Experimental validation of a high voltage pulse measurement method.

Abstract

This report describes X-cut lithium niobate's (LiNbO 3) utilization for voltage sensing by monitoring the acoustic wave propagation changes through LiNbO 3 resulting from applied voltage. Direct current (DC), alternating current (AC) and pulsed voltage signals were applied to the crystal. Voltage induced shift in acoustic wave propagation time scaled quadratically for DC and AC voltages and linearly for pulsed voltages. The measured values ranged from 10-273 ps and 189 ps-2 ns for DC and non-DC voltages, respectively. Data suggests LiNbO 3 has a frequency sensitive response to voltage. If voltage source error is eliminated through physical modeling from the uncertainty budget, the sensor's U 95 estimated combined uncertainty could decrease to ~0.025% for DC, AC, and pulsed voltage measurements.