Samsung patents sensor that measures electric fields using light
Samsung has filed a patent for a device that detects electric fields generated by objects. It works by shining light through a special crystal that changes how it bends light when an electric field is present, allowing a sensor to measure the field's strength.
In the filing’s own words
A detection apparatus includes an electro-optical crystal including a first surface opposing the object and a second surface opposing the object with the first surface therebetween, the electro-optical crystal having a refractive index changing according to the electric field, a light source unit configured to irradiate light onto the electro-optical crystal, a reflection unit provided between the first surface of the electro-optical crystal and the object, the reflection unit configured to reflect light transmitted through the electro-optical crystal, a detection unit configured to detect light reflected by the reflection unit, and an electrode covering a portion of the second surface of the electro-optical crystal.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A detection apparatus for detecting an electric field generated by an object, the detection apparatus comprising: an electro-optical crystal including a first surface opposing the object and a second surface opposing the object with the first surface therebetween, the electro-optical crystal having a refractive index changing according to the electric field; a light source unit configured to irradiate light onto the electro-optical crystal; a reflection unit between the first surface of the electro-optical crystal and the object, the reflection unit configured to reflect light transmitted through the electro-optical crystal; a detection unit configured to detect light reflected by the reflection unit; and an electrode covering a portion of the second surface of the electro-optical crystal.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- DETECTION APPARATUS INCLUDING ELECTRODE
- Publication number
- US20260328826A1
- Application number
- 19429161
- Filed
- Dec 22, 2025
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G01R 29/12 Physics & computingMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.