Current sensor

Abstract

A method and device for measuring the current in a conductor are presented. They utilize the Faraday effect on counter-propagating circularly polarized beams of light in a fiber optic coil. The light beams are transformed to and from circular polarization by a polarization transformer comprised of a birefringent fiber with a twist through an appropriate angle at an appropriate distance from one end.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This application relates to the use in current sensors of optical devices that transform light between linearly polarized and elliptically polarized states.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Devices that transform linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light and the reverse are known in the literature. To make such optical devices, one may use one birefringent fiber with two beams of light of equal frequency and amplitude (or, equivalently, one beam that is the vector sum of these two beams). If the two beams are propagated perpendicular to an optic axis, circularly polarized light may result. Alternatively, linearly polarized light may be transformed to circularly polarized light by using one beam and two fibers.

[0006] In practice, constructing a single-beam transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light involves first starting with a length of transforming fiber greater than a predetermined length, and performing several iterations of cutting and measuring polarization until the polarization is deemed to be circular to within some specification. Needless to say, this is a tedious and lengthy procedure requiring lots of guesswork.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A current sensor is presented including a source of linearly polarized light; two transformers of polarized light as in claim 1 for transforming the linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light; a coil of optical fiber having one or more turns; a directional coupler for optically coupling the linearly polarized light to the transformers; an optical detector for receiving the light beams which have traversed the coil for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by an electric current, and a second directional coupler for coupling the light beams to the detector.

[0008] A current sensor is presented including a source of linearly polarized light; two transformers of polarized light as described above for transforming the linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light; a coil of optical fiber having one or more turns; a directional coupler for optically coupling the linearly polarized light to the transformers; and an optical detector for receiving the light beams which have traversed the coil for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by an electric current, which detector is deployed at a rear facet of the source.

[0009] A current sensor is presented including a source of linearly polarized light, a transformer of polarized light as described above for transforming the linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light, a coil of optical fiber having one or more turns, a reflector for reflecting the beam which has traversed the coil, and an optical detector for receiving the light beam which has traversed the coil twice for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by an electric current.

[0010] A method of detecting the current in a conductor is also presented including generating a linearly polarized light beam, dividing the beam in a directional coupler into two beams, transforming the two beams into circularly polarized light beams using polarization transformers as described above, coupling the two circularly polarized beams into opposite ends of a coil of optical fiber having one or more turns, which coil is disposed around a conductor of electrical current, permitting the beam to pass through the coil in opposite directions, transforming the circularly polarized beams back into linearly polarized beams by means of the polarization transformers, combining the two beams into a combined beam by means of the directional coupler, passing the combined beam through a linear polarizer, and receiving said combined beam with an optical detector for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current in the conductor.

[0011] A method of detecting the current in a conductor is also presented including generating a linearly polarized light beam, transforming the linearly polarized light beam into circularly polarized light beams, using a polarization transformer as described above, the transformer arrayed so that the beam emerging contains a component polarized in a clockwise direction and a component polarized in a counterclockwise direction, coupling the beam into an end of a coil of optical fiber having one or more turns, which coil is disposed around a conductor of electrical current, permitting the beam to pass through the coil, reflecting the beam at the end of the coil so that it passes through the coil a second time in the opposite direction, transforming the beam back into a linearly polarized beam by means of the polarization transformer, passing the beam through a linear polarizer, and receiving said beam with an optical detector for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current in the conductor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates the conventional method of fabricating a transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light by splicing two fibers that are properly oriented.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic of a twisted fiber that obviates the need to splice fibers together.

[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates how fine tuning of the polarization can be achieved by heating the fiber to cause diffusion of the core into the cladding.

