Abstract: The present invention is a pyroelectric radiation detector using a polyvinylidene fluoride film (PVDF) as the sensitive material and having graphite in contact with one side of the film. The detector can have a planar or a conical cavity configuration. The sensitivity of this detector is in the range of 5 to 10 V/J, and the response time is shorter than 0.5 ms. This detector can be used to directly detect pulse laser radiation within a spectral range of 0.25 .mu.m to 25 .mu.m and having a power density as high as 100 MW/cm.sup.2. The detector is also suitable for other light radiations ranging from violet to infrared wavelength. It can be used, for example, as an infrared detector, as a radiation sensor for measuring temperature, as a detector for a standard radiation meter, and as a light trap for the equivalent black body absorption.