Miniature optical fiber current sensor based on a graphene membrane

The unique electronic and mechanical properties, of graphene make it an ideal material for nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) applications. Here, a miniature optical fiber current sensor based on a quasistatic graphene NEMS with a graphene membrane covering the hole on a pre-etched fiber tip and two gold electrodes on opposite sides of the tip has been demonstrated. The sensor overcomes the shortcomings of conventional optical fiber current sensors based on thermal effects, such as relatively low sensitivity, long response time, and huge device size; it has simultaneously a high sensitivity of 2.2 x 10(5) nm/A(2), a short response time of similar to 0.25 s and a compact device size of similar to 15 mu m, and has found practical application. Using a smaller graphene membrane with better quality can reduce the response time to submillisecond levels with a more precise measurement system. The sensor presented in this paper may pave the way for the practical usage of optical fiber current sensors based on thermal effects.