Novel approach to indirect measurements of alternating current based on the interrogation of an all-fiber laser

•The fiber laser can be used as fiber sensor to measure AC current indirectly.•Temperature measurement can be relates with Alternating current.•The intensity of the optical output power of the fiber laser can be modulated by heat transfer.•The measurement of AC current can be relates with the optical output power indirectly.

This paper proposes and demonstrates a novel alternative to measure alternating current (AC) in an indirect manner, based on the interrogation of an Erbium-doped all-fiber laser. The principle of operation is based on sensing the temperature of an electrical wire AWG-22 caused by Joule effect. The heat transfer between a sensing Fiber Bragg Grating and the electrical wire modulates the intensity of the optical output power of the fiber laser. The intensity variation of the fiber laser is caused by the wavelength overlapping process into the fiber laser. The advantage of the proposed alternative is measuring AC current through the optical power from the fiber laser. The linear increment of optical output power as a function of temperature allows for the measurement of the AC current, which is an advantage over other methods.