Silicon 30 W Collimated Beam 5.3 in. Modular Integrating Sphere

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Overview

The IS6-C-VIS calibrated integrating sphere (P/N 7Z02470) has a 5.3 in. inside diameter and a Silicon detector for use with collimated (C) beams. The VIS detector is calibrated from 400 to 1100 nm and can measure optical power up to 30 W.

5.3 in. inner diameter 4-port integrating sphere for collimated beams
Silicon photodetector with filter for 400-1000 nm spectral range
20 µW to 30 W power measurement range
Port plugs, covers, adapters and reducers available

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Products

		Compare	Model	Compatibility	sortOrder	rankScore	ranking	Drawings, CAD & Specs		Type	Sphere Size	Aperture Size	Spectral Range	Maximum Average Power	Availability	Featured Item	Price		Brand
		7Z02470 IS6-C-VIS Integrating Sphere, Collimated, Silicon, 5.3 in. ID, 20 μW to 30 W, Ø25 mm, 400-1100 nm $4,441 5 Weeks	7Z02470 IS6-C-VIS Integrating Sphere, Collimated, Silicon, 5.3 in. ID, 20 μW to 30 W, Ø25 mm, 400-1100 nm	UNIVERSAL	0.0	1.0	0.0		0.0	Collimated Beam	5.3 in.	Ø25 mm	400-1100 nm	30 W	5 Weeks		$4,441		Ophir

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Specifications

Product Name

IS6-C-VIS
Type

Collimated Beam
Sphere Size

5.3 inch Inner Diameter
Aperture Size

Ø25 mm
Detector Type

Silicon
Spectral Range

400-1100 nm
Minimum Power

20 µW
Maximum Average Power

30 W

Maximum Pulse Energy

5 mJ
Maximum Average Power Density

1 kW/cm²
Beam Size Sensitivity

±1%
Maximum Beam Divergence

±15 deg
CE Compliance

Yes
UKCA Compliance

Yes
China RoHS Compliance

Yes

Specifications

Product Name

IS6-C-VIS
Type

Collimated Beam
Sphere Size

5.3 inch Inner Diameter
Aperture Size

Ø25 mm
Detector Type

Silicon
Spectral Range

400-1100 nm
Minimum Power

20 µW
Maximum Average Power

30 W

Maximum Pulse Energy

5 mJ
Maximum Average Power Density

1 kW/cm²
Beam Size Sensitivity

±1%
Maximum Beam Divergence

±15 deg
CE Compliance

Yes
UKCA Compliance

Yes
China RoHS Compliance

Yes

Features

IS6 Integrating Sphere Overview

For applications that need a large Integrating Sphere, Ophir offers the IS6 series. These are 6” Integrating Spheres, available with and without built-in calibrated sensors, in a range of configurations. Get to know the IS6 family in this video.

Measuring Beams Coming Out of A Fiber

When you need to measure a beam coming out of a fiber, there are some parameters that might have a somewhat different meaning than they do when referring to "regular" beam measurements. Missing some of these points could lead to incorrect measurement, and possible equipment damage. This video clarifies some issues you'll need to keep in mind so you can set up -- and perform -- this measurement correctly.

Measuring Power of LEDs: UV, Visible and NIR

Measuring the emitted power of an LED can be tricky. It is different in some important ways from measuring the power of a laser beam. This video shows you how to use the Ophir 3A-IS Integrating Sphere Sensor, along with the Auxiliary LED accessory, to easily make accurate measurements in LED applications.

Calibration Factors - Laser Power/Energy Meter

When a power/energy meter is in "Calibrate" mode, various "Factors" are displayed to the user. This video explains the meaning of each of these factors.

IS6 Integrating Sphere Selection Guide

	200-1100 nm 300nw-1W	400-1100 nm 20µW-30W	700-1800 nm 20µW-30W
Collimated beam < ±15° Beam diameter < 25mm	IS6-C-UV	IS6-C-VIS	IS6-C-IR
Collimated beam < ±30° Beam diameter > 25mm	IS6-C-UV-2.5’’
Divergent beam > ±15° Max divergence < ±40° Beam diameter < 25mm	IS6-D-UV	IS6-D-VIS	IS6-D-IR
Divergent beam > ±15° Max divergence < ±56° Beam diameter < 10mm
Divergent beam > ±15° Max divergence < ±60° Beam diameter < 5mm
Highly divergent beam <±85° Beam diameter < 8mm			IS6-D-IR-170

Features

IS6 Integrating Sphere Overview

Measuring Beams Coming Out of A Fiber

Measuring Power of LEDs: UV, Visible and NIR

Calibration Factors - Laser Power/Energy Meter

When a power/energy meter is in "Calibrate" mode, various "Factors" are displayed to the user. This video explains the meaning of each of these factors.