[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates a current sensor that includes a polarization transformer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

[0016] It is often desirable to transform the polarization of a beam of light from one state to another. For this purpose optical devices have been fabricated that input linearly polarized light and output elliptically polarized light. These devices typically function by causing one of two incident linearly polarized light beams to lag behind the other by a pre-selected phase difference. Altering the relative phase of the two incident beams has the effect of changing the state of polarization of the light that exits the optical device. Before considering how these devices of the prior art perform the transformation of linearly to elliptically polarized light and before presenting the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be useful to first recall how elliptically polarized light arises.

[0017] Two orthogonal electric fields, Ex and Ey, both propagating in the z direction can be described by the following two equations

E x =i E 0x cos(kz−ωt)  (1)

[0018] and

E y =j E 0y cos(kz−ωt+δ),  (2)

[0019] where i and j are unit vectors in the x and y directions, k is the propagation number, ω is the angular frequency, and δ is the relative phase difference between the two modes. The total electric field E is just given by the vector sum Ex+Ey. An observer standing at a fixed point on the z-axis and measuring the components Ex and Ey of the total electric field simultaneously would find that these components would fall on the curve

(Ex/E0x)2+(Ey/E0y)2−2(Ex/E0x)(Ey/E0y)cos δ=sin2 δ.  (3)

[0020] Equation (3) is the well known equation of an ellipse making an angle α with the (Ex, Ey)-coordinate system, where

tan 2α=(2E0xE0y cos δ)÷(E0x2−E0y2).  (4)

[0021] Hence, E corresponds to elliptically polarized light. From Equation (3) can be seen that the phase difference δ dictates some of the characteristics of the ellipse. For example, if δ were equal to an even multiple of 2π (i.e., if Ex and Ey are in phase), then Equation (3) reduces to Ey=(E0y/E0x)Ex, which is the equation of a straight line; in that case, E is linearly polarized. On the other hand, if δ is equal to ±π/2, ±3π/2, ±5π/2, . . . , and assuming E0x=E0y=E0, Equation (3) reduces to E0x2+E0y2=E02, which is the equation of a circle. In that case, E is circularly polarized. Of course, linearly and circularly polarized light are just special cases of elliptically polarized light, a line and a circle being special types of ellipses.

[0022] From the above considerations, it is clear that if two perpendicular modes of light with equal amplitudes, such as that described by Equations (1) and (2) with E0x=E0y, enter an optical device, and proceed to exit the device with a phase shift of π/2, the result would be circularly polarized light. Typical optical devices that serve to transform linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light work on this principle.

[0023] For example, birefringent light fibers are anisotropic meaning that they do not have the same optical properties in all directions. Such fibers have the following properties: If two linearly polarized light beams are traveling along the fiber, or along the z axis, and furthermore one beam is polarized along the y axis and the other along the x axis, then, while the beam polarized along the y axis will travel at a speed v, the other beam that is polarized along the x axis will have a different speed. (In a birefringent fiber, the term “optic axis” may refer to either the fast or the slow axis, which are taken here to be the x and y axes, both perpendicular to the propagation axis, taken here to be the z axis.) Such two beams moving perpendicular to an optic axis may enter the fiber in phase, but because of their disparate speeds will exit with a non-zero phase difference δ. The result, as was seen above, is elliptically polarized light.

[0024] In the time, Δt, that it takes the faster moving beam to traverse the birefringent fiber, the faster moving beam, with speed vfast, will outpace the slower moving beam, with speed vslow, by a distance (vfast−vslow)Δt. This last mentioned distance contains (vfast−vslow)Δt/λslow waves of the slower moving beam having wavelength λslow. Noting that Δt=L/vfast, where L is the fiber length, the phase difference between the two beams is given by

δ=2π(vfast−vslow)L/(λslowvfast).  (5)

[0025] This last equation can be rewritten by substituting

v fast =λfastv,  (6)

[0026] and

v slow =λslowv,  (7)

[0027] where v is the common frequency of the slow and fast beams, to yield

L =(δ/2+90)(1/λslow−1/λfast)−1  (8)

[0028] This last equation makes clear that one can tailor a birefringent fiber to act as a transformer of linearly polarized light into elliptically polarized light simply by choosing the correct length, L, of fiber, although this length depends on the frequency of the light through Equations (7) and (8). The length of fiber that results in a phase difference of 2+90 and that therefore leaves the polarization unchanged is known as a beatlength, denoted by Lb, and will play a role in the discussion below.

