Traditional approaches that measure the consistency and quality of laser beam profiles are limited in the upper range of power measurement because those methods require intrusion of the beam. Ophir-Spiricon (North Logan, UT) says its BeamWatch instrument is the first noncontact laser beam profiler that can measure lasers emitting 980 to 1080 nm wavelengths with power levels from 1 kW to 100 kW on beam sizes up to 12.5 mm because there is no contact with the laser beam during measurement.
Every 60 ms, BeamWatch makes a complete set of real-time Rayleigh-scattering measurements caused by the beam, providing instant readings of focus spot size and beam position, as well as dynamic measurements of focal-plane location after the laser is turned on. Tolerance on waist width or spot size is ± 5%, and waist-location tolerance is ± 50 μm within the measurement window. Communicating with personal computers via high-speed Gigabit Ethernet standards for long cable lengths and noise immunity, BeamWatch provides both a technician mode to give the laser technician full beam diagnostics, while the operator mode provides the shop-floor laser user with a means of quickly and automatically checking the status of lasers during the production process and interfacing with the work cell to log the measurement results.
Contact John McCauley at[email protected].