Electro-Optic Fiber Sensor for Amplitude and Phase Detection of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields

Axel Kramer, Peter Müller, Urs Lott, Niels Kuster and Fin Bomholt in Optics Letters, Volume 31, Issue 16, pp. 2402–2404, July 2006

Our novel miniature fiber-optic sensor platform capable of simultaneously detecting the amplitude and phase of an EMF in the range of 0.1 – 6 GHz is presented. It is based on an open optical platform to which various antennas can be attached and contains a radio-frequency amplifier for signal conditioning and a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser as an electro-optic converter. The millimeter size and the full electrical isolation of the sensor allow EMF detection with minimal disturbance. We have characterized the sensor in the near field of a λ / 2 dipole, a rectangular waveguide, and a microstrip line.

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