[0029] The above discussion may be generalized to show that if instead of purely monochromatic light, light containing a spectrum of wavelengths is employed, birefringent fibers may be employed to convert such linearly polarized light to elliptically polarized light, where the degree of polarization of the output light decreases with increasing width of the input spectrum. In addition, the above discussion may be generalized to show that the polarization transformer will convert elliptically polarized light into linearly polarized light, if the light propagates through the fiber in the reverse direction.

[0030] To make optical devices that transform linearly polarized light into elliptically polarized light, one may use a birefringent fiber with two beams of light of equal frequency and amplitude (or, equivalently, one beam that is the vector sum of these two beams, since, as is known in the art, a single beam of linearly polarized light may be described as the vector sum of two beams, each with a single linear polarization component; conversely, two linearly polarized beams may be vector summed into a single linearly polarized beam). Alternatively, polarization components of unequal amplitude may be employed. As was discussed above, if the two beams are propagated perpendicular to the x axis, and their polarizations are along the x and y axes, elliptically polarized light may result. Alternatively, linearly polarized light may be transformed to circularly polarized light by using one beam and two birefringent fibers, one of which is rotated by 45 degrees with respect to the other about the common propagation axis of the fibers, and of length Lb/4.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, such a single-beam transformer of linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light may be constructed by fusing two silica or glass birefringent fibers. One of these fibers is the transmitting fiber 2 that delivers light to a second birefringent fiber known as the transforming fiber 4. The transforming fiber 4 is cut to a length of Lb/4. In addition, the relative orientation of the two fibers is chosen so that the transmitting fiber 2 is rotated +90/4 radians with respect to the transforming fiber 4, about the common propagation axis of the two fibers, as indicated by the transmitting fiber cross section 6 and the transforming fiber cross section 8. Such a splicing operation may be done with a commercially available fusion splicer. However, any misalignment of the fibers results in some light being lost at the splice 10. Moreover, as Equation 5 makes clear, errors in the phase difference δ grow linearly with errors in the fiber length L. In practice, constructing a single-beam transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light involves first starting with a length of transforming fiber 4 greater than Lb/4, and performing several iterations of cutting and measuring polarization of light emerging from the end of the transforming fiber until the polarization is deemed to be circular to within some specification. Needless to say, this is a tedious and lengthy procedure requiring lots of guesswork.

[0032] The present invention resolves some of the aforementioned problems by presenting an alternate method of fabricating a single-beam transformer of polarized light. Referring to FIG. 2, instead of splicing two fibers offset by +90/4 radians, in the method of the present invention a single birefringent fiber 12 is twisted about its central axis by this angle. In an alternate embodiment, the fiber may be twisted by an angle of an odd multiple of π/4 radians. The twist 14 in the fiber may be accomplished by heating the birefringent fiber 12 using arc electrodes 16, or other local heat source known to those of skill in the art. This may be done while applying torsion to twist the fiber, using methods known to those of skill in the art.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 3, in lieu of the tedious iterations of cutting and monitoring, in the method of the present invention, fine tuning is achieved by heating the portion of the fiber beyond the twist with a diffusing arc 26 produced by arc electrodes 22, or other local heat source known to those of skill in the art, to cause diffusion of the fiber core into the cladding. The heating can continue until a polarization monitor 24 indicates that the right polarization state is achieved. The effect of the diffusion is to expand the fields of the fiber modes and so reduce the effective difference vfast−vslow, thereby increasing the beat length.

