Ultra-Broadband Fiber Optic Electrical-Field Sensor

This program addresses the development of non-intrusive, broad band, high sensitivity microwave electrical field sensors. Non-intrusive high frequency electrical field probes of high sensitivity have both military applications in fields of high power microwave weapon (HPM) development, and wide commercial applications. By leveraging the significant progresses of RF field sensing technologies with high frequency, high sensitivity and all fiber optic transmissions in signal and electricity achieved in the previous SBIR program, in this Phase II.5 program, we propose to develop an ultra-broadband, large dynamic range and non-intrusive fiber optic electric field sensing system for the multiple military and commercial applications, The more significant improvements on the frequency band up to 100GHz and the maximum detectable E-field strength over 20kV/m in a single sensing head will be targeted in this program, while keeping the advanced characteristics of minimal intrusion and high damage threshold by using the fiber optical technologies. The successful development of this technique will also provide great potential to implement into different application platforms in the near future. This high performance of testing type E-field sensor will be fully evaluated in-house and at Navy labs.