Beam Profiler FAQ’s

With the release of BeamGage 6.9.1 the ability to install an Ophir power meter is available through the Spiricon Driver Manager. This allows the Ophir power meter equipment to work with BeamGage, and without the need to separately run the StarLab PC power meter application. The Spiricon Driver Manager can be accessed at the end of the BeamGage installation or at a later time by clicking on the Windows Start, going to All Programs\Spiricon Tools and select Spiricon Driver Manager. With an Ophir power meter connected through the USB cable, then Under “Select a device:” you will now see an option to install the Ophir Power Meter. Click on the Ophir Power Meter and then the Install button, located to the right, to install a connection to the Ophir power meter equipment. Power meter control options are now available through BeamGage such as selecting the appropriate wavelength and power/energy scaling factor.

Install BeamGage and StarLab softwares, Open the BeamGage software with your camera connected and click on the Power Meter section and select your Ophir meter that shows up. If you already have BeamGage installed, you need to installed Ophir Power Meter driver from the Spiricon driver manager.

Unfortunately, no. The Ophir-Spiricon beam profilers only work on the Windows operating systems. The Windows 10 64-bit operating system is the recommended operating system, but most of them will still function on the Windows 7 operating system. Please note that Microsoft has ended support for the Windows 7 operating system.

BeamGage Ultracal is the camera baseline correction process that nulls the camera background energy so accurate measurements can be obtained. Upon completing the Ultracal baseline correction cycle, the Ultracal checkbox will turn ON and a Green “U” indicator will illuminate in the status bar. When a camera setting changes that can compromise the Ultracal accuracy, the “U” indicator will turn Red, and Ultracal processing will be suspended. You may notice that the Ultracal Indicator has changed to Red, indicating Ultracal suspension, and not know what changed to cause it. To see an explanation for Ultracal suspension, hover over this indicator with the mouse pointer and a pop-up message will appear providing information of what changed that caused the Ultracal suspension.

In terms of breakthroughs, there are many hidden in the software architecture, but they are exciting only for the ardent software geek. The remaining beam analysis breakthroughs have mostly been functional.

It took years for the total vision of BeamGage to emerge. The system is the result of lessons learned from several predecessor systems. The constant need to interface new camera technology with different types of analysis tools, forced us to realize that analyzers and sources must be able to evolve independently of one another and on top of a solid video transport backbone. The BeamGage effort was all about creating the “Next Generation Profiler” (and sneaking a much-needed video transport backbone passed the bean counters, don’t tell anyone!).

The first real breakthrough was recognizing the need for a beam analysis system that was self validating. The system would validate against theoretical beams and adhere tightly to the ISO specification.

Second was the realization that data sources (cameras, files, and synthetic beams) should be treated by the analyzer in a symmetric fashion, the analyzer not knowing how to distinguish between them. In other words, the data sources are interchangeable and the analyzers compute results on theoretical beams and real beams in the exact same way.

Third was the realization that sources should be location transparent. In other words, the location on the network where video data is collected should be independent (or transparent) of the location where data is analyzed.

Forth was the realization that computer processors are not going to scale up in clock cycle speed as quickly as they will begin to scale up in number of CPUs per chip. A modern video analysis system should be designed to take advantage of multiples CPU cores. BeamGage has done this!

With laptops being ever so more popular in the work place these days most of them are coming equipped with a built in web cams. These built in web cams most commonly use a Microsoft Direct Show driver which is the same driver used by the Ophir-Spiricon SP line of USB cameras. Since the web cam is built in it gets priority on the system and gets in the way of BeamGage finding the SP line of USB cameras. With some laptop computers you can enter the Windows Device Manager and disable the web cam to allow operation of the SP line of USB cameras with BeamGage. However, some computers also require that you uninstall the web cam application program to release control of the Microsoft Direct Show driver so it can be used by BeamGage to operate the SP USB cameras.

It could be that you have not installed the driver for your camera yet. Please run the Camera Driver Manager and click on your camera on the left and on the right, you will be able to see if the driver has been installed or not by looking for an Install button or what version of driver has been installed

It should not look like this. Notice it says Install.

It should look like this. Notice it says “This driver is currently installed (4.0.6.3228)”

If BeamGage does not recognize your camera immediately after the installation, reboot the computer.

BeamGage has the ability to connect to an Ophir USB power meter to display the power measurement in the BeamGage Results window without needing to install the StarLab software. You can run the Spiricon Driver Manager and select Ophir Power Meter to install the drivers for the Ophir USB interface units and meters. However, if your interface or meter has an older ROM version that needs to be updated, you will need to install the latest version of StarLab that can be downloaded from our web site here to update your ROM version so it will then show up in BeamGage.