[0034] The steps of twisting and diffusing are conceptually independent, and each can be used profitably to make transformers of linearly to elliptically polarized light. Varying the angle through which the birefringent fiber 12 is twisted is tantamount to varying the amplitudes E0x and E0y of Equation (3) and results in different states of elliptically polarized light. The step of diffusing, on the other hand, can be used any time some fine tuning of the polarization is required. For example, after splicing two fibers of appropriate length according to conventional methods, the state of polarization can be fine tuned by causing the core to diffuse into the cladding.

[0035] One can also fabricate a transformer using one birefringent fiber and two beams of linearly polarized light. If the two beams are propagated perpendicular to the x axis, and their polarizations are along the x and y axes, elliptically polarized light results. After cutting the single fiber to an appropriate length, fine tuning of the sought-after polarization can be achieved by heating the fiber to cause diffusion of the core into the cladding as mentioned above.

[0036] The present invention presents a more convenient method to fabricate a transformer of polarized light. The first step of the method obviates the need to splice a transmitting fiber 2 to a transforming birefringent fiber 4 of length Lb/4 with the aim of producing a transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light. Instead, a convenient length of a birefringent fiber 12 is heated to the softening point of the glass and then twisted through an angle of approximately π/4 radians. In some embodiments, an angle approximately equal to an odd multiple of π/4 may be employed. The sense of the output polarization (i.e., whether the light is right- or left-circularly polarized) may be determined by the orientation of the input light's polarization vector with respect to the direction of the twist. In a preferred embodiment, the twisting should occur over as short a length as possible. Employing a twist rather than a splice between two fibers offset by an angle keeps optical losses low. What losses do occur may be scarcely measurable in practice.

[0037] In the next step of the invention, fine tuning is performed in the following manner. First, the birefringent fiber 12 is cut so that its length from the twist 14 to the end of the fiber is slightly larger than Lb/4. In an alternate embodiment, the length of the fiber after the twist may be approximately equal to an odd multiple of Lb/4. The twisted birefringent fiber 12 is positioned between the arc electrodes 22 of a fiber fusion splicer. A diffusing arc 26 may be struck at a current lower than that used for splicing in order to raise the temperature of the birefringent fiber 12 to a point below its melting point, but where the fiber core begins to diffuse into the cladding . The effect of the diffusion is to expand the fields of the fiber modes and so reduce the effective birefringence. The light emerging from the transformer is monitored during this operation with the use of a polarization monitor 24, and diffusion is stopped when the light is circularly polarized. FIG. 3 shows the arrangement.

[0038] Although what was described above is a preferred method for fabricating a single-beam transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light by the steps of twisting and diffusing, it should be understood that these two steps are independent and each may be profitably used individually. For example, to form a single-beam transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light, a single birefringent fiber can be twisted as described above, and then fine tuned not by the preferred method of diffusing, but by a conventional method of iterations of cutting the fiber to an appropriate length and monitoring the polarization.

[0039] Alternatively, two fibers may be spliced together as in usual approaches. The transforming fiber would then be cut to a length of approximately Lb/4, or an odd multiple of Lb/4. However, unlike the usual methods that then fine tune by iterations of cutting and monitoring, the tuning could proceed by causing the core to diffuse into the cladding, as described above.

[0040] Finally, instead of twisting a birefringent fiber through an angle of +90/4 radians, which corresponds to choosing E0x=E0y in Equation (3), the fiber could be twisted through varying angles. This would be effectively equivalent to varying the amplitudes E0x and E0y. As can be seen from this equation, even if the length of the fiber would lead to a phase difference of +90/4 radians, the result would generally be elliptically polarized light that is non-circular.

[0041] The above methods have involved fabricating a single-beam transformer of linearly to circularly, or in the case where the twisting angle is not +90/4 radians or an odd multiple thereof, elliptically polarized light. As mentioned above, one can also build a transformer using one birefringent fiber and two beams of orthogonally linearly polarized light (of course, two beams of superposed light is equivalent to a single beam equal to the vector sum of the two constituent beams). If the two beams are propagated along the z axis perpendicular to the x axis, and their polarizations are along the x and y axes, elliptically polarized light may result. According to Equations 3, 4, and 5, the type of elliptically polarized light that results depends on the length of the fiber, L. After cutting a birefringent fiber to an appropriate length, fine tuning of the polarization can proceed by diffusing the core into the cladding, as described above.

