title: High sensitivity optical fiber current sensor based on polarization diversity and a Faraday rotation mirror cavity.
abstract: A novel high sensitivity optical fiber current sensor (OFCS) based on polarization diversity and a Faraday rotation mirror cavity is proposed and demonstrated. Comparing with single-channel detection in a conventional OFCS, a signal power gain of 6 dB and a signal-to-noise ratio improvement of over 30 dB have been achieved in the new scheme. The cavity amplifies magnetic field-induced nonreciprocal phase modulation, while the Faraday rotation mirrors suppress the reciprocal birefringence. A linear response is obtained for current amplitude as low as several mA at an AC frequency of 1 kHz.
authors.affiliation: Fiber Optics Group, Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 6N5, Canada.
authors.forename: Hongying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yongkang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leeson
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiaoyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bao