Fibercore’s New Spun Fibers for Faraday Effect Current Sensors

23 Jan 2014

January 17th 2014, Fibercore, a UK based global market leader in the design and manufacture of specialty optical fiber has demonstrated strong leadership in optical fibers for Faraday Effect current sensors and today announced the release of new products in its spun fiber range.

Fibercore offer two ranges of spun fiber, SHB Spun High Birefringence (HiBi) fibers and SLB Spun Low Birefringence (LoBi) fibers. Both of these products are optimized for use in polarimetric sensors, including the AC and DC fiber optic Current Transformers (CT) that are now replacing conventional current transformers across a broad range of applications in electrical power generation and distribution.

Fibercore’s spun SHB fibers are primarily designed for fiber optic current transformers where stability under vibration and temperature change is critical to enable high accuracy current sensing. SHB fibers are fabricated by spinning a ‘Bow-Tie’ polarization maintaining preform during the fiber drawing process. They preserve circular polarization by design and are therefore insensitive to the thermal and/or vibration-induced signal fade/drift caused by externally-induced stress. This gives the SHB fibers superior performance over SLB fibers when used in long and/or small-diameter sensor coils.

Spun LoBi fibers are designed for short length, large coil diameter Faraday effect current sensors where cost is more critical than performance. The fiber gives higher sensitivity to the Faraday effect than SHB fiber but does not resist the optical effects induced by coiling-induced stress, thermal fluctuations or vibration. Subsequently SLB fibers are generally considered to be less suitable for high precision sensors. Nevertheless, they are highly suited to low accuracy/low cost applications.

Dr Andy Gillooly, “The spun HiBi fiber allows highly sensitive and accurate sensing over a wide range of environmental conditions including temperature variation and vibration, making it suitable for current transformers deployed outdoors in real life applications. When used in conjunction with Fibercore’s PM Fiber for delay lines and Zing TM for depolarizers, world-class current sensors can be achieved.”

To discuss our new fibers, please either visit us at Photonics West 2014, Booth 2236. To make an appointment email info@fibercore.com or contact us on +44 (0)23 8076 9893.