Aim-TTi has launched an innovative current probe designed to measure currents in PCB tracks. The Aim I-prober 520 ‘positional current probe’ uses patented technology to measure current in a conductor without requiring the conductor to pass through the probe or flow through a shunt resistor, as with conventional methods.
The current probe operates by sensing the magnetic field very close to the track. The distance between the track and the sensing element must be very small to achieve good sensitivity, because the field strength decreases with the square of the distance. To create a practical current probe, the I-prober 520 utilises a patented miniaturised fluxgate magnetometer developed in conjunction with Cambridge University (UK). The miniature device also has much lower noise and much wider bandwidth than conventional fluxgate magnetometers. [via]
Novel current probe measures currents in PCB tracks - [Link]