photoacoustic detector

A pressure-sensitive detector used to detect intermittent radiation absorbed in a black body or in the sample concerned. The resulting rapid temperature change produces a transient pressure oscillation that is observed with the help of a microphone, or a piezoelectric device.
See also: radiation detector
Source:
PAC, 1995, 67, 1745 (Nomenclature, symbols, units and their usage in spectrochemical analysis-XI. Detection of radiation (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)) on page 1752