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International audienceIn this work, a very promising shape of magnetic concentrators taking advantage of the symmetrical flux leakage of Mn-Zn ferrite magnetic cores is presented. This configuration consists of two ferromagnetic rods separated by two air gaps allowing to place anisotropic magnetoresistance sensors in the core axis. Results from three-dimensional finite elements modeling are presented. We show that an appropriate shape optimization of core extremities enables to improve significantly the amplification factor without any increase in length

This paper describes the design and performance of the search coil magnetometers (SCM), which are part of the Plasma Wave Investigation (PWI) instrument onboard the BepiColombo/Mio spacecraft (Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter), which will measure the electric field, plasma waves 2 and radio waves for the first time in Mercury's plasma environment. The SCM consists of two lowfrequency orthogonal search coil sensors (LF-SC) measuring two components of the magnetic field (0.1 Hz-20 kHz) in the spacecraft spin plane, and a dual-band search coil sensor (DB-SC) picking up the third component along the spin axis at both low-frequencies (LF: 0.1 Hz-20 kHz) and highfrequencies (HF: 10 kHz-640 kHz). The DB-SC and the two LF-SC sensors form a tri-axial configuration at the tip of a 4.6-m coilable mast (MAST-SC) extending from the spacecraft body, to minimize artificial magnetic field contamination emitted by the spacecraft electronics. After the successful launch of the spacecraft on 20 October 2018, an initial function check for the SCM was conducted. The nominal function and performance of the sensors and preamplifiers were confirmed, even with the MAST-SC being retracted and stowed in the spacecraft body, resulting in the detection of large interference signals likely from spacecraft electronics. The MAST-SC is scheduled for deployment after the Mercury orbit insertion of Mio in 2025, allowing the SCM to make the first higher frequency measurements of magnetic fluctuations in the Hermean magnetosphere and exosphere, and the local solar wind. These measurements will contribute to the investigation of fundamental problems in the Hermean plasma environment, including turbulence, magnetic reconnection, wave-particle interactions and particle acceleration.