Image of a penny by high-resolution eddy-current probe with an NVE spintronic sensor. Pixel resolution is 100 microns. (Courtesy of S. Smith and T. Dogaru, University of North Carolina-Charlotte.)

NVE has developed some of the world's most sensitive solid-state magnetic sensors, using one of two spintronic nanotechnology structures: Giant Magnetoresistors (GMR) and Spin-Dependent Tunnel (SDT) Junctions. Spintronic sensors are smaller, use less power and are far more sensitive than older solid-state magnetic technologies such as Hall-effect sensors and Anisotropic Magnetoresisitive (AMR) sensors.

Arrays of nanoscale sensors on a single chip can be used to detect very small magnetic fields with very high spatial resolution. They can be deposited on active silicon substrates with on-chip signal processing and multiplexing. Such integration reduces the effect of noise, simplifies the sensor/signal-processing interface, and minimizes the number of leads.

Low-field sensing applications include nondestructive evaluation, document validation including currency and credit cards, and magnetic imaging.

Nondestructive evaluation involves testing in place critical components such as airframes, bridges, or building structures. NVE has developed spintronic sensors that can locate defects such as small cracks by detecting very small perturbations in magnetic fields.