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This paper is designed to encourage electronic device designers to take a new look at a recent technology, Hall‐effect sensing, that has seen exceptional growth in certain areas, but could find much wider application and acceptance due to new supporting technologies.

The paper introduces Hall‐effect technology, and then explores how it has been applied, in particular, differentiating between the primary types of Hall sensors, and the highly differentiated range of sensing behaviors they can provide. In addition, it explores some of the enabling technologies, such as advances in signal processing, that have made this technology so much more robust than in its earliest days. This allows the application of the extreme high‐reliability benefit of contactless Hall sensing to a broader range of applications than ever before.

In addition to the advances that have made Hall‐effect sensing more practical, there are additional contributions to the designs of complete solutions. These advances include power and space reduction, as well as integration of diagnostic and protection functions that allow Hall sensor ICs to provide the advanced data‐driven features that are becoming more in demand in miniaturized portable consumer electronics, automobiles, and other growing industries.

The research is intended as a general introduction to an emerging, yet complex technology. It is limited to standard configurations, and simplified explanations of magnetic effects.

This paper can be of great value to application designers who specialize in either the mechanical or electrical engineering disciplines, and who would like a cross‐disciplinary introduction to this technology, which requires a foundation in both areas simultaneously. In addition, the somewhat mysterious realm of electromagnetics is presented in a practical way, allowing the reader to gain enough confidence to begin experimenting with this innovative technology.