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Fibre-optic voltage sensor using an optical lever

I?Dinev

lndexing terms: Fibre-optic sensors, Optical lever

Abstract: A new type of linear voltage sensor, able to measure constant and alternating voltage in a wide frequency and amplitude range, is presented. The sensor is based on a bending piezoelectric-motor element with an optical fibre attached to it. The deflection of the fibre is sensed by an optical lever and a linear position photosensor. The sensor has a dynamic range of over three decades (71 dB), linearity error less than 0.1% and variable upper amplitude and frequency range. The simple and flexible design allows the proposed sensor to have almost any desired response and sensitivity. It is used mainly for monitoring constant, low- and mediumfrequency voltages in power-utility applications.

layer to expand while the other contracts. The net result is a bending displacement of the free cantilever end which is much greater than the length deformation of either of the two layers. The free-end displacement X(t) as a function of the applied voltage V(t) for a bimorph mode, series operation, is given in [4] to be

where L, t and d31are the cantilever length, thickness and piezo constant, respectively. It can be seen from the above equation that the bilinear piezo element has a linear response.
photosensor amplifier

1-

Introduction
V

With each year the application of the fibre-optic sensors expands into new areas. One imminent and very important field is voltage monitoring in the power-utility applications. Several fibre-optic voltage-sensor configurations have recently been studied. Several of these sensors are interferometer based, using a piezoactive plastics coating, bounded to the glass fibre. The applied voltage generates strains in the piezoactive plastics material which results in an optical phase shift in one of the Mach-Zender arms [l]. Other groups are associated with the Pockels effect [I] or optical amplitude modulation [2]. This paper describes a simple voltage sensor which is able to measure constant and alternating voltage in a wide frequency and amplitude range. The sensor is based on the bending of the piezoelectric-motor element (bilinear), sensed by an optical fibre and optical lever, described in [3]. The sensor has a flexible and simple design, and works mainly with low- and medium-frequency voltages with a dynamic range over tliree decades.
2 Sensor design

Fig. 1 Schematic diugram o f u voltage sensor utilising an optical lever

The bending piezoelectric-motor element consists of two bound-together piezo plates which are polarised in opposite directions. If this piezo element is supported as a cantilever beam, the applied voltage causes one
Q IEE, 1997 IEE Proceedings online no 19971115

Based on the above results, a new type of voltage sensor utilising a bilinear piezo element, able to measure direct (DC) or alternating (AC) voltage, is shown in Fig. 1. One end of the rectangular profile (38" x 1 8 " ) piezo element (model 10.201, Piezo Systems Inc.) is supported by a wall, forming a cantilever beam 5 " . The end of a standard multiwith length L = 2 mode 50/125/200pm optical fibre is attached to the free end of the sensing element, as shown in Fig. 1. The other fibre end is illuminated by a light-emitting diode (LED). The fibre end, attached (glued) to the cantilever's free end, is placed in the focal point of a microlens cf= 3.9mm, d = 2.6") forming in this way an optical lever similar to that described in [3]. A linear-position photosensor mounted at a distance S = 100" from the lens provides a displacement advantage A = S/f = 25. It was shown in [3] that, provided that the fibre deflection is within the microlens paraxial region (*380pn), the lever has a linear response, so from eqn. 1 the sensor described above will have a linear response and the output voltage U(t) will be

P,iper received 11th June 1996 The author is with the Florida Atlantic University, Department of Electrical Engineering, 777 Glades Road, PO Box 3091, Boca Raton FL 33431, U SA
IEE Proc.-Optoelectron., Vol. 144, No. 4, August 1997

where G is the circuit conversion gain (G = - 2 m V / p ) . To improve the sensor performance, the sensor's electronic is shielded.
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Experimental results

To test the static performance of this voltage sensor, the bilinear piezo element, wired for the bimorph mode, series operation, is connected to a linear power supply. The sensor's input voltage V is varied in the range 0-180V a set of measurements for the sensor's output voltage U is taken. The polarity of the power supply is then reversed and another set of measurements for V and U is taken over the same voltage range. The sensor's response-calibration curve is shown in Fig. 2. As can be seen, the sensor has a linear response in the interval (-18OV to 180V) with a lOOmV resolution and a position-linearity error not exceeding 0.1%. The sensor has been measured to have a dynamic range of 3600 (71dB). By varying the parametersf and S, the sensor's sensitivity can be changed. A sensitivity of 20mV (in +40V range) is measured if a microlens withf= 1.8" is used (S = 200"). The fundamental upper limit of the sensor depends on the maximum recommended voltage for the bilinear piezo element, which for the model used is *180V. By using a highvoltage divider, the sensor's upper limit can be changed. In an experiment performed with a 1O:l divider the sensor's upper limit was increased to k1800V with a sensitivity of about 1V.

excitation of the piezo element, and creates ringing. Since the resonant frequency of the element used has been measured to be 320Hz, an electric damping by means of a lowpass filter is used to increase the rise/fall time of the excitation pulse (oil damping is not applicable, since the both layers of the piezo element are conductive). The picture obtained is shown in Fig. 3. It can be seen from Fig. 3 that some ringing still exists, but further damping may result in a reduction of the sensor's frequency response.

