An electro-optic (EO) pulsed electric field sensor powered by photovoltaic cell

Abstract

Abstract Considering the limitations of battery-powered active EO modulated electric field sensors, a photovoltaic cell-powered electric field sensor is designed, fabricated and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor is consisting of a laser photovoltaic cell-powered supply circuit, a receiving modulation circuit, and an induction antenna. The laser photovoltaic cell power supply circuit which composed of a power supply laser, a photovoltaic cell, and a DC-DC conversion circuit is designed and fabricated. Experimental results show that the photovoltaic cell power supply circuit can output stable voltages of 5 V and 1.2 V for the receiving modulation circuit. A lightning impulse (LEMP) measurement system is set up and used to test the characteristics of the electric field sensor in the time domain. The experimental results show that the sensor detected pulsed electric field shows good consistency with the applied LEMP in the time domain and the dynamic range of the sensor is from 0.86 kV m−1 to 10.7 kV m−1.