Gradient magnetic field measurement using first-order gradiometers equipped with 50 mm diameter pickup coils made out of a 2G high-Tc superconducting tape

Two types of first-order gradiometers equipped with 50 mm diameter pickup coils were made out of an REBaCuO High-Tc superconducting (HTS) flexible tape. The HTS tapes were formed into the HTS gradiometers by ``cut-and-wind'' method without cable jointing. The HTS gradiometers were examined at 77 K for magnetic sensitivity to a gradient field applied by an external coil. The axial-type HTS gradiometer eliminated the magnetic field output of the device induced by a uniform field, and enhanced the magnetic field output induced by a gradient field on the axis of the pickup coil. The planar-type HTS gradiometer made it possible to detect a 20 mm diameter steel cylinder placed beside the pickup coil in a uniform field of 100 µT by detecting the spatial field gradient in the vicinity of a ferromagnetic object.