{"id":12474,"date":"2023-05-03T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T11:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ophiropt.com\/?p=12474"},"modified":"2024-02-22T08:54:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T08:54:42","slug":"laser-measurement-systems-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ophiropt.com\/blog\/laser-measurement-systems-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Laser Measurement Systems: Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Given the pace at which technology advances, there always seems to be a learning curve. With the abundance of consumer electronics available, there typically is no right or wrong way to use these devices \u2014 the choice usually comes down to the method that best suits the end user.
However, when purchasing a highly advanced device for use in the workplace, such as a laser, learning how to properly apply, troubleshoot, and evaluate that device becomes very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for products that measure a laser\u2019s performance, the application can be tricky and sometimes overwhelming, especially if the user is unfamiliar with a specific measurement product, the respective laser system or both. This blog will detail why a laser\u2019s performance is important for industrial laser materials processing<\/a>, and will serve as a guide for the right and wrong ways to apply, ascertain, evaluate, and take action on the laser performance data gathered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding all of\nthis ultimately will help determine the efficiency of your laser. It also will\nbe beneficial if you\u2019ve had problems with your laser system but didn\u2019t know\nwhere to start troubleshooting, or if you\u2019ve spent more time than should have\nbeen required to develop any specific laser application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power density<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When discussing laser applications<\/a>, regardless of how the laser is used, it is imperative to understand how the laser is interacting with the material being processed. Power density typically is expressed in W\/cm\u00b2 and represents the measurement of how the laser is interacting with the material to which it is applied. This measurement is determined by evaluating two key laser performance characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the output power directed at the material\nbeing processed is measured by assessing how much laser light is being supplied\nby the entire laser system. This quantification can be a measure of continuous\nwave power if the laser is not pulsed or, if the laser is pulsed, an average\npower measurement (if pulse energy is measured, the term for how the laser is\napplied to the material is energy density). Secondly, the measurement of the\ndiameter of the focused laser spot is taken to determine the area in which the\nlaser\u2019s focus has been concentrated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either\nlaser power\/energy or focused spot diameter can vary from what they are\nprogrammed or expected to be as a result of physical changes in the laser\nsystem, which is why it is important to measure these characteristics at the\nwork site as accurately as possible. If either of these measurements changes, it can affect how the\nlaser is interacting with the material being processed. These two\ncharacteristics can change for a number of reasons, which is why it\u2019s important\nto measure them often. For example, if the turning mirrors or any other optics\nin the beam\u2019s path become contaminated, two things could happen. For one, laser\noutput power could drop, resulting in a decrease in overall power density.\nAlternatively, the location of the laser\u2019s focused spot could fluctuate,\nresulting in a change in power density. In either event, the laser is not\ninteracting with the process as it was designed to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 High-power\nlaser challenges<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As you might imagine,\nprecautions must be taken when measuring a laser\u2019s performance, especially\ngiven the possible adverse effects to the eyes or skin. In addition, the higher\nthe laser power, the more challenging its measurement becomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laser OEMs continue to improve the technology that supplies laser light, increasing wall-plug efficiency while decreasing cost of ownership and maintenance-related downtime. However, that doesn\u2019t change the fact that lasers and the systems into which they are integrated are made of physical components. Physical components always will degrade over time and, as a result, so too will the entire laser system \u2014 especially if the system is not properly maintained.
