How to use Hall Effect Sensor with
Arduino?
July 28, 2018
By Administrator
In this project, we will learn about Hall Effect Sensor, how a Hall Effect IC
works, block diagram of a typical Hall Effect IC and how to interface a Hall
Effect Sensor with Arduino. Additionally, I will show you how to control a
Relay using Hall Effect Sensor and Arduino.
Outline
Introduction
A Brief Note on Hall Effect Sensor
o Block Diagram of the Hall Effect Sensor
o Pins of A1104 Hall Effect Sensor
Working of the Hall Effect Sensor
Types of Hall Devices
Interfacing Hall Effect Sensor with Arduino
o Components Required
Hook-up Guide of Hall Effect Sensor with Arduino
o Code
o Working
Control a Relay with Arduino and Hall Effect Sensor
o Code
o Working
Applications of Hall Effect Sensor
Introduction
If you remember the Arduino WaterFlow Sensor Tutorial we
implemented earlier, the main component of the Water Flow Sensor is the
Hall Effect IC.
A Hall Effect Sensor works on the principle of, well, Hall Effect. Simply
speaking, a Hall Effect Sensor or IC detects motion, position or change in
magnetic field strength of either a permanent magnet, an electromagnet
or any ferromagnetic material.
Hall Effect IC are contact-less magnetically activated switches. They are
used in a wide range of applications like automobiles, computers, control
systems, security systems etc.
So, in this project, I will discuss about a Hall Effect IC A11004, how this Hall
Effect Sensor works and finally how to interface a Hall Effect Sensor with
Arduino.
A Brief Note on Hall Effect Sensor
As mentioned earlier, a Hall Effect Sensor is a magnetically activated
switch with non-contact trigger. The Hall Effect IC which I will be focusing
on in this project is A1104 from Allegro Micro Systems. It is available in 3-
pin SIP as well as SOT23 packages.
Above image shows the A1104 Hall Effect IC used in this project. It is based
on BiCMOS technology, which combines the benefits of both the Bipolar
and CMOS technologies.
Block Diagram of the Hall Effect Sensor
The main components of the A1104 Hall Effect IC are: Voltage Regulator,
Hall Device, Small Signal Amplifier, Schmitt Trigger and an Output NMOS
Transistor. The following image shows the block diagram of this Hall Effect
IC.
Pins of A1104 Hall Effect Sensor
Before going to see the working of a Hall Effect IC, let me give an overview
of the Pins of the A1104 Hall Effect IC. There are three pins on the A1104
Hall Effect IC: VCC, GND and OUT.
VCC (1): Power Supply to IC. 3.8V to 24V.
GND (2): Ground.
OUT (3): Output of the IC.
The following image shows the Pins of the A1104 Hall Effect IC.
Working of the Hall Effect Sensor
The Hall Element or the Hall Device (sometimes called as the Active Area)
is a small semiconductor sheet. This is represented as the following image.
When a constant voltage is given at VCC, some small but constant current
flows through the semiconductor sheet. When there is no magnetic field,
the voltage VHALL, which is measured across the width of the Hall Element
(semiconductor sheet) will be approximately equal to 0V.
If the Hall Element is subjected to a magnetic field such that, the magnetic
flux of the magnetic field is perpendicular to the current flowing through
the sheet, the output voltage VHALL is directly proportional to the strength of
the magnetic field.
Types of Hall Devices
Based on the orientation and characteristics of the Active Area (Hall
Element), Hall Effect Sensors can be categorized into three types.
Planar Hall Device
Vertical Hall Device
3D Hall Device
In Planar Hall Devices, the flux lines of the magnetic field must pass
perpendicularly through the active area to optimally operate the switch.
Here, the active area is parallel to the branded face of the IC i.e. the face
marked with Manufacturer part number.
Coming to the Vertical Hall Device, its sensitive areas can be on the top
edge, right side edge or left side edge. Finally, a 3D Hall Device can detect
the magnetic field when the magnet is approached from any direction.
NOTE: An important point to remember about the operation of the Hall
Effect Sensor is that both the magnetic field strength as well as the
polarity (North or South) are equally important. The Hall Effect Sensor will
switch only if it is subjected a sufficient magnetic flux density as well
correct polarity.
A Hall Effect Sensor can be sensitive to either North Pole or South Pole but
not both.
Interfacing Hall Effect Sensor with Arduino
Now that we have seen a little bit about the Hall Effect Sensor, let me take
you through the steps of interfacing a Hall Effect Sensor with Arduino.
As usual, I will implement two circuits: one is the basic hook-up guide of
Hall Effect Sensor with Arduino and the second one is an application
circuit where I will control a relay with the help of Hall Effect Sensor and
Arduino.
Components Required
The components required for both these circuits are mentioned below.
Arduino UNO [Buy Here]
A1104 Hall Effect IC
10KΩ Resistor
LED
1KΩ Resistor
5V Relay Module
Mini Breadboard
Connecting Wires
Hook-up Guide of Hall Effect Sensor with Arduino
The following image shows the necessary connections between Arduino
UNO and A1104 Hall Effect IC.
Code
const int ledPin = 10;
const int hallPin = 2;
volatile bool ledState = LOW;
void setup()
{
pinMode(ledPin,OUTPUT);
pinMode(hallPin,INPUT);
attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(hallPin), hall_ISR, CHANGE);
}
void loop()
{
digitalWrite(ledPin, ledState);
}
void hall_ISR()
{
ledState = !ledState;
}
view rawArduino_Hall_Effect_IC_LED.ino hosted with ❤ by GitHub
Working
If you notice the circuit diagram, the connections are pretty straight
forward. The VCC and GND pins of the Hall Effect IC i.e. Pins 1 and 2 from
the branding face are connected to +5V and GND of Arduino.
The OUT pin of the Hall Effect IC is pulled HIGH using a 10KΩ Resistor.
Whenever the magnetic field is placed near the Hall Effect IC, the output of
the Hall Effect IC becomes LOW. This change is detected by Arduino and
accordingly it activates the LED.
Control a Relay with Arduino and Hall Effect Sensor
The circuit diagram for controlling a 5V Relay Module with Hall Effect
Sensor and Arduino is shown below.
Code
const int relayPin = 10;
const int hallPin = 2;
int hallVal = 0;
int relayToggle = LOW;
int previousState = HIGH;
void setup ()
{
pinMode (relayPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode (hallPin, INPUT);
}
void loop ()
{
hallVal = digitalRead(hallPin);
if (hallVal == LOW && previousState==HIGH)
{
relayToggle=!relayToggle;
digitalWrite (relayPin, relayToggle);
}
previousState=hallVal;
}
view rawArduino_Hall_Effect_IC_Relay_Toggle.ino hosted with ❤ by GitHub
Working
The working of this circuit is very simple. Whenever the Hall Effect Sensor
is subjected to a magnetic field, it toggles the Relay (as per the code).
Applications of Hall Effect Sensor
Hall Effect Sensor is used in a wide range of applications like
Automobile ignition systems
Tachometers
Current Sensors
Brushless DC Motor Controllers
Speed Control Systems
Printers
Keyboards
Switches (key and push button)
Security Systems
Position Detectors
