NASA NTRS1989
The general design, calibration, and performance of a new high-sensitivity radiation pyrometer are described. The pyrometer can determine time-resolved temperatures (as low as 1500 K) in shocked materials by measuring the spectral radiance of light emitted from shocked solid samples in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range (0.5-1.0 micron). The high sensitivity of the radiation pyrometer is attributed to the large angular aperture (0.06 sr), the large bandwidth per channel (up to 0.1 micron), the large photodiode detection areas (1.0 sq cm), and the small number of calibrated channels (4) among which light is divided.