Components such as mirrors and optics will age and also have the potential to become dirty. When that happens, their performances will deteriorate or, at times, catastrophically fail. When performance diminishes and results in a loss of laser power, the laser operator\u2019s reaction often is to ramp up the power, ignoring the underlying problem. This approach will only prolong and amplify the problem; ultimately, time and money will need to be spent to correct the problem. When the laser no longer performs as it should, its parts should be scrapped. In a production environment, lost time and money are never good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laser characteristics to be measured<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s performance measurement products can\ngather all kinds of information. Laser output power is widely accepted in industry as a good\nindicator of the system\u2019s overall performance. Tracking this measurement over\ntime gives engineers or technicians the information they need to determine when\ncorrective action is necessary. However, laser power does not tell the entire\nstory about the system\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beam profiling provides an additional set of important measurements.\nAlong with the visual representation of how the laser\u2019s beam is sized and\nshaped, other useful measurements can be generated. These may include\nellipticity, Gaussian or top-hat fit, beam propagation ratio, or the beam\nparameter product. Laser spot, focused spot, or beam waist size and time-based location of the\nfocused spot, along with laser output over time, also are critical measurements\nto be taken when trying to understand the laser\u2019s interaction with the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When components start to age and become\ncontaminated, thermal effects become more of a factor. When losses occur due to\ncontamination, laser components can change shape. Even the slightest changes\ncan result in a shift of the laser\u2019s focused spot location. When this happens,\nthe beam size being applied to the process will increase, resulting in a\nrelatively lower power density. Dynamic focused spot location should be\nmeasured periodically in order to ensure optimal laser system performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When working with pulsed lasers, the time\nduration of the pulse and the pulse shape often are good indicators of how\nefficiently the laser\u2019s pulsing technique is performing. The programmed pulse\nshape, pulse duration, and pulse frequency (i.e., repetition rate) should be\nmeasured periodically and compared with the laser\u2019s settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance measurement techniques<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The need to measure laser performance is as old\nas the laser itself. There have been many tools and techniques that have served\nthe industry well, and they still are in use today but may not be providing the\ncomplete story of how your laser is performing. Some laser engineers still use\nsimple, convection-cooled thermopile devices, known as \u201cpower pucks.\u201d Similar\nin nature to a meat thermometer, the element is placed in the beam\u2019s path and\naway from the focused spot, and the laser is fired for a given amount of time.\nThe device then presents a number \u2014 either a temperature reading or an output\nreading, the latter of which is measured in watts. While this can indicate how\nthe laser is performing at that point in time, the data usually is relatively incomplete\nbecause the data does not include what laser power is doing over a long period\nof time. Modern-day\nvariations of this technique are still in use today and can, from measurement to\nmeasurement, provide long-term trending analysis of laser output power in both\nproduction and maintenance settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic power measurement gives the engineer\na better indication of how the laser is behaving. A fan-cooled or water-cooled thermopile\nsensor allows for the collection of laser power measurement data throughout the\ncourse of several minutes. This sensor, coupled with either a meter or\ninterface to a local PC or laptop, provides a trend of how laser power changes during this time\nperiod. The equipment also can be integrated into the laser cell to give\nfeedback to the robot or PLC to give the operator an alert of needed\nmaintenance. Dynamic trends in laser power tell the engineer what might be\nwrong with a laser. For instance, a consistently low laser power \u2014 in the range\nof 10% to 15% or so \u2014 indicates that optics should be cleaned or changed;\na drop in laser power over a few seconds indicates a damaged or well-aged optic\nin the beam\u2019s path; and erratic power readings could indicate something wrong\nwith the laser source, such as a faulty power supply or a resonator gas leak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge of legacy beam profiling\ntechniques<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Legacy beam profiling techniques such as burn\npaper, acrylic blocks, and fluorescent plates are still in use today. Again,\nthough, they often provide an incomplete analysis because it is only an\nindication of how the laser is behaving at that point in time, usually only at\nthe beam-on time. Electronic beam profiling techniques employing imaging\ncameras or scanning slit profiling systems provide the engineer with the means\nto collect valuable information about the laser\u2019s behavior over time, as well\nas industry-accepted measurements and calculations on the data collected.