Applications of magneto-strictive, magneto-optical, magnetic fluid materials in optical fiber current sensors and optical fiber magnetic field sensors: A review

Currently, electromagnetic current and magnetic field sensors are suffering from disadvantages of a complex insulating structure, high cost, easily explosive and difficult to digitized. Optical fiber current sensors and optical fiber magnetic field sensors are promising methods to overcome these risks due to these features of the optical fiber itself insulating, light weight, digitizable. Moreover, it is more potential to transform them from lab to application. This review focus on the optical fiber current sensors and optical fiber magnetic field sensors based on magnetically sensitive materials. According to the different magnetically sensitive materials to be coated, the optical fiber current sensors and optical fiber magnetic field sensors based on magneto-strictive materials, magneto-optical (MO) materials and magnetic fluid (MF) materials are discussed in detail. The sensing mechanism of three magnetically sensitive materials are studied. And the optical fiber current sensors and optical fiber magnetic field sensors are researched about the sensing principle, characterization, structure, and performance of the sensors. The future development direction is prospected about optical fiber current sensors and optical fiber magnetic field sensors based on magnetically sensitive materials, and then the future development prospects and challenges of three magnetically sensitive materials are analyzed in detail.