The utilization of piezoelectric materials and optical fiber sensors for electric field detection

Abstract

For many years, the use of fiber optic sensors for the measurement of strain, temperature and pressure has been widely investigated. Much less research has been directed towards the use of these sensors for measuring electric and magnetic fields. As existing field meters have conductive parts which inherently cause field distortion, a fiber optic electric field sensor would be preferable due to the immunity of the fibers to electromagnetic interference. A novel electric field sensor is proposed which utilizes the displacement measurement capabilities of the Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometric sensor, and the actuation produced by a piezoelectric material when placed in an electric field.

Classical electromagnetic theory is used to mathematically model the performance of the sensor within a given electric field. Experimental and theoretical results are presented which demonstrate the ability of the proposed sensor to detect electric fields. Improvements to the proposed electric field sensor and the transition of this research into magnetic field sensing is suggested for future research.