Abstract

A gas-filled Microshell¹ attached to the tip of an optical fiber is a useful sensor of high-pressure pulses. The sensor converts a pressure pulse into an optical pulse, which is transmitted via the optical fiber to a photodetector, such as a streak camera, photodiode, or photomultiplier. The sensor works on the flash-gap principle² whereby the incident pressure pulse causes a brief flash due to rapid shock-heating of the gas confined in a tiny spherical transparent glass or plastic cavity known as a Microshell, typically 0.2 mm in diameter.

© 1985 Optical Society of America