Increase of the dynamic range of catchup experiments by high-pass filtering

摘要

The release-catchup shock experiment is an important tool for measuring the speed of sound in compressed matter. The catchup of the release wave to the leading shock is sensitively detected optically, through an indicating fluid which produces light approximately to the 4th power of the shock pressure. However, this sensitivity demands a dynamic range which exceeds the capabilities of our digitizer. The catchup signature lies at the top of a flat pulse, thus any signal clipping is a catastrophic loss of data. We have invented a simple and accurate method for recording the catchup signature that is insensitive to signal clipping. A high pass circuit prior to the digitizer is used with post experiment integration. The insensitivity to clipping allows recording the catchup signature at higher gain, and thus with an improved signal to noise ratio.