How to Choose a Beam Profiler

Selecting the right beam profiler is crucial for optimizing laser performance and ensuring accurate measurements. You have lots of choices – CCD and CMOS cameras, scanning slit sensors, pyroelectric cameras, and knife edge sensors, just to name a few.

All other things being equal, Ease of use and dynamic range favor the scanning slit system.

But if you need to know the detailed 2-dimensional picture of the beam, including fine structure and possible hot and cold spots, lean more toward a camera-based beam profiling system. Making an informed decision can be daunting, and we are here to help.

Here are 5 questions you need to ask yourself when searching for a beam profiler

You first is  – what wavelengths do I need to measure?
You next need to ask yourself –  what beam width or spot size do I need to measure? 
The third question is what’s the power of the beam?
Your fourth inquiry is whether the laser is continuous or pulsed? 
Finally – and perhaps the most important question – is how accurate does the measurement need to be?

This might sound like a silly question because we all want accuracy.

But it’s not so simple – there will be many tradeoffs depending on the answers to the first 4 questions. Just as an example, the accuracy benefit of using a high resolution CCD camera might need to be weighed up against the accuracy loss due to needing attenuating optics.

The details: Beam Details, Applications, and Environments

The final decision depends on the beam details, as well as what the data is used for, how the data is used, which application it’s used for, and the environment the profiler is in.

Take a factory floor.

Quality assurance needs a certain level of accuracy, but it also needs high throughput and ease of use. You also might need to embed a profiler into a manufacturing cell so that it performs measurements and communicates with other applications automatically. All of these are considerations when selecting a profiler. 

Determining the laser beam measurement environment and which specific measurements are most important to the success of your application are crucial questions when choosing a profiler.

Ophir’s knowledgeable product specialists can be helpful as you navigate the choices that best suit your needs.