Focus shift monitoring of high power lasers
Measuring the focal spot of a high power laser is challenging, at best.
The main issue is that when a high power laser is focused down to a small point, the power density can be extremely high, typically high enough to damage any sort of measurement equipment you would use.
The solution?
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How to Keep Your Industrial Laser Process Running Smoothly
Lasers are made of matter – of stuff.
And anything made of matter will degrade with time.
So if the laser degradation and eventual failure is inevitable, what can be done?
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Worried about High Power (10 kW) Laser Backscatter?
With high power lasers, there’s always a safety concern for equipment and people nearby.
(Of course, I’m not qualified to give a detailed analysis of what needs to be taken into account for laser safety. For that, you should consult a laser safety officer.)
I want to specifically ask whether there’s an issue of laser light reflecting off power measuring equipment.
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What to Do when Your Laser Doesn’t Perform to Spec
You’re so upset you could spit.
You just got a new laser for your factory floor, but it just won’t make parts that pass inspection.
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Photometric Measurements: Measuring Illuminance with the PD300-CIE
In applications where a human observer is involved (for example illumination applications), it is often important to measure using the eye-response-matched Photometric system of units. Ophir’s PD300-CIE is a photometric sensor, and is designed to measure illuminance (in units of Lux or Foot-Candles).
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The Difficulties in M-Squared Measurement –And How to Overcome Them
A clear benefit of knowing the M2 of your laser is getting a lot of information about beam quality all in one number.
As simple as the output is, it is harder than you may imagine to measure and calculate M-Squared.
Let’s take a quick look at the theory behind M2 to see how it can be measured.
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How to Keep a Laser Power Sensor Clean
Harsh.
Extreme.
Noisy.
These are a few words used to describe an industrial environment.
What about your laser sensor? Will it survive this?
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Improve Your Laser Marking Process
Lasers are amazing. They can cut or weld, drill or solder. A very general application of laser materials processing is called laser marking. This can refer to a host of processes, like: etching, engraving, ablating, etc. Here’s a question I never considered: How can you be sure that your laser will mark the wood (or…
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Peak power vs. Average Power What is it, and how do I measure it?
A pulsed laser could have an average power of, say, 1 Watt, yet a peak power of 1 Megawatt – so when specifying it’s rather important to understand the difference! Contact us
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M-Squared: Lasers’ KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
With all of today’s technology, we are drowning in data. I know this is true in fields like marketing and running a business, and I’m sure it rings true with measuring your laser as well. There are all sorts of things you can measure, but it’s never worth measuring something unless you plan on…
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A Glimpse into the Life of Ophir CTO Ephraim Greenfield
What’s the one quality you need to be a great scientist? Intelligence? Diligence? If you ask Ephraim Greenfield, co-founder of Ophir, he’ll probably tell you it’s a mixture of luck and being willing to just go ahead and try something. Contact us
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There’s No Wrong Way to Use a BeamTrack Sensor
Unlike a traditional thermal sensor which is basically just used for power, the BeamTrack sensor can measure several different aspects of your laser. We also call them power/position/size sensors, since those are the three fundamental functions of a BeamTrack sensor. But it doesn’t have to stop there. Yes, if you need to measure your beam…
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