Broadband fiber optic ultrasound hydrophone probe

A broadband fiber-optic based hydrophone probe is reported for measurements of acoustic fields at the frequencies up to 100 MHz. The fiber probe with a tip diameter of about 8 microns provides a desirable measurement tool eliminating the need for spatial averaging corrections. Power budget calculation of the fiber sensor set-up indicated that high power (200 mW) laser source is essential to achieve adequate signal-to-noise ratio. The results of the preliminary measurements allowed the probe sensitivity to be determined. Improvements to the measurement arrangements are discussed to bring this sensitivity (about 1.7 mV/MPa) in line with that theoretically calculated (4.3 mV/MPa).