Slab Coupled Optical Fiber Sensors for Electric Field Sensing Applications

Slab Coupled Optical Sensors

Slab coupled optical sensors (SCOS) are electric field detectors designed to measure electric fields in difficult to reach environments with minimal field perturbation.

Why do we need SCOS?

Weapons such as the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and the high powered microwave (HPM) can be used to destroy circuitry within an electronic system. Electronics can be protected with metallic shielding which add significant weight and cost to the systems. A SCOS is used to measure the high-frequency, high-energy pulses produced by these weapons without affecting the electronics. The data gathered by the SCOS can help create better shielding by detecting it's weak points and by shutting off the electronic components when an electric field has been detected. An advantage of these optical sensors is that they are both small and flexible enough to fit in electronic components.

Contributions:

1. Developed a new sensing platform based on coupling between a D-fiber and a slab waveguide called slab coupled optical fiber sensing (SCOS)
2. Developed a high-yield fabrication process for SCOS sensors
3. Demonstrated Temperature Sensing Using SCOS Technology
4. Pioneered the application of SCOS to electric field detection
5. Developed a detailed theoretical model of the SCOS
6. Used the theoretical model to optimize the various SCOS design parameters
7. Developed a highly linear SCOS electric field sensor capable of measuring fields as low as 5 V/m with 1 kHz residual bandwidth
8. Developed, fabricated, and tested an array of SCOS electric field sensors on a single optical fiber
9. Demonstrated the potential for internal cavity sensing by mapping the electric field of the TE10 mode in an X-Band waveguide
10. Designed a multi-axial electric field sensor for monitoring 3-D fields