In this Blog we’ll explain the details of how power density depends on the beam profile of your laser and how to calculate it using our power density calculator.
This post was originally posted in 2012. It is still very popular, so I wanted to share it …
Pyroelectric sensors are the tool of choice for measuring energy of repetitively pulsed laser beams.
They measure energy, and they’re fast.
They are not, however, indestructible.
With all the advancements in laser technology, lasers have become higher quality and more consistent.
Laser manufacturers test and measure their lasers during development, to make sure you, the laser end user, get the highest quality laser system.
With all this in mind then, do you really have to measure your laser system?
Modern production facilities must constantly increase throughput, at less cost, with less scrap, and with minimum downtime. In this video overview, you will learn how application of new, advanced technology in measurement devices, can help both designers and users of industrial laser systems to optimize and control their processes, so they can accomplish these goals and achieve consistently good results – both in quality and quantity.
Measuring the focal spot of a high power laser is challenging, at best.
The main issue is that when a high power laser is focused down to a small point, the power density can be extremely high, typically high enough to damage any sort of measurement equipment you would use.
The solution?
Lasers are made of matter – of stuff.
And anything made of matter will degrade with time.
So if the laser degradation and eventual failure is inevitable, what can be done?
With high power lasers, there’s always a safety concern for equipment and people nearby.
(Of course, I’m not qualified to give a detailed analysis of what needs to be taken into account for laser safety. For that, you should consult a laser safety officer.)
I want to specifically ask whether there’s an issue of laser light reflecting off power measuring equipment.
You’re so upset you could spit.
You just got a new laser for your factory floor, but it just won’t make parts that pass inspection.
In applications where a human observer is involved (for example illumination applications), it is often important to measure using the eye-response-matched Photometric system of units. Ophir’s PD300-CIE is a photometric sensor, and is designed to measure illuminance (in units of Lux or Foot-Candles).
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