High-temperature, high-pressure optical cell

US4614428A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration · US

Inventors

• Ronald P. Harris · Decatur, US
• Lawrence R. Holland · Huntsville, US
• Robbie Smith · Fayetteville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 17, 1984
• Grant date: Sep 30, 1986
• Expiry date: Jan 17, 2004

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N21/0317
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The invention is an optical cell for containment of chemicals under conditions of high temperature and high pressure and a method of making the optical cell. As shown in FIG. 1, the cell (10) is formed of a vitreous silica tube (14), two optical windows (16) comprising vitreous silica rod inserted into the ends of tube (14) and fused into position in the tube ends. Windows (16) are spaced apart to form a cavity (18) enclosed by the tube (14) and the windows (16). A hole (20) is drilled radially through the tube (14) and into the cavity (18). Another vitreous silica tube is fused to silica tube (14) around the hole (20) to form stem (22), which is perpendicular to the long axis of tube (14). The open end of stem (22) is used to load chemicals (12) into cavity (18). Then stem (22) may be sealed and, if desired, it may be shortened in order to reduce the volume of cavity (18), which extends into stem (22).