Wide-band electric fields sensing using coherence modulation of light

Sensing electric fields occupying large bandwidths are interesting in practical applications. In this work, a wide-band electric field sensor scheme, using coherence modulation of light is presented. The wide-band range corresponds to audio-frequencies between 0 and 20 KHz signals. A basic sensor scheme for 60 Hz electric fields has been previously reported. The proposed scheme is based on an electro-optic coherence sensor, which detects the electric field and imprints it on an optical delay. Such an optical delay, acting as information carrier, is transmitted through an optical channel. At the receiver, light is detected by measuring its correlation function and the imprinted electric field is detected as a linear variation of the received optical power.