[0042] The transformer of linearly to circularly polarized light described above can be used in a current sensor exploiting the Faraday Effect in a Sagnac interferometer. A main feature of a Sagnac interferometer is a splitting of a beam of light into two beams. By using mirrors or optical fibers, both beams of light are made to traverse at least one loop, but in opposite directions. At the end of the trip around the loop, both beams are recombined thus allowing interference to occur. Any disturbance that affects one or both beams as they are traversing the loop has the potential to alter the interference pattern observed when the beams recombine. Rotating the device is the traditional disturbance associated with Sagnac's name. Another disturbance, giving rise to the Faraday Effect, involves applying an external magnetic field to the medium that forms the loop through which the light travels. Under the influence of such a field, the properties of the light-transmitting medium forming the loop are altered so as to cause a change in the direction of polarization of the light. In turn, this change in the direction of polarization results in a change in the interference pattern observed. These types of disturbances that give rise to a modification in the observed interference pattern are known as non-reciprocal disturbances. They are so-called because, unlike reciprocal effects in which the change produced in one beam cancels with that produced in the other, the changes produced in the two beams reinforce to yield a modification in the resultant interference pattern.

[0043] In FIG. 4 is shown a schematic of a Sagnac interferometer current sensor of the present invention. The light beam 31 emerges from a laser source 32 which is preferably a diode laser oscillating predominantly in a single transverse mode and having a broad and Gaussian-shaped optical spectrum so that back-scatter noise and Kerr-effect problems are reduced. The light beam 31, which may be traveling in a single-mode or polarization maintaining fiber passes through a first directional coupler 33 that isolates the optical detector 34, and then a linear polarizer 35 to ensure a single polarization state. The light beam is then split in two by the second directional coupler 36. In a preferred embodiment, the directional couplers have a 3 dB transfer ratio.

[0044] Each of the two output beams of the directional coupler 36 then passes through a polarization transformer 40 which converts the linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light. These polarization transformers may be conventional quarter wave plates, or they may be the twisted fiber polarization transformers described above.

[0045] The polarization transformers 40 are oriented such that the two beams have opposite senses of circular polarization. The two beams counterpropagate through a sensing coil 37. The sensing coil may consist of one or more loops of single mode fiber. In a current sensor, a current carrying wire 38 runs approximately through the center of the coil. The magnetic field due to the presence of the current may induce a non-reciprocal phase shift in the counterpropagating light beams which may be detected as described below.

[0046] After traversing the sensing coil, each light beam passes through a polarization transformer 40 in the reverse direction, converting the circular polarization back to linear. The two beams may recombine in coupler 36. The combined light traverses linear polarizer 35 and is directed by coupler 33 to a photodetector 34.

[0047] The current sensor signal is generated and detected as follows. Due to the Faraday Effect, the presence of the magnetic field alters the sensing coil 37 transmission properties. In particular, the magnetic field causes a phase shift α between the counterpropagating beams (which should not be confused with the phase difference δ from Equation (2)) corresponding to a rotation of the direction of the electric field. This phase shift results in a change in the interference when both light beams are reunited at the directional coupler 36 before passing through the linear polarizer 35 and to the optical photodetector 34.

