An apparatus, for measuring an electric field while minimally perturbing the electric field being measured, includes an analyzing stage and a sensor head. The sensor head is optically coupled to the analyzing stage by a laser probe beam transmitted from the analyzing stage. The sensor head includes an electro optic crystal disposed between two gradient index lenses, where the first gradient index lens emits a laser beam transmitted from the analyzing stage to the sensor head, where the electric field is applied and where, the electro optic crystal transforms the laser beam probe into a phase modulated laser beam. The second gradient index lens transmits the phase modulated laser beam back to the analyzing stage, where polarization optics and a photodetector convert the phase modulated laser beam into an electrical signal representing field strength and phase of the electric field.