An Eddy Current Sensorconsists of a ferrite U-core and a coil.

The permeability of the device under test (DUT) is changed by applying a force/stress on the DUT. As result the impedance of the sensor coil changes with the force. The impedance change can be converted to a voltage change by using a measuring bridge.The force and stress applied on the DUT can be derived by the voltage measurement. The sensitivity and hysteresis depends on sensor geometry and the elektrical measuring conditions. The relation between the impedance and measurand of an optimized sensor is linear. The mean correlation coefficient is better than -0.996. The hysteresis of the loading and unloading curves is less than 3%. These sensors can be applied to force and stress measurement, and to bridge monitoring. They can also be used for Contactless Displacement Measurement in control engineering and vibration measurement of rotatory machines and nano-positioning etc.

Basic Theory
Eddy-Current sensors operate with magnetic fields. The driver creates an alternating current in the sensing coil in the end of the probe. This creates an alternating magnetic field with induces small currents in the target material; these currents are called eddy currents. The eddy currents create an opposing magnetic field which resists the field being generated by the probe coil. The interaction of the magnetic fields is dependent on the distance between the probe and the target. As the distance changes, the electronics sense the change in the field interaction and produce a voltage output which is proportional to the change in distance between the probe and target. The target surface must be at least three times larger than the probe diameter for normal, calibrated operation; otherwise, special calibration my be required.

The operation of metal detectors is based upon the principles of electromagnetic induction. Metal detectors contain one or more inductor coils that are used to interact with metallic elements on the ground. The single-coil detector illustrated below is a simplified version of one used in a real metal detector.

A pulsing current is applied to the coil, which then induces a magnetic field shown in blue. When the magnetic field of the coil moves across metal, such as the coin in this illustration, the field induces electric currents (called eddy currents) in the coin. The eddy currents induce their own magnetic field, shown in red, which generates an opposite current in the coil, which induces a signal indicating the presence of metal.