Use of a pulse image-amplifier uitramicroscope with a very high sensitivity in studies of inclusions in transparent condensed media

A Tyndall cone due to scattering inclusions in glass K–8 was observed using a pulse uitramicroscope with a ruby laser as the illumination source. The concentration of such inclusions was ~10¹¹ cm^–3 and their maximum size was ~2X10^–5 cm. A modification of this uitramicroscope was developed on the basis of a multistage image amplifier used in combination with a photographic film to record the presence of inclusions. For an exposure of ≤10^–3 sec, it should be possible to record (without a noise background) the presence of inclusions which scattered single photons. The main requirements that such a microscope would have to satisfy to ensure the maximum possible sensitivity were considered. This microscope should be useful in studies of the microstructure of optical materials and of the role of absorbing inclusions in the optical damage of dielectrics.