[0048] As mentioned above, in a preferred embodiment the state of polarization of the light beams entering the sensing coil of polarization maintaining fiber 37, after leaving the transformers 40 of linearly to circularly polarized light, is circular. Correspondingly, the coil's polarization maintaining fiber 37 is circularly cored. However, when the fiber 37 is bent into a coil, stresses occur that give rise to anisotropic effects. For this reason it is advantageous to prepare the fiber 37 for the transmission of light by annealing the fiber 37 while it is in a coil. It is desirable to keep the fiber as symmetrical as possible; in the absence of an external magnetic field, one aims to not change the phase of the transmitted light appreciably over the length of the sensing coil, which is about six meters long. Ideally, the beatlength in the sensing fiber should not be less than six meters; that is, the sensing fiber should have very low birefringence. The transforming fiber, by contrast, is a highly birefringent fiber. Thus one should start with a sensing fiber that is as symmetrical as possible. One may draw the fiber from a pre-form as the pre-form is spun around with the goal of producing a symmetrical fiber. As mentioned above, after the fiber is wound into a coil, annealing can help eliminate any stresses.

[0049] The transformer 40 of linearly to circularly polarized light may be that transformer discussed above wherein a birefringent fiber is twisted through +90/4 radians or an odd multiple thereof after which it is cut at approximately one quarter of a beatlength or an odd multiple thereof. Fine tuning may then proceed as described above with one addition: the end from which the circularly polarized light will emerge is first spliced to the circular cored fiber that is wound into the sensing coil 37. Only then does the fine tuning proceed by heating.

[0050] In measuring the phase shift α arising from the Faraday Effect, it is helpful to remember that the measured optical power is proportional to the square of the absolute value of the detected electric field. Ignoring the non-reciprocal power difference, which may be negligible for the typically used coil lengths, the detected power turns out to be proportional to (1+cos α). This factor presents somewhat of a difficulty when trying to measure the typically small phase shifts α. In particular, the rate of change of 1+cos α is asymptotic to −α, as α approaches zero, making it difficult to experimentally measure small changes in the phase shift. It therefore becomes necessary to add a biasing phase difference to shift the sensed signal so as to avoid both the maxima and minima of the sinusoid. A phase modulator may perform this function by creating the desired amount of phase difference modulation. The phase modulator may be positioned at one end of the sensing fiber 37. In that embodiment, one of the two counter-propagating light beams receives the phase modulation before it enters the coil, while the other receives it after it exits the coil, while it is traveling in the opposition direction, thereby realizing a non-reciprocal phase difference modulation between the interfering beams. Since the sensed signal becomes biased on a high-frequency carrier, (i.e., the phase modulation signal,) electronic noise may be substantially eliminated while measurement sensitivity may be increased.

[0051] There is therefore in place a technique for measuring the current through a conductor: as a consequence of the Biot-Savart Law, an infinitely long conducting wire, for example, carrying a current i, gives rise to a magnetic field whose magnitude at a distance R from the wire is μ0i÷(2+90R), where μ0 is the permeability of free space. If the Sagnac interferometer described above is immersed in this magnetic field, the properties of the fiber 37 that composes the coil will change so as to affect the interference pattern observed. Thus, from the change in this pattern, the current i can be inferred.

[0052] Similar current sensors are known in the prior art, e.g., Interferometer device for measurement of magnetic fields and electric current pickup comprising a device of this kind, U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,867, which is incorporated by reference herein. The design of current sensors is similar to that of fiber optic rotation sensors of the type that appears in Fiber Optic Rotation Sensor or Gyroscope with Improved Sensing Coil, U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,887, which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0053] It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the polarization transformer described herein may also be used in current sensors of the “reduced minimum configuration” type, such as that described in published patent application “Reduced Minimum Configuration Fiber Optic Current Sensor,” No. WO 01/06283, which is incorporated by reference herein. In such a device, the coupler 33 as shown in FIG. 4 is eliminated, and the detector 34 is located at the rear facet of the optical source 32, such that the signal is detected after it has passed through the optical source 32 and emerged from the rear facet of that source.

[0054] Similarly, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that this polarization transformer may also be used in current sensors of the “reflective” type, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,195, which is incorporated by reference herein. In such a device, the coupler 36 is eliminated, there is only a single polarization transformer 40 and after transiting the sensing coil 37 the light beams reach a reflector such as a mirror, wherein they reverse direction, transit the sensing coil a second time, pass through the polarization transformer 40 again and then proceed as described above to be detected. In this device, the linear polarizer 35, the polarization maintaining fiber and the polarization transformer 40 are oriented such that two beams, one circularly polarized in a clockwise sense and one circularly polarized in a counter-clockwise sense emerge into the sensing coil 37.

