A fiber-optic voltage sensor based on macrobending structure

We propose and demonstrate an optical voltage sensing scheme based on a macrobending optical fiber in a ratiometric power measurement system. This novel approach to sensing has not been utilized before and has the advantage that the sensor involves simple fabrication compared to existing fiber-optic voltage sensors. To prove the feasibility of such a fiber-optic sensor, a sensor for a voltage range from 0∼100 V is demonstrated, with a resolution of 0.5 V. The sensor is robust, linear, and shows a competitive measurement resolution. The sensor can be easily scaled to suit other voltage levels and be effectively combined with optical current sensors.