Measurements of Sonoluminescence Temporal Pulse Shape

Experiments using time-correlated photon counting and optical bandpass filters measure new features in the time and spectral dependences of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL). The SBSL full width at half maximum (FWHM) varies with wavelength at 3 ^∘{}C, but not at 24 ^∘{}C. The pulse shapes are dominated by nearly Gaussian peaks with FWHM in the 150- to 300-ps range. At 3 ^∘{}C, increases of pulse width with acoustic drive pressure are independent of wavelength. The pulses have extended tails that decay exponentially, with effective lifetimes of about 150 ps.