AbstractSpherical bulb fibre optic probes, developed and applied for bubble characterization in a bubble column and a slurry bubble column at high temperature, were investigated. The principle of operation of these new optical fibre probes is based on the difference in refractive indices between the gas and the liquid phases. The interaction between the gas bubbles and the fibre optic probes in a bubble column was studied using photographic techniques. The first objective of these experiments was to study the response of the sensors upon contact with gas bubbles of various sizes. The second objective of this study was to establish, under controlled situations, the optical probe bubble detection performance and ability for local quantitative measurements of the bubble rise velocity and the gas hold‐u