IS6 Integrating Sphere Selection Guide

	200-1100 nm 300nw-1W	400-1100 nm 20µW-30W	700-1800 nm 20µW-30W
Collimated beam < ±15° Beam diameter < 25mm	IS6-C-UV	IS6-C-VIS	IS6-C-IR
Collimated beam < ±30° Beam diameter > 25mm	IS6-C-UV-2.5’’
Divergent beam > ±15° Max divergence < ±40° Beam diameter < 25mm	IS6-D-UV	IS6-D-VIS	IS6-D-IR
Divergent beam > ±15° Max divergence < ±56° Beam diameter < 10mm
Divergent beam > ±15° Max divergence < ±60° Beam diameter < 5mm
Highly divergent beam <±85° Beam diameter < 8mm			IS6-D-IR-170

Frequently Asked Questions

Integrating spheres are used when you have divergent light sources. How do they work?
Answer
Integrating Sphere Theory
Integrating spheres are used when we have divergent light sources. As shown in the illustration, an integrating sphere has its inner surface coated with a surface that highly reflects (typically 99%) in a scattering, nonspecular way. Thus when a divergent beam hits the walls of the integrating sphere, the light is reflected and scattered many times until the light hitting any place on the walls of the sphere has the same intensity.

A detector placed in the sphere thus gets the same intensity as anywhere else and the power the detector detects is thus proportional to the total incident power independent of the beam divergence. (The detector is so arranged that it only sees scattered light and not the incident beam). An ideal integrating sphere has a surface with reflective properties are Lambertian. This means that light incident on the surface is scattered uniformly in all directions in the 2pi steradians solid angle above the surface. The surface used by Ophir closely approximates a Lambertian surface.

Step 1 – Starting position

3A-IS Series
The 3A-IS series has two 50mm integrating spheres in series with a photodiode detector. The two series spheres scramble up the light very well thus giving output very independent of incident beam divergence angle. The two spheres in series also insure that the light hitting the detector is greatly reduced in intensity thus allowing use up to 3 Watts even though photodiodes saturate at about 1mW. There are two models, the 3A-IS with a silicon photodiode for 400 – 1100nm and the 3A-ISIRG with an InGaAs detector for 800 – 1700nm

Are there any special problems with the calibration stability of integrating sphere sensors?
Answer
The Ophir integrating sphere sensors, models 3A-IS and 3A-IS-IRG have a white diffuse reflecting coating on the inside of the integrating sphere. The sensitivity of the sensor is quite sensitive to the reflectivity of the coating. If the coating absorption goes up 1%, it can cause a 5% change in reading. Therefore, care must be taken not to soil or damage the white coating of the sensors. Also it may be a good idea to send the sensors for recalibration yearly.

There are several models of IS6 integrating sphere detectors. how can I select the right one?
Answer
There is a simple to use selection guide.

When using the fiber optic adaptor, how do we handle power loss due to the fiber relative to calibration?
Answer
All Ophir power meters, including photodiode power meters, have an air gap between the fiber tip and the sensor. Therefore they measure the power emitted by the fiber into the air and do not take into account any reflection losses there are in the fiber. Therefore, if in actual use, the fiber will be coupled with no loss to another element, then the losses should be added to the reading. These losses are usually about 4%. Thus if the reading on the Ophir meter is say 100 mW, then in lossless use, the real power will be 104 mW.

Do I need to recalibrate my instrument? How often must it be recalibrated?
Answer
Unless otherwise indicated, Ophir sensors and meters should be recalibrated within 18 months after initial purchase, and then once a year after that.

Among the Integrating Sphere accessories offered, there are “Port Plugs” (white), and “Port Covers” (black). What’s the difference?
Answer
An unused port should be closed, to prevent unwanted light from entering the sphere. Closing it with a diffuse white port plug, however, adds the surface area of that plug to the (diffuse white) effective area of the sphere that is doing the “integrating”. For a calibrated integrating sphere sensor, this change in the behavior of the sphere changes its calibration, and results in incorrect readings. In such applications, a black “Port Cover” should be used.

The IS6 integrating spheres have a specified “Sensitivity to beam size” and “Sensitivity to beam divergence”. What is that?
Answer
In general, as the divergence angle of the beam entering the integrating sphere increases - and as its diameter increases – the assumptions on which we base the sphere’s performance (infinite reflections inside the sphere walls, perfectly uniform distribution of light inside the sphere, etc.) become less correct. We therefore specify the maximum beam divergence (such as ± 60⁰), and we also state the maximum possible change in reading caused by change in beam size. In fact, we also state in the data sheet that the maximum additional uncertainty due to beam size is only ±1% for beam divergence < 30⁰, and ±3% for beam divergence > 30⁰. To give this more meaning: Basically, if you measure the power using a beam that is a few mm in diameter, that has a relatively small divergence angle, and is centered on the sphere’s input port aperture, you can safely ignore this additional uncertainty.

