Electric field sensing system using coherence modulation of light

This paper describes an experimental setup for detecting electric fields using electrooptic lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) sensors and coherence modulation of light. In this detection scheme, the sensed electric fields modulate optical delays, which are introduced by LiNbO₃ coherence modulators when associated to low-coherence optical sources. The optical delays act as coherence-multiplexed carriers of the sensed electric fields and are transmitted through an optical fiber channel. At the receiver, the electric fields are detected by measuring the auto-correlation of the received light by using two-wave interferometers, which are matched to the introduced optical delays on the sensing devices.