[0055] The aforementioned current sensor has several attractive features. It has no moving parts, resulting in enhanced reliability. There are no cross-axis sensitivities to vibration, acceleration or shock. The current sensor is stable with respect to temperature fluctuations and has a long operational life.

[0056] One application of the current sensor is for the measurement of current at high voltages (>0.1MV) in conductors present in voltage transformers. About six meters of polarization maintaining fiber is wound into a multi-turn loop, annealed in situ and then the conductor is threaded through the sensing coil. The current sensor can also be used as a trip-out device that would very quickly detect a short-circuit.

[0057] It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, that perfectly linearly or circularly polarized light may be an idealization that can not be realized. I.e., in practice, there may exist uncontrollable factors that give rise to some deviations from perfectly linearly or circularly polarized light. Therefore, it should be understood that when reference is made to linearly or circularly polarized light the meaning of these terms should be taken to mean effectively or approximately linearly or circularly polarized light.

[0058] While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.

Claims

1. A current sensor comprising a) a source of linearly polarized light; b) a coil of single-mode optical fiber having two ends and one or more turns, which coil is deployed around a conductor which is carrying an electric current to be sensed; c) two transformers of polarized light for transforming light between linearly polarized and circularly polarized states, said transformers each comprising a birefringent fiber having two ends, which fiber is twisted through an angle about a central axis running therethrough at an appropriate distance from a first end of the fiber, the angle and distance so chosen so that linearly polarized light entering a second end of the fiber exits the first end of the fiber circularly polarized, the first end of which first transformer is coupled to the first end of the coil of single-mode fiber, and the first end of which second transformer is coupled to the second end of the coil; d) a first directional coupler for optically coupling the linearly polarized light from the source to the second ends of the transformers; e) an optical detector for receiving the light beams which have traversed the coil and producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current; and f) a second directional coupler for optically coupling the light beams which have emerged from the coil, passed through the polarization transformers, and been rejoined by the first directional coupler to the optical detector.

2. The current sensor of claim 1, wherein the angle is approximately equal to an odd multiple of +90/4 radians, and the distance is approximately an odd multiple of one quarter of a beatlength.

3. The current sensor of claim 2, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

4. The current sensor of claim 2, wherein the distance is approximately one quarter of a beatlength.

5. The current sensor of claim 4, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

6. A current sensor as in claim 1 wherein the source of linearly polarized light is a diode laser.

7. A current sensor comprising a) a source of linearly polarized light; b) a coil of single-mode optical fiber having two ends and one or more turns, which coil is deployed around a conductor which is carrying an electric current to be sensed; c) two transformers of polarized light for transforming light between linearly polarized and circularly polarized states, said transformers each comprising a birefringent fiber having two ends, which fiber is twisted through an angle about a central axis running therethrough at an appropriate distance from a first end of the fiber, the angle and distance so chosen so that linearly polarized light entering a second end of the fiber exits the first end of the fiber circularly polarized, the first end of which first transformer is coupled to the first end of the coil of single-mode fiber, and the first end of which second transformer is coupled to the second end of the coil; d) a directional coupler for optically coupling the linearly polarized light from the source to the second ends of the transformers; and e) an optical detector for receiving the light beams which have traversed the coil and producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current, which optical detector is deployed at the rear facet of the source.

8. The current sensor of claim 7, wherein the angle is approximately equal to an odd multiple of +90/4 radians, and the distance is approximately an odd multiple of one quarter of a beatlength.

