High Voltage Pulse Measuring System Based on Kerr Effect

Abstract

The voltage measuring system described in this current paper is based on the electro‐optical Kerr effect, viz, variations in the voltage magnitude will result in respective changes in the intensity of a light beam passing through the Kerr cell perpendicularly to the applied field. The proposed measuring system has the advantages of a fast response of the Kerr effect substance to the application of voltage transients‐better than 2×10⁻⁸ sec; and also high voltage pulses, with peak magnitude of the order of 10⁵ V, may be applied directly across the cell. The complete separation of the measuring circuit from the pulse circuit eliminates the electric noise from reaching the measuring circuit without any screening of this circuit. However, its major limitation is that the recorded pulse has the ``rectified'' form of the original pulse waveform.