 and TS2 can charge it in a short time, less than 500 ns, and preferably close to 50 pF to 100 pF. The conductor wire 50, positioned over the tip 42 of the short, tapered waveguide 40, minimizes its inductance (preferably less than 10 nH). A sufficiently high series discharge resistance Rr is used to break resonance and ensure that the damping coefficient approaches 0.7, while remaining small enough to allow the peak current amplitude to reach a high value, for example, 100 A, thus maximizing magnetometric sensitivity. Transformers TS1 and TS2 have a turns ratio of, for example, 7:90, with 7 turns in the primary winding L1, L3 and 90 turns in the secondary winding L2, L4.A 350 V pulse at the primary winding is thus transformed into a +4500 V or -4500 V pulse at the output of the secondary winding (open circuit), depending on whether transformer TS1 or TS2 is inverting or not. Given that transformers TS1 and TS2 are connected to small tuning resistors Radl and Rad2 (less than 1 ohm), and especially since they constitute a load for each other with identical output impedances, the pulses lose half their amplitude at node NS once transformers TS1 and TS2 are connected via tuning resistors Radl and Rad2.

[0225] At node Ns, a pulse occurs that can reach a limit value close to +2250 V when generator GEN1 is active or close to -2250 V when generator GEN2 is active. These limit voltages are at least 10% higher than the breakdown voltage of the gas discharge tube (GDT), so that the breakdown voltage of the GDT is always guaranteed to be reached. Various types of gas discharge tubes are commercially available in surface-mount (SMT) format, with breakdown voltages specified for a 1 V / ns slope, typically ranging from 600 V to 5000 V. Alternatively, a gas discharge tube (GDT) can be made from a simple cut copper trace, gold-plated and topped with a sealed cap. This cap acts as the gas discharge tube, with air serving as the dielectric and the cap containing the ozone generated during discharge. This results in a device capable of producing high-intensity monopolar pulses that can be alternated to perform differential measurements to compensate for the thermoacoustic effect. The pulse compression technique becomes less relevant when using ultrashort sampling to access high-frequency magnetic fields with a broad spectrum.The high current of 100 A flowing in the conductor 50 allows for a sensitivity of 8.6 V / T and a detectivity of 86 qT by compensating for the thermoacoustic effect. This assumes that the activation time of the transient magnetic field to be measured can be controlled so that its measurement is synchronous with the current pulse and has a jitter of less than half a nanosecond, thus enabling alternating measurements with opposing pulsed currents. It is also assumed that the voltage rise rate at the transformer output is sufficiently high (preferably greater than 100 V / ns) so that the breakdown voltage fluctuation of the gas discharge tube (GDT) remains less than half a nanosecond.

[0226] The [Fig.32] is an electrical diagram of a variant of the current pulse generator 331 of the [Fig.31].

[0227] The current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 32] comprises all the elements of the current pulse generator 331 shown in [Fig. 31] and further comprises a source SL configured to emit electromagnetic radiation ER towards the discharge gas tube GDT, for example a light source or a UV laser source, enabling the active triggering of the discharge gas tube GDT. This allows the discharge to be precisely controlled at the desired time and voltage synchronously with an ATF delay relative to the control signals Trig1 and Trig2 and before the voltage reaches the fluctuating self-triggering threshold that causes jitter.

[0228] The ER radiation, for example, has an energy ranging from 0.1 mJ to 1 mJ and reaches the electrodes of the gas discharge tube or a target material such as a zinc foil placed in the immediate vicinity of the electrodes, preferably less than one millimeter from the electrodes, intended to receive the focused laser impact to produce, by ablation, a plasma in the immediate vicinity of the electrodes, which triggers the discharge synchronously of the gas discharge tube. The laser may be a pulsed laser. preferably having a short wavelength, for example less than 0.4 pm, and is characterized by jitter of less than half a nanosecond, pulse durations typically between 5 ns and 10 ns and a firing rate between 50 Hz and 2000 Hz.

[0229] Examples of applications of the embodiments of the magnetic field measurement system described above include the study of the electromagnetic compatibility of components, the characterization of inductive components or high-current inductive probes, in particular the spreading of field lines over a distance or electromagnetic leakage through slots or openings in a shield, or the characterization of the magnetic susceptibility of materials. Another example of an application is the implementation of a readout head for mapping magnetic fields or reading data stored in magnetic form by detecting a local binary polarization or a field of a given amplitude.

[0230] The embodiments of the magnetic field measurement system described above make it possible to sample a transient or oscillating magnetic field synchronously and very locally in space and also very locally in time via a very short sampling period. In particular, the spatial measurement resolution can be less than 0.1 mm, and the sampling period can be less than 10 ns, or even 5 ns. It is thus possible, in particular, to measure pulsed magnetic fields with a minimum duration of approximately 10 ns or variable magnetic fields with a maximum frequency on the order of 100 MHz.