9. The current sensor of claim 8, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

10. The current sensor of claim 8, wherein the distance is approximately one quarter of a beatlength.

11. The current sensor of claim 10, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

12. A current sensor as in claim 7 wherein the source of linearly polarized light is a diode laser.

13. A current sensor comprising a) a source of linearly polarized light; b) a coil of single-mode optical fiber having two ends and one or more turns, which coil is deployed around a conductor which is carrying an electric current to be sensed; c) a transformer of polarized light for transforming light between linearly polarized and circularly polarized states, said transformer comprising a birefringent fiber having two ends, which fiber is twisted through an angle about a central axis running therethrough at an appropriate distance from a first end of the fiber, the angle and distance so chosen so that linearly polarized light entering a second end of the fiber exits the first end of the fiber circularly polarized, the first end of which transformer is coupled to a first end of the coil of single-mode fiber, d) a reflector connected to a second end of the coil; e) an optical detector for receiving the light beams which have traversed the coil and producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current.

14. The current sensor of claim 13, wherein the angle is approximately equal to an odd multiple of +90/4 radians, and the distance is approximately an odd multiple of one quarter of a beatlength.

15. The current sensor of claim 14, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

16. The current sensor of claim 14, wherein the distance is approximately one quarter of a beatlength.

17. The current sensor of claim 16, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

18. A current sensor as in claim 13 wherein the source of linearly polarized light is a diode laser.

19. A method of detecting the current in a conductor comprising a) generating a linearly polarized light beam; b) dividing the linearly polarized light beam in a directional coupler into two beams, c) transforming the two linearly polarized light beams into circularly polarized light beams, using polarization transformers, said transformers including a birefringent fiber having two ends which is twisted through an angle about a central axis running therethrough at an appropriate distance from a first end of the fiber, the angle and distance so chosen that a linearly polarized light beam entering a second end of the fiber exits the first end of the fiber circularly polarized, the transformers arrayed so while the beam emerging from the first end of one is polarized in a clockwise direction, that emerging from the first end of the other is polarized in a counter-clockwise direction; d) coupling the two circularly polarized beams into opposite ends of a coil of single-mode optical fiber having one or more turns, which coil is disposed around a conductor of electrical current; e) permitting the beams to pass through the coil in opposite directions; f) transforming the circularly polarized beams back into linearly polarized beams by means of the polarization transformers; g) combining the two beams into a combined beam by means of the directional coupler; h) passing the combined beam through a linear polarizer; and i) receiving said combined beam with an optical detector for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current in the conductor.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the angle is approximately equal to an odd multiple of +90/4 radians, and the distance is approximately an odd multiple of one quarter of a beatlength.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the distance is approximately one quarter of a beatlength.

23. The current sensor of claim 22, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein the source of linearly polarized light is a diode laser.

25. A method of detecting the current in a conductor comprising a) generating a linearly polarized light beam; b) transforming the linearly polarized light beam into circularly polarized light beams, using a polarization transformer, said transformer including a birefringent fiber which is twisted through an angle about a central axis running therethrough at an appropriate distance from a first end of the fiber, the angle and distance so chosen that a linearly polarized light beam entering a second end of the fiber exits the first end of the fiber circularly polarized, the transformer arrayed so that the beam emerging contains a component polarized in a clockwise direction, and a component polarized in a counter-clockwise direction; c) coupling the beam into an end of a coil of single-mode optical fiber having one or more turns, which coil is disposed around a conductor of electrical current; d) permitting the beam to pass through the coil; e) reflecting the beam at the end of the coil so that it passes through the coil a second time in the opposite direction; f) transforming the beam back into a linearly polarized beam by means of the polarization transformer; g) passing the beam through a linear polarizer; and h) receiving said beam with an optical detector for producing an output signal indicative of a magnetic field produced by the electric current in the conductor.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the angle is approximately equal to an odd multiple of +90/4 radians, and the distance is approximately an odd multiple of one quarter of a beatlength.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the distance is approximately one quarter of a beatlength.

29. The current sensor of claim 28, wherein the angle is approximately equal to +90/4 radians.

30. The method of claim 25 wherein the source of linearly polarized light is a diode laser.