Optical fiber AC voltage sensor

Abstract

Abstract A fiber‐optic interferometric voltage sensor with a high‐sensitivity is investigated. The fiber‐optic voltage sensor is composed of an in‐line Michelson interferometer bonded to a piezoelectric transducer (PZT). The in‐line Michelson interferometer is a hollow optical fiber spliced to a single‐mode fiber at one end and cleaved at the other end. A phase shift in the sensor output signal is induced when applying an AC voltage to the PZT; and a higher‐amplitude voltage produces an output interference signal with a higher frequency. The relation between the amplitude of the applied voltage and the phase shift of the sensor output signal is found to be approximately linear and the slope of the relation graph is about 0.116 πradian/V. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 1689–1691, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24434