Design and application of an integrated electro-optic sensor for intensive electric field measurement

Impulse electric field measurement should satisfy some special requirements such as intensive signal amplitude, appropriate insulation, broadband response, and small size. Three types of integrated electro-optic sensors, designed and fabricated for measuring intensive impulse electric field, was implemented in this paper. The theoretical concerns and specific characteristics of these integrated electro-optic sensors were illustrated in terms of their structures and key parameters. The time domain input/output characteristic and frequency response of the sensors were examined too. Comparison of the time domain characteristics of these sensors revealed that the mono-shield sensor was more efficient than those with antennas in measurable amplitudes, which is critical for high electric field measurement in gas breakdown research. In addition, the application of the sensor in the lightning impulse experiment upon air gap not only verify the existence of streamer charge but also ensured that this sensor is expected to be widely used in transient measurement investigations such as the measurement of lightning electric field, air breakdown procedure, and maybe surface discharge.