Optical sensing in high voltage transmission lines using power over fiber and free space optics

•The access to high voltage by power over fiber and free space optics is proposed.•The collimators kit avoids the use of an embedded fiber optic insulator.•High intensity rainfall can temporarily disrupt the optical transmission.•Other monitored dangerous areas can use this sensing technique.

In this work we propose the use of power over fiber (PoF) and free space optics (FSO) techniques to powering and receive signals from an electrical current sensor placed at high voltage potential using a pair of optical collimators. The technique evaluation was performed in a laboratorial prototype using 62.5/125 μm multimode fiber to study the sensitivity of the optical alignment and the influence of the collimation process in the sensing system wavelengths: data communication (1310 nm) and powering (830 nm). The collimators were installed in a rigid electric insulator in order to maintain the stability of transmission.