BeamGage is the industry's first beam profiling software to be newly designed, from scratch, using the most advanced tools and technologies. It took years for the total vision to emerge. BeamGage is the result of lessons learned from several predecessor systems. The constant need to interface new camera technology with different types of analysis tools forced us to realize that beam analysis software and sources must be able to evolve independent of one another and on top of a solid video transport backbone. The BeamGage effort was ALL about creating the "next generation laser beam profiler."

The first real breakthrough was recognizing the need for a beam analysis system that was self validating. (A method for users that need to know the difference between theoretical accuracy and measured accuracy; specifically, for anyone needing to validate measurements like laser manufacturers and regulatory users.) BeamGage needed to validate against theoretical beams and also adhere tightly to the ISO specification.

BeamGage includes an innovative utility, BeamMaker, which permits BeamGage to mathematically analyze synthetically generated beam profiles in the same way it would analyze real beam profiles. With BeamMaker, you can create synthetic profiles in virtually any camera frame format. Simulations can be done of width, height, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16... bit digitizers, as well as many other features like modal content, and noise and background effects. This opens up many reference beam processing options never available in the industry. Now a user can know the exact theoretically expected measurement, system induced error, and the difference between the theoretical and actual measurement.

In previous versions of BeamGage it was required to install and operate BeamGage with elevated privileges. The BeamGage 6.1 application core has been over hauled to eliminate the need for operating the software with elevated privileges. You still have to install BeamGage 6.1 from an Administrator level account, but now you can operate it OK with restricted user privileges.

The latest current version of BeamGage is available from our software download page and there is no-charge to download and install the latest version, which we do encourage. The BeamGage software is provided in different tier levels, BeamGage Standard or Professional. The BeamGage cameras are licensed with the particular tier requested at the time of purchase. If a system is not licensed for a higher tier, that may have recently been installed, it will request a license key to be entered before proceeding. You may need to purchase the license key in order to use the installed software, or install the supported tier level, which is available on the software download web page. If you are not sure of what a particular camera is licensed for, you can call our service department with the serial number of the unit and we can look it up in our system.

The ability to export ASCII data from BeamGage was recently added in the newest version 5.3. You can download it by following the link below. We also added the ability to export data in a number of different image formats. http://www.ophir-spiricon.com/laser-measurement-instruments/beam-profilers/services/software-download
Exporting ASCII or Image Data from BeamGage can be done by doing the following:

1. Open BeamGage and select your Data Source from the Source ribbon bar.
2. Click on the Logging ribbon bar and select the data you want to export from the Data section. Hint: the ASCII data is the icon that looks like a folder with the letters abcd on it.
3. If you want to export images select the image formats from either the 2D Image or 3D Image section.
4. In the Logging Controls section select how you would like to log the data as well as logging the data if you are using pass fail criteria.
5. In the File Set section click on black down arrow in the white box and select Browse to browse to where you would like to export the data to.
6. Give it a name and click Save. This name will now show up in the white drop down list.
7. To the right of this box is an icon that looks like a black exclamation mark inside of a yellow triangle over the top of a folder. Click this to turn on the Logging function.
8. When you click the BeamGage Start button that looks like a blue circle with the play symbol in it will start logging data.

One of the advantages for building software products on Microsoft technology is long-term viability, support, and user acceptance. Therefore, BeamGage is not likely to become obsolete in the near future. It should have a life of at least 8-10years.

We have a couple of articles on our website that help in determining which beam width measurement would be best for a particular application.

• Beam Width Measurement Accuracy
• Apples to Apples: Which Camera Technologies Work Best for Beam Profiling Applications, Part 2: Baseline Methods and Mode Effects

BeamGage has the most extensive set of ISO and non-IS0 beam diagnostics computations assembled in a beam profiling tool. 

BeamGage is the first fully scalable beam analysis system. Any number of cameras can be viewed/analyzed/controlled from any number of networked machines, simultaneously. This gives the user the ability leverage large amounts of hardware power (RAM, CPU, storage, and networks) to solve more complex video analysis problems. It has even been optimized to allow local-machine analysis clients to run uninhibited by slower, cross-network clients. 

BeamGage is the first system to implement true multi-client functionality. This allows the user to launch any number of analyzers that subscribe to a single camera source and partition the detector data for area of interest based analysis. In other words, you can analyze any number of spatially-separated beams on the same detector or compute different results on overlapping regions. 

