Method of designing and manufacturing magnetic sensor

A method of designing a magnetic sensor, wherein

• the magnetic sensor comprises:
• a pair of a first magnetoresistive effect element and a second magnetoresistive effect element that are connected in series;
• and
• a pair of a third magnetoresistive effect element and a fourth magnetoresistive effect element that are connected in series, wherein
• the pair of the first and second magnetoresistive effect elements and the pair of the third and fourth magnetoresistive effect elements are connected in parallel,
• the first and fourth magnetoresistive effect elements are connected to a power supply, and
• the first to fourth magnetoresistive effect elements have first to fourth magnetically pinned layers whose magnetization directions are pinned and first to fourth magnetically free layers whose magnetization directions rotate in accordance with an external magnetic field, respectively,
• the method comprising the steps of:
• preparing magnetic sensors, wherein, for each magnetic sensor, magnetization directions of the first to fourth magnetically pinned layers form first to fourth angles θ1 to θ4 relative to a specific reference angle, respectively, and θ1=θ3, θ2=θ4, θ1*θ2, and each magnetic sensor has a value of θ1-θ2 that is different from values of θ1-θ2 of remaining magnetic sensors,
• for each magnetic sensor, obtaining a relationship between an angular range of the magnetization direction of the first to fourth magnetically free layers and an output range of the magnetic sensor, wherein the angular range satisfies a specific linear relationship between the magnetization direction and the output of the magnetic sensor, and
• selecting a magnetic sensor that satisfies required conditions for the angular range and the output range from among the magnetic sensors.