Photon's M2 profiler is real-time (and does single-shot measurements)
May 4, 2007, San Jose, CA--Photon has unveiled a laser-beam-profiling system that measures M2 (beam quality) and all associated ISO 11146 parameters in real time.
This instrument, the Photon ModeScan Model 1780, uses a patented technique with 10 reflective surfaces to form 10 simultaneous images of the beam on a CCD detector array. The M2 and other beam parameters are measured and updated at a rate greater than 20 Hz. The instrument analyzes continuous-wave, pulsed, and single-shot lasers over the wavelength range of 250 to 1100 nm. The system measures 62 x 140 x 210 mm, has an IEEE 1394 FireWire interface, and is designed to occupy a minimum of optical bench space and provide a high level of portability.
To demonstrate the system's speed, Photon measured the M2 parameter of a single laser over 1 million times. Photon believes this to be the most times the M2 parameter has ever been measured for any single laser. In addition to the HeNe laser used in this demonstration, Photon also measured Nd:YAG lasers, laser diodes, and other lasers and found the M2 results determined in real time to be in excellent agreement with known values.
Previously, the M2 parameter involved a process of measurements involving at least 30 seconds and as long as a few minutes to complete, even with automated systems. Real-time M2 measurements now give laser engineers and manufacturers the ability to make real-time adjustments with lasers and determine the effects on M2 on the fly (anyone who's fiddled with lasers in the lab knows the importance of real-time info for adjusting and aligning a laser system). In addition, M2 and beam-propagation measurements can now be performed on single-shot lasers without the need for multiple pulses, and thus, important pulse-to-pulse variations of these lasers can now be measured. The instrument generates NIST-traceable measurements (important for ISO and other quality programs, FDA regulations, and other applications where traceability to a national-standards laboratory is essential).