LaserCam HR™ Laser Beam Profiler

A high resolution CMOS-based profiler with USB interface

The Coherent LaserCam HR™ laser beam profiler combines the speed and ease of use of a USB 2.0 computer interface with the power of BeamView Analyzer PC beam diagnostic software. The LaserCam HR head is based upon a 1.3 million pixel CMOS sensor to provide unrivaled performance and measurement accuracy. A single interface cable that carries both signal and power on the same wire makes camera placement a snap. USB 2.0 connectivity assures compatibility with virtually all new computers, including laptops. 

» Download LaserCam HR Datasheet

The Latest Updates

LaserCam HR has received a number of important updates. These include:

• BeamView USB version 4.3.1 software now ships with a LabVIEW virtual instrument (VI) library.
• TC/IP (ethernet) as well as RS232 communications are now supported for remote control of the profiler.
• A user-programmable trigger delay is provided to simplify the synchronisation of the laser to the profiler.
• Images from the BeamView software can now be saved in the standard 16-bit PNG greyscale format.
• It is now possible to