[0231] Various embodiments and variations have been described. A person skilled in the art will understand that certain features of these various embodiments and variations could be combined, and other variations will become apparent to a person skilled in the art.

[0232] Finally, the practical implementation of the embodiments and variants described is within the reach of a person skilled in the art, based on the functional indications given above.

Claims

Demands

1. System (10) for measuring a magnetic field (Bz) comprising: - a device (20) for detecting the magnetic field (Bz) comprising a tapered acoustic waveguide (40) having a base (41) and a tapered end (42), an electrically conductive wire (50) rigidly coupled to the tapered end (42) and an electroacoustic transducer (60) rigidly coupled to the base (41);and - a control and acquisition device (30) connected to the magnetic field detection device (20) (Bz) comprising a generator (331) configured to provide a pair of current pulses (I+, I-) of opposite directions or a plurality of frequency-modulated current pulses in the electrically conductive wire (50) and an acquisition circuit (32) configured to detect electrical signals (S) provided by the electroacoustic transducer (60) or a generator (33V) configured to provide a pair of voltage pulses of opposite signs or a plurality of frequency-modulated voltage pulses controlling the electroacoustic transducer (60) and an acquisition circuit (32) configured to detect electrical signals (S) provided by the electrically conductive wire (50).;

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the generator (331, 33V) is configured to provide a plurality of pairs of current pulses (I+, I-) of opposite direction in the electrically conductive wire (50) or a plurality of pairs of voltage pulses of opposite signs controlling the electroacoustic transducer (60).

3. System according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the generator (331, 33V) is configured to provide pulses having maximum amplitudes in absolute value identical to better than 2%.

4. System according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the frequency modulation of the plurality of frequency-modulated current or voltage pulses is located in the bandwidth of the electroacoustic transducer (60).

5. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the acquisition circuit (32) is configured to determine the difference between the electrical signals (S) supplied for the first impulse (1+) of the impulse pair and the second impulse (I-) of the impulse pair.

6. System according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control and acquisition device (30) is configured to determine the transit time (Tr) of the acoustic waves in the tapered acoustic waveguide (40) between the base (41) and the tapered end (42), the acquisition circuit (32) being configured to acquire the electrical signals (S) in a time window whose start relative to the first of the pulses depends on the transit time (Tr).

7. System according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the electrically conductive wire (50) comprises first and second ends (53, 54), wherein the electroacoustic transducer (60) comprises first and second electrodes, wherein the generator (331, 33V) comprises first and second voltage sources (SI, S2), and wherein the first voltage source (SI) is connected to the first end (53) of the electrically conductive wire (50) or to the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer (60).

8. System according to claim 7, wherein the second voltage source (S2) is connected to the second end (54) of the electrically conductive wire (50) or to the second electrode of the electroacoustic transducer (60).

9. System according to claim 7, wherein the generator (331, 33V) further comprises a first transformer (TS1) having a first primary winding (L1) connected to the first source (SI) and a first secondary winding (L2) connected to the first end (53) of the electrically conductive wire (50) or to the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer (60).

10. System according to claim 9, wherein the second source (S2) is connected to the first primary winding (L1).

11. System according to claim 9, wherein the generator (331, 33V) further comprises a second transformer (TS2) having a second primary winding (L3) connected to the second source (S2) and a second secondary winding (L4) connected to the first end (53) of the electrically conductive wire (50) or to the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer (60).

12. System according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the generator (331, 33V) further comprises resistors (RO, RI, R2, R3, R4) of different values ​​and a switch (SW) configured to put in series one of the resistors (RO, RI, R2, R3, R4) with the first end (53) of the electrically conductive wire (50) or with the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer (60).

13. System according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the generator (331, 33V) further comprises a gas discharge tube (GDT) between the first source (SI) and the first end (53) of the electrically conductive wire (50) or the first electrode of the electroacoustic transducer (60) and a capacitor (Cr) having an armature connected to a node between the first source (SI) and the gas discharge tube (GDT).

14. System according to claim 11, further comprising a device for emitting (SL) electromagnetic radiation (ER) onto the gas discharge tube (GDT).

15. System according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the electrically conductive wire (50) comprises a tapered portion (52) rigidly coupled to the tapered end (42).

16. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the tapered acoustic waveguide (40) comprises two tapered acoustic waveguide half-halfs (47, 48) made of an electrically conductive material and each comprising a pointed end, the two tapered acoustic waveguide half-halfs (47, 48) being separated from each other except for the two tips which are fused.

17. System according to claim 16, wherein the tapered acoustic waveguide (40) further comprises an electrically insulating block (49) between the two tapered acoustic waveguide half-halfs (47, 48) and the electroacoustic transducer (60).

Images