This video explains why the Spiricon Pyrocam pyroelectric camera is the overwhelming camera of choice for laser beam diagnostics of IR and UV lasers and high temperature thermal imaging for scientific research to industrial high power lasers to safety and defense applications.
As every year – Ophir’s new 2020 catalog for laser power measurement covers a wide range of laser …
This post was originally posted in 2012. It is still very popular, so I wanted to share it …
Picture this:
You’re working on a complicated laser setup, with various beam splitters, attenuation, lenses and mirrors. You spend weeks optimizing the design, and months waiting for all the parts to arrive.
Now everything is here and you set it up to the millimeter.
And then the big moment. Where’s the laser?
I’ve mentioned BeamWatch before.
It’s an innovative technique for profiling high power lasers (1 kW and up).
I’ve even touched on the underlying Rayleigh scattering effect that makes this possible.
But how does this really work?
There are a few different ways to measures laser power, but the most common is the photodiode. Photodiodes translate light energy into electricity (current), which can be measured by a current sensor.
Ophir uses a few types of photodiodes in its PD300 series.
Going to Munich for LASER World of PHOTONICS 2015?
We’ll be showing several new products in Munich, not to mention quite a few of our classics.
But…
You’re going to be busy. You can’t (and shouldn’t) go to every booth. So I’m going to very clear. Our booth is not for everyone. However,
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.
A clear benefit of knowing the M2 of your laser is getting a lot of information about beam quality all in one number.
As simple as the output is, it is harder than you may imagine to measure and calculate M-Squared.
Let’s take a quick look at the theory behind M2 to see how it can be measured.
2018 Ophir Photonics