Can I use my IS6-D Integrating Sphere (which is normally used for measuring Divergent beams) to measure a Collimated beam? I know that normally one would use an IS6-C for Collimated beams, but can I manage with my -D sphere on a 1-time basis?
Answer
Here is a trick that would make this possible:
The beam should be aimed so that it is incident close to the detector port (but not hitting the baffle) – as shown in this drawing:

This way the "first bounce" will be directed to the opposite side of the sphere, ensuring that the detector will in fact see only light from the "second bounce" and onward, i.e. light that has been uniformly distributed around the inner sphere surface (normally, light from the "first bounce" of a collimated beam is not yet uniformly distributed and we don’t want the detector to see it – that is the main idea behind the different C and D configurations. This trick gets around that).

The damage thresholds for your Integrating Sphere sensors are only given for the sphere surface – what about for the detector?
Answer
The damage threshold is given in the datasheet for the sphere inner surface rather than for the detector itself, because the sphere surface will reach its damage threshold long before the detector will. A beam entering the sphere will first hit the inner surface on the opposite side of the sphere, and if at that point the power density is too high it will damage the inner surface of the sphere. From that first "meeting" of the beam with the white diffuse reflective inner sphere surface, it will be diffusely reflected multiple times. Since there is no direct line of sight between the entrance port and the detector, any light reaching the detector has already been uniformly distributed around the inner surface of the sphere, but light in that "first impact" on the sphere wall has not yet been uniformly distributed. Therefore, the "damage threshold" for the device is the maximum power density of the beam as it first hits the inner wall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Integrating spheres are used when you have divergent light sources. How do they work?
Answer
Integrating Sphere Theory
Integrating spheres are used when we have divergent light sources. As shown in the illustration, an integrating sphere has its inner surface coated with a surface that highly reflects (typically 99%) in a scattering, nonspecular way. Thus when a divergent beam hits the walls of the integrating sphere, the light is reflected and scattered many times until the light hitting any place on the walls of the sphere has the same intensity.

A detector placed in the sphere thus gets the same intensity as anywhere else and the power the detector detects is thus proportional to the total incident power independent of the beam divergence. (The detector is so arranged that it only sees scattered light and not the incident beam). An ideal integrating sphere has a surface with reflective properties are Lambertian. This means that light incident on the surface is scattered uniformly in all directions in the 2pi steradians solid angle above the surface. The surface used by Ophir closely approximates a Lambertian surface.

Step 1 – Starting position

3A-IS Series
The 3A-IS series has two 50mm integrating spheres in series with a photodiode detector. The two series spheres scramble up the light very well thus giving output very independent of incident beam divergence angle. The two spheres in series also insure that the light hitting the detector is greatly reduced in intensity thus allowing use up to 3 Watts even though photodiodes saturate at about 1mW. There are two models, the 3A-IS with a silicon photodiode for 400 – 1100nm and the 3A-ISIRG with an InGaAs detector for 800 – 1700nm

Are there any special problems with the calibration stability of integrating sphere sensors?
Answer
The Ophir integrating sphere sensors, models 3A-IS and 3A-IS-IRG have a white diffuse reflecting coating on the inside of the integrating sphere. The sensitivity of the sensor is quite sensitive to the reflectivity of the coating. If the coating absorption goes up 1%, it can cause a 5% change in reading. Therefore, care must be taken not to soil or damage the white coating of the sensors. Also it may be a good idea to send the sensors for recalibration yearly.

There are several models of IS6 integrating sphere detectors. how can I select the right one?
Answer
There is a simple to use selection guide.

When using the fiber optic adaptor, how do we handle power loss due to the fiber relative to calibration?
Answer
All Ophir power meters, including photodiode power meters, have an air gap between the fiber tip and the sensor. Therefore they measure the power emitted by the fiber into the air and do not take into account any reflection losses there are in the fiber. Therefore, if in actual use, the fiber will be coupled with no loss to another element, then the losses should be added to the reading. These losses are usually about 4%. Thus if the reading on the Ophir meter is say 100 mW, then in lossless use, the real power will be 104 mW.

Do I need to recalibrate my instrument? How often must it be recalibrated?
Answer
Unless otherwise indicated, Ophir sensors and meters should be recalibrated within 18 months after initial purchase, and then once a year after that.

