Noise Analysis of Magnetic Sensors Using Allan Variance

The article deals with the noise analysis of magnetic sensors using Allan variance. In comparison with the standard variance, based on the variations around the average value, Allan variance provides a measure of the behavior of the variability of a quantity as it is averaged over different measurement time periods, which results in a better convergence and the possibility to distinguish types of noise directly. A significant advantage of this method is that there is no need of any transformations and according to the IEEE recommendation the Allan variance approach is the preferred method for stochastic error identification and the noise type determination in inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes). Considering that magnetic sensors become even more often a part of inertial measurements units, the goal of this article is to prove that the method using the Allan variance analysis can be very successfully applied also for noise analysis in magnetic sensors.