The system-function and intrinsic-function in Kerr effect 2-dimensional electric field measurement

Based on the electro-optical Kerr effect, an attempt is made to develop a measurement technique for the 2-dimensional electrical field magnitude distribution in dielectric liquids. For developing rapid, 2-dimensional measurement, it is convenient to introduce a computer-controlled electronic camera. However, because of the 2-dimensional non-uniformity resulting from the system components, the measurement principle needs a 2-dimensional analysis. To simplify the mathematical analysis, square pulsed modulations are employed. As a result, concepts of both the system-function and the intrinsic-function are proposed. The influence of the system non-uniformity is eliminated by use of both optical and electrical modulations. That is, the optical modulation is employed to characterize the system-function, which is the total effect of the 2-dimensional non-uniformity resulting from the system components, while the electrical modulation is employed for measuring the intrinsic-function relating to the field magnitude distribution in dielectric liquids. The concept of the system-function allows us to optimize the system setup for improving the system sensitivity. The validity of the proposed 2-dimensional measurement principle is examined by measurement of an electrical field distribution in a liquid nitrobenzene between two parallel plate electrodes