• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2022

Based on the linear electro-optic (EO) effect of lithium niobite (LiNbO₃, LN) crystal, an intense two-dimensional (2D) electric field sensor was analyzed, fabricated and experimentally demonstrated. The linear polarized light beam transmits along the optical axis (z-axis) of the LN crystal, and the polarization direction of the polarized light is 45° to the y-axis. The sensor can detect the intensity of a 2D electric field that is perpendicular to the z-axis. Experimental results demonstrated that the minimum detectable electric field of the sensor is 10.5 kV/m. The maximum detected electric field of the sensor is larger than 178.9 kV/m. The sensitivity of the sensor is 0.444 mV/(kV·m^-1). The variation of the sensitivity is within ±0.16 dB when the sensor is rotated around a z-axis from 0° to 360°. The variation of the sensor output optical power is within ±1.4 dB during temperature change from 19 ℃ to 26 ℃ in a day (from 7:00 AM to 23:00 PM) and temperature change from 0 ℃ to 40 ℃ in a controllable temperature chamber. All theoretical and experimental results revealed that the fabricated sensor provides technology for the direct detection of intense 2D electric fields.