Double-sensor method for detection of oscillating electric field

An electric-field sensor consisting of thin copper plates is designed to measure an oscillating electric field produced by charge separations on a plasma column. The sensor installed in a vacuum region around plasma detects charges induced by the electric field on the copper plates. The value of the induced charges depends not only on the strength of the electric field, but also on the design of the sensor. To obtain the correct strength of the electric field, a correction factor arising from the design of the sensor must be known. The factor is calculated numerically using Laplace's equation and compared with a value measured using a uniform electric field in the frequency range of 10–500 kHz. When an external circuit is connected to the sensor to measure the induced charges, the electric field around the sensor is disturbed. Therefore, a double-sensor method for excluding a disturbed component in the measured electric field is proposed. The reliability of the double-sensor method is confirmed by measuring dipole-like and quadrupole-like electric fields.