BeamView™ Analyser Laser Beam Profilers

Camera-based beam profilers for lasers in the range 190 to 2200nm

Coherent's BeamView™ Analyser comprises a family of camera-based laser beam profilers that can measure the spatial intensity distribution and other beam metrics from pulsed and CW lasers in the range from 190 to 2200nm. Each profiler consists of a camera head, PCI interface for a PC and Coherent's acclaimed BeamView Analyser software. With seven different cameras to choose from, there's a BeamView Analyser system to suit your particular laser.

Coherent's LaserCam HR is our latest camera (CMOS sensor) based beam profiler. However, the LaserCam HR utilises a high speed USB 2.0 interface and runs under BeamView USB software, so is treated as a separate product from the rest of the BeamView family.

» Download BeamView Analyser Datasheet

Digital BeamView Analyser

The Digital BeamView Analyser possesses a wider dynamic range compared with traditional analogue video camera systems, which results in more accurate and consistent results. The Digital BeamView Analyser is based upon the 10-bit digital LaserCam IIID camera. Coherent has engineered the LaserCam IIID specifically for laser diagnostics with 10-bit digital output and greater than 1200:1 optical dynamic range. The LaserCam IIID is available in ¼ inch and ½ inch sensor formats. The Digital BeamView Analyser comes as a complete package ready to be incorporated into a PC platform. The system includes the LaserCam IIID camera, Digital BeamView Analyser for Windows software, digital PCI interface card, cables and a manual. The BeamView Analyser can also be ordered as a turn-key diagnostics system together with a laptop or desktop computer. Laser diagnostic-grade image and attenuation optics are also available (for further details, see the Beam Diagnotic Accessories page).

With LaserCam IIID digital cameras, the “framegrabber” is inside the camera. The interface card is the communication, control and image data storage for the camera. Coherent has developed the LaserCam IIID and interface card specifically for laser beam diagnostic testing. This system is optimised for high optical dynamic range and saturation levels best suited to laser beam analysis.

Analogue BeamView Analyser

The Analogue BeamView Analyser with PCI framegrabber card is used together with RS-170 and CCIR analogue video cameras. With five standard analogue diagnostic cameras available off the shelf, almost any laser beam can be analysed, including wavelengths up to 2200nm and beam sizes from tens of microns to 30 by 40mm. Laser diagnostic-grade image and attenuation optics are also available (for further details, see the Beam Diagnotic Accessories page).

The framegrabber board, for interfacing the chosen analogue camera to the controlling computer, has been specifically designed for capturing laser images from RS-170 or CCIR video cameras. The framegrabber can operate with up to four cameras connected. The software can select any one of the four to be operational. The standard version of the framegrabber board, the Beam Vision Support Module (BVSM), is configured as a ½ length, 32-bit PCI bus card for operation with Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP. It contains a 2MB video RAM buffer, temperature stabilisation and special synchronization and gate timing electronics for fast, accurate and correct image capture of CW or pulsed laser profiles.

BeamView Analyser Software

Each BeamView Analyser profiling system is controlled from Coherent's BeamView™ application software for PCs. BeamView is the laser beam profiling application which rival manufacturers seek to emulate. BeamView provides real-time cross-sectional as well as 2D and 3D profiles which facilitates laser system tuning and optimisation. The beam parameters reported include beam position (centroid and peak location), beam size and shape (diameter and ellipticity), far-field data (divergence, pointing and bore-sighting), mode structure (uniformity and fit to Gaussian) as well as the beam power and power density (or energy and energy density for pulsed lasers). Statistical parameters reported include the mean, maximum, minimum and standard deviation for the beam parameters and beam wander. The software accomodates datalogging, supports pass/fail type reporting and can output an alarm for beam parameters that are out of range.

Please note the following, minimum PC specification required to run BeamView Analyser software: Windows operating system (98, ME, 2000, NT 4 or XP); 1 free PCI slot (card is ⅔ length); Pentium processor, 166MHz; 64MB RAM; 40MB hard disk space; SVGA graphics card and display; serial communication port (for remote control).

Flexible Control for Pulsed Laser Measurements

The BeamView Analyser can easily capture, display and analyse pulsed laser images with three modes of operation to choose from. In the Auto mode, the capture is triggered by any incoming image with a peak intensity above a pre-selected trigger level. In Synchronous mode, the laser is synchronously triggered with a TTL pulse from the framegrabber board. In Asynchronous mode, the user provides a TTL pulse to the framegrabber to initiate capture of the laser image. These three triggering modes, when combined with the five capture modes (continuous, time interval, pulse count, on-command, and single shot), allow for the capture of almost any CW or pulsed laser at up to 10kHz with the appropriate camera.

The BeamView Analyser also provides remote control and data transfer through the host computer’s RS232 serial port or a user-installed GPIB (IEEE-488.2) interface. A complete control and data transfer command set is provided to allow users to develop their own remote control application for the BeamView Analyser.

BeamView Analyser Cameras

All Coherent cameras are specifically built or modified for beam diagnostic use. They have been selected for low noise, maximum linearity and uniformity of response. Each camera is tested and calibrated in Coherent's ISO 9002 certified calibration laboratory. All analogue cameras are specified with an RS-170 (60 Hz) field rate, but in some circumstances a CCIR (50 Hz frame rate) camera may be chosen instead. 

Our cameras employ charge coupled device (CCD) sensors or Vidicon tubes. CCD sensors have a 2D array of discrete pixels over the image area. Vidicon tubes scan the image plane with an electron beam to determine the image intensity distribution. The standard CCD cameras cover the wavelength range from 190 to 1100nm. For wavelengths longer than 1100nm, the Vidicon camera is available. For wavelengths shorter than 190nm, special Extreme-UV profiler optics are available (for further details, see the Beam Diagnotic Accessories page).

All standard CCD cameras accept C-Mount optics and accessories and are delivered without a glass / plastic window in front of the sensor array. Such windows are liable to distort the optical beam. However, a Low Distortion Face Plate (LDFP) filter is supplied with each camera. The LDFP is a laser-grade neutral density (ND) filter glass specified and polished for diagnostics use. It is mounted in a C-mount ring and provides sufficient attenuation of room light that the camera can be used with the lights on. For operation below 400nm, the LDFP must be removed.

Further guidance on the selection of the optimum camera for use with your laser can be found in the BeamView Analyser datasheet.

Camera Selection Chart

Notes:
1) The ¼" LaserCam cameras cannot be used with pulsed lasers from 900-1100nm
2) The E-7290 vidicon is available for use from 400-2200nm as an option
3) CW operation only

Ordering Information - Digital BeamView Analyser Systems

 Ordering Information - Analogue BeamView Analyser Systems

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