Among the Integrating Sphere accessories offered, there are “Port Plugs” (white), and “Port Covers” (black). What’s the difference?
Answer
An unused port should be closed, to prevent unwanted light from entering the sphere. Closing it with a diffuse white port plug, however, adds the surface area of that plug to the (diffuse white) effective area of the sphere that is doing the “integrating”. For a calibrated integrating sphere sensor, this change in the behavior of the sphere changes its calibration, and results in incorrect readings. In such applications, a black “Port Cover” should be used.

The IS6 integrating spheres have a specified “Sensitivity to beam size” and “Sensitivity to beam divergence”. What is that?
Answer
In general, as the divergence angle of the beam entering the integrating sphere increases - and as its diameter increases – the assumptions on which we base the sphere’s performance (infinite reflections inside the sphere walls, perfectly uniform distribution of light inside the sphere, etc.) become less correct. We therefore specify the maximum beam divergence (such as ± 60⁰), and we also state the maximum possible change in reading caused by change in beam size. In fact, we also state in the data sheet that the maximum additional uncertainty due to beam size is only ±1% for beam divergence < 30⁰, and ±3% for beam divergence > 30⁰. To give this more meaning: Basically, if you measure the power using a beam that is a few mm in diameter, that has a relatively small divergence angle, and is centered on the sphere’s input port aperture, you can safely ignore this additional uncertainty.

Can I use my IS6-D Integrating Sphere (which is normally used for measuring Divergent beams) to measure a Collimated beam? I know that normally one would use an IS6-C for Collimated beams, but can I manage with my -D sphere on a 1-time basis?
Answer
Here is a trick that would make this possible:
The beam should be aimed so that it is incident close to the detector port (but not hitting the baffle) – as shown in this drawing:

This way the "first bounce" will be directed to the opposite side of the sphere, ensuring that the detector will in fact see only light from the "second bounce" and onward, i.e. light that has been uniformly distributed around the inner sphere surface (normally, light from the "first bounce" of a collimated beam is not yet uniformly distributed and we don’t want the detector to see it – that is the main idea behind the different C and D configurations. This trick gets around that).

The damage thresholds for your Integrating Sphere sensors are only given for the sphere surface – what about for the detector?
Answer
The damage threshold is given in the datasheet for the sphere inner surface rather than for the detector itself, because the sphere surface will reach its damage threshold long before the detector will. A beam entering the sphere will first hit the inner surface on the opposite side of the sphere, and if at that point the power density is too high it will damage the inner surface of the sphere. From that first "meeting" of the beam with the white diffuse reflective inner sphere surface, it will be diffusely reflected multiple times. Since there is no direct line of sight between the entrance port and the detector, any light reaching the detector has already been uniformly distributed around the inner surface of the sphere, but light in that "first impact" on the sphere wall has not yet been uniformly distributed. Therefore, the "damage threshold" for the device is the maximum power density of the beam as it first hits the inner wall.

Accessories

Extended Warranty for Sensor

Customers that purchase the above items also consider the following items. Ophir-Spiricon meters and sensors include a standard manufacturers warranty for one year. Add a one year Extended Warranty to your meter or sensor, which includes one recalibration.

	Compare	Description	Compatibility	Drawings, CAD & Specs	Avail.	Price
		XWAR-SENSOR Extended Warranty for Sensor	UNIVERSAL		Contact Us	$475

Integrating Sphere Accessories

Description	Compatibility	Avail.	Price
7Z08283A IS-2.5" Port plug Port Plug, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø63.5 mm, PTFE	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$248
7Z08280A IS-1" Port plug Port Plug, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø25.4 mm, PTFE	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$215
7Z08281A IS-2.5" Port cover Port Cover, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø63.5 mm, Matte Black Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$253
7Z08282A IS-1" Port cover Port Cover, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø25.4 mm, Matte Black Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$181
7Z08305A 2.5" to 1" port reducer Port Reducer, 2.5 to 1 inch, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø63.5 mm, White Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$375
7Z08306 Flange attachment Dovetail Flange Attachment, IS6 Integrating Sphere, for 7Z08305A Port Reducer	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$177
7Z08307 Set of aperture masks Aperture Set, Ø5, Ø7, Ø10 mm, IS6 Integrating Sphere, for 7Z08305A Port Reducer	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$393
7Z08286 1" FC fiber adapter FC Fiber Adapter, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø25.4 mm, Matte Black Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$236
7Z08350 FPD (except FPS-1) to IS6 adapter FPD Sensor Adapter, IS6 Integrating Sphere, North Pole Port, Matte Black Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$300
7Z08289 1" to SM1 adapter SM1 Thread Adapter, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø25.4 mm, Matte Black Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$259
7Z08285 1" SMA fiber adapter SMA Fiber Adapter, IS6 Integrating Sphere, Ø25.4 mm, Matte Black Coated	UNIVERSAL	In Stock	$213