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.
How to Measure Low Power Lasers (Picowatts to Watts) Read Post »
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?
Focus shift monitoring of high power lasers Read Post »
If you are a serious laser user, you know how important it is to measure it.
Power is the simplest way to gain an understanding of your laser, although it certainly doesn’t stop there.
A Beginner’s Guide to Laser Power Measurement Read Post »
We’ve all been there before.
Struggling to reduce the cost of the BOM, we try to do everything ourselves.
After all, you’re an engineer, aren’t you? You have your own staff of hardware and software engineers, mechanical engineers, physicists, and anyone else you might need.
So, if there’s a complex part that adds a significant cost to your BOM, you’ll try to cut corners. “Let’s see how we can design that ourselves,” you say…
The Top Mistake Medical Device Engineers Make When Designing Laser Integration Read Post »
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?
How to Keep Your Industrial Laser Process Running Smoothly Read Post »
Does power density damage threshold really change with power? Shouldn’t it remain the same throughout the whole power range? In this video you’ll learn why the specified damage threshold does indeed depend on the power level, and not just on power density.
Does damage threshold depend on power level? Read Post »
Medical devices have to be accurate.
Often, there are regulations about how accurate the medical laser system must be. Whether there are regulations or not, the main concern is the health of the patient.
We must be absolutely sure the laser and system are calibrated and accurate, so they will heal the patience, instead of causing an unfortunate accident.
As you design the laser aspect of your medical device, there are a few things you should think about to make sure the laser measurement sensor will be accurate and will continue to remain as accurate as it should be.
How to Ensure Accuracy of Laser Measurement in Medical Devices Read Post »
You might not need something for months, but when you need it, you need it yesterday.
So the saying goes for start-ups, but I expect it holds true for all companies.
The problem is, you aren’t just buying off-the-shelf sensors and figuring out where to stick them into your medical device. You need a custom solution.
Custom solutions take time to design, by definition.
Laser Medical Device Engineers:How to Integrate Laser Measurement Faster Read Post »
BeamMaker helps engineers, technicians, and researchers understand a beam’s modal content by creating a theoretically generated beam. Design your perfect beam profile in BeamMaker by specifying the mode, size, width, height, intensity, angle, and noise content – then configure your laser to run as designed, and compare your actual beam to the theoretically derived measurements. The end result is knowledge about how much the real beam varies from the desired beam.
How to Design Your Perfect Laser Beam with BeamMaker Read Post »
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,
Don’t Come to Our LASER World of PHOTONICS Booth Unless… Read Post »
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.
Worried about High Power (10 kW) Laser Backscatter? Read Post »
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.
What to Do when Your Laser Doesn’t Perform to Spec Read Post »
