Linear tunnel magnetoresistive sensor including an integrated back-bias magnet

A sensor module, comprising:

• a back-bias magnet with a magnetization in a first direction and configured to produce a magnetic field based on the magnetization, wherein the back-bias magnet has a magnet surface;
• a sensor chip having a chip surface mounted to the magnet surface, wherein the chip surface defines a chip plane having a first dimension parallel to the first direction and a second dimension parallel to a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction,
• wherein the sensor chip includes a first set of tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) sensing elements that are sensitive to an in-plane component of the magnetic field that is parallel to the first direction or parallel to the second direction, and
• wherein the sensor chip is configured to:
• determine a characteristic of a first magnetic field component of the magnetic field using the first set of TMR sensing elements;
• and
• generate a sensor signal based, at least in part, on the characteristic of the first magnetic field component, wherein a value of the sensor signal corresponds to a linear position of a ferromagnetic object along the second direction, wherein the linear position of the ferromagnetic object is configured to change along the second direction relative to the sensor module.