Intro to Bipolar Hall-Effect Switches
What are bipolar switches?
Bipolar switches are similar to latches. They activate with one pole and then deactivate with the opposite pole.
Unlike a latch, the response to south and north pole is probably not symmetric. A particular device might respond more to one pole than the other.
They are usually only of use when magnet poles are cycling! The only guarantee with a bipolar switch is that it will switch on and off somewhere as north and south poles repeatedly pass by the bipolar switch.
Some bipolar switches might be mostly on during a cycle; other might be mostly off.
Possible Transition Regions of a Bipolar Switch with a Magnet Parallel to the Switch
A bipolar switch can be thought of as a latch with a very asymmetric response to north and south poles. The transition regions for the two poles can be different in shape.
The best use of bipolar switches is when a series of north and south poles pass by the switch. These types of "counting" applications are a common application for bipolar switches. They are not well suited for position measurement.