BeamGage is the first beam profile analysis system to allow users to analyze mathematically generated beam profiles in the same way they would analyze real beam profiles. With BeamMaker you can create synthetic profiles in virtually any camera frame format. Simulating not only width; height; 8, 10, 12, 14, 16… bit digitizers; but many other features like modal content, noise, and background effects. This opens up many reference beam processing options never available before. 

BeamGage is the first beam analysis system to fully address the problem of application complexity. It can be configured by the factory or the end-user to scale its complexity up or down, showing only the controls required by the user and hiding un-needed complexity. 

BeamGage is the first beam analysis system allowing the user to fully exploit their accelerated graphics card and render rich 3D visualizations of the beam in full camera resolution. 

BeamGage is the first beam analysis system to combine the accuracy of Ultracal^TM – Ophir-Spiricon's patented baseline correction algorithm that helped establish the ISO 11146-3 standard for beam measurement accuracy – with the simplicity of AutoX – an adaptive mode that automatically adjusts exposure, gain, and black level, simplifying optical system setup and alignment. 

BeamGage is the first full-featured beam analysis system to allow synchronized external power meter calibrations. 

BeamGage also supports custom computational packages. Said another way, we do the work of capturing video data and computing any enabled results. BeamGage passes those results and video data to end-user defined routines (which are simple to create); we then take the values returned from end-user defined routines and do the work of displaying, keeping statistics, checking pass/fail, buffering, saving, logging, and printing. This feature provides a simple solution to users who have problems that fall outside of the “typical” beam analysis domain. 

BeamGage is the first beam analysis system to output data in HDF5 format, an open source format compatible with tools like MatLab. 

The Newport LBP2 series laser beam profilers are entry level beam profilers with traditional features needed for typical beam profiling analysis. However, for additional functionality, features, and the ability to run automation, BeamGage® Professional is required. There is an upgrade path for upgrading the LBP2 series laser beam profilers to BeamGage Standard or BeamGage Professional. Please contact us for more information and a quotation. Contact Us.

In some instances on laptops with integrated webcams, the integrated webcam drivers may be supplanting themselves in place of the Ophir-Spiricon driver, so the only way to overcome the driver mismatch and to provide support for the Ophir-Spiricon provided camera is to disable the integrated webcam in BIOS and remove the associated integrated webcam software.

BeamGage is the first ground-up beam profiling development in 10 years. A complete rewrite, it has: a) capitalized on the latest technology advancements including client/server, Internet, and Windows tools advancements, and b) taken all the lessons learned from beam profiling users and extended proven ISO techniques to support all the new ways the laser manufacturers and user communities are innovating with lasers.

BeamGage Automation Class Hierarchy A helpful listing of the BeamGage automation class hierarchy is available; AutomatedBeamGage_ClassHierarchy.pdf

BeamGage can generate a report of what is being seen on the screen in either a PDF or XPS format. To do this, click on the Reports tab in the ribbon bar and click on the Include button to show what items to include in the report. Place a check mark next to the items to be included in the report. If you are including the beam profiles, they will be printed exactly as you see them on the screen. If you want to save ink, click on the purple square button to the right of the Include button to enable the report to be generated with a light background. If you want each section of the report on a different page click on the button that looks like two pages with purple squares at their top. The two number windows in this section are for selecting which frame to start the report with and how many frames to generate reports on. Clicking the Save button will allow you to save the report in either PDF or XPS format. The Printer button sends the report directly to your default printer.

No. The cameras used with BeamGage are pre-setup specifically and licensed for BeamGage. There are configuration settings and mechanical differences with the BeamGage cameras, such as setting them to manual gain for linear response and removing the sensor’s protective glass cover in order to avoid fringe interference when used in BeamGage with laser light sources.

Yes you can. Go to Logging and select whether you want to log Continuously, by number of Frames, or by some duration of Time. The data will be saved in an Excel Friendly format. Now, take the data and you can have Excel load these files for your analysis.

BeamGage Standard runs on .NET 3.5, so you need to make sure you have installed .NET 3.5 along with Service Pack 1 and any other updates that are available prior to installing BeamGage Standard.

Other than by connecting a camera and collecting data, the best way to verify that your BeamGage installation is working correctly is to select Beam Maker as the source. You should see a simulated beam come up in the display. If it does not, it signals that the installation of the software has failed to install one or more components correctly. The solution is to uninstall and reinstall the software, ensuring that it is performed with administrator privileges.

Click on the Beam Display tab and in the Color Section click on the Z Scale drop down list. Then click on and hold your mouse button down on the top number. Now slide the number down to the level just above the color your beam was getting to. This will compress the color scale to cover the intensity level from your camera.