\nInstead of information that can be interpreted subjectively by the person\nperforming the analysis, objective data analysis can be compared against set\nindustry standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to power pucks, burn paper, and\nacrylic blocks, camera-based and scanning slit beam profiling systems collect\nrelevant and dynamic laser performance data that can be recorded or stored for\nlater reference or offline analysis. By collecting data over the course of\nseveral seconds or minutes, the laser engineer can identify trends in beam\nsizes, beam shapes, and focused beam locations to best analyze problems the\nlaser system might be having.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beam profiling applied to high-power lasers can be complicated, as\nthe powers of 1-\u00b5m wavelength lasers continue to climb. However, the application of noncontact\nbeam profiling systems have enabled laser engineers and technicians to analyze\nhigh-power lasers without fear of damaging any components that might be in the\nbeam\u2019s path. These devices analyze the beam caustic, or the beam radius, around\nthe waist so that the user can view and measure not only focused spot size, but\nalso its location with respect to the process, in near real-time. As thermal effects on the laser\ncan cause a shift in the focused spot, the devices allow the technician to\nquantify the shift and better determine whether any action should be taken to\nminimize the laser\u2019s shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In-process and at-process laser measurement<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to measuring a laser, one must\ndecide when and how often the measurements should take place. Although the\ndecision typically is based on user preference, two different systems are\ngenerally recommended: In-process and at-process measurement systems. Both\nsystems have their own advantages and drawbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In-process<\/strong> laser measurement usually consists of a measurement system\nthat is permanently integrated into the entire laser system. The technique uses\na sample portion of the laser beam somewhere along the beam\u2019s path (usually\nclose to the object being processed) and can provide continual, closed-loop\nfeedback to the laser operator or the logical system. However, because of how\nthe beam is sampled, it cannot analyze the entire system; the beam after the\npoint where the sample is taken is not part of the analysis. Unfortunately,\nmost problems with the laser system occur very close to the processing area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At-process<\/strong> laser measurement, on the other hand, analyzes the entire\nlaser system at once. At the laser\u2019s worksite, the beam is directed into the\nanalysis system, which could typically consist of a power- or\nenergy-measurement system, a beam profiling system, and a temporal pulse shape\nmeasurement system. All of these work in tandem to perform the entire analysis.\nEven though these products could be integrated into the cell for relatively\neasy measurement, the disadvantage to this approach is that the laser system\nusually must be taken out of production to set up the measurement systems and\nto perform the respective analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many challenges that come with laser\nmaterials processing. Understanding how your laser is performing should not\nhave to be one of these hurdles. The tools that perform laser measurements give\nthe user a means to accomplish more thorough application development and\nsuccessful laser system integration, as well as to help in the implementation of\na more comprehensive laser maintenance program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, benchmarking an efficient laser process provides the user with the option to return to a defined laser behavior setting in the event that laser system\u2019s physical components deteriorate or fail. Laser performance measurement products and techniques have evolved throughout the years, and dynamic data collection and analysis systems offer a more complete story of how a laser system is behaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Figure 1.<\/em><\/strong> A laser beam focus spot shifts from the blue marker, where the spot started, to the green marker, where the spot is currently located<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Figure 2.<\/em><\/strong> 2D and 3D beam profiles of a laser\u2019s raw beam. Ellipticity: 97%; Gaussian goodness of fit: 90%.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Figure 3.<\/em><\/strong> A scanning slit beam profiling system with a beam sampling optic taking measurement on a multikilowatt fiber laser used for welding.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Figure 4.<\/em><\/strong> Ophir’s noncontact beam analyzer, BeamWatch, takes beam profile measurements on an additive manufacturing laser system.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Given the pace at which technology advances, there always seems to be a learning curve. With the abundance of consumer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":12939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[321,3,323],"tags":[19,66],"ophirposttype":[348],"class_list":["post-12474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industrial-applications","category-laser-beam-analysis","category-material-processing","tag-beamwatch","tag-scanning-slit","ophirposttype-article-en"],"yoast_head":"\nLaser Measurement Systems: Best Practices - Ophir Photonics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Given the pace at which technology advances, there always seems to be a learning curve. 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