Fig.3
Y

Sensor's response to a square-wave excitation

= 20H2, T = 20.0 msidivision

0 V indicates the signal ground level


a Channel 1: V(t), 10 Vidivision

b Channel 2 U(t), 1 Vidivision

1 ' 1 ' 1 ' 1 '


, , I , , , , [

100 150 200 50 applied voltage,V

15

Fig.2

Sensor's response-calibration curve


= 120H2, T = 5.0 msidivision 0 V indicates the signal ground level a Channel 1: V(t), 10 Vidivision b Channel 2: U(t), 1 Vidivision
Y

Fig.4

Sensor's response to a sinusoidal excitation

It has to be emphasised that the measured values are not the global sensor limits. Since the high-voltage divider ratio and the optical-lever-displacement advantage A can vary, the sensor's scope is extremely wide, but the dynamic range for a given set of parameters still remains around 70dB. The photosensor has very low position temperature drift (< 0.1 w / K ) over the sensing area which, as described in [3], makes the optical lever very stable as the temperature varies. When the temperature was changed from 25C to 50"C, a 75mV drift in the output signal was found, mainly due to the fluctuations of the piezo-element parameters. A digital storage oscilloscope and a functional generator were used to test the dynamic performance of the sensor. A square-wave voltage V(t) with an amplitude +20V and frequency Y = 20Hz was supplied to the sensor and channel 1 of the oscilloscope. The sensor's output U(t) was monitored on channel 2. First the experiment was performed without damping of the piezo element, but a substantial ringing was observed in the output signal U(t). The main reason for this is that the generator provides the square-wave pulses with a riseifall time less than 5ns, which causes a shock
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The experiment described above was repeated with a sinusoidal waveform V(t) (amplitude kl0V and frequency Y = 120Hz) supplied to the sensor and to channel 1 of the oscilloscope (no damping was applied in this case). The sensor's output U(t) was monitored on channel 2 and the picture obtained is shown in Fig. 4. The sensor has been measured to have a negligible phase lag. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the ringing is not present in the output U(t), since a smooth input voltage V(t)is applied. The sensor shows similar behaviour when the voltage frequency varies in the 0-360Hz range. Actually, by varying the cantilever length L or the width of the piezo element, the sensor's natural frequency can be increased to several kilohertz. However, if the sensor works close to its resonant frequency a new calibration curve must be taken since the frequency response is no longer flat in this region. Since this is a cantilever-based system, it is expected to be sensitive to external vibrations. To test this, the sensor was placed on a workbench near to a working
IEE Proc.-Optoelectron , Vol 144, No 4,August 1997

source of vibrations. A constant voltage V(t) with an amplitude of 50V was applied to the sensor and the output U(t) was monitored on the oscilloscope. No amplitude variations greater than 50mV were observed in. the output signal. For reference, the vibrometer described in [3], placed at the same position reads 2.1 V vibration amplitude.
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position photosensor. The sensor has a dynamic range of over three decades (71dB), linearity error less than 0.1%, temperature stability over a 25 K-range and variable upper amplitude and frequency range. The simple and flexible design allows the proposed sensor to have almost any desired response and sensitivity. It is used mainly for monitoring constant, low- and medium-frequency voltages in power utility applications.
References

Conclusions
KROHN, D.A.: Fiber optic sensors: fundamentals and applications (Research Triangle Park, USA, 1994), 2nd ed., pp. 192-199 ADOLFSSON, M., and BROGARDH, T.: Optical fibre measuring devices. US Patent 4 547 729, 1985 DINEV, P.: A two-dimensional fiber-optical vibration sensor, Meus. Sei. Technol.,1995, 6, (9), pp. 1395-1398 Piezo Systems Inc.: Product catalogue, 1990, p. 29

This paper describes a new type of voltage sensor which is able to measure constant and alternating voltages over a wide frequency and amplitude range. The sensor is based on a bending piezoelectric motor element, with an optical fibre attached to it, the deflection of which is sensed by an optical lever and linear-

IEE Proc.-Optoelectron., Vol. 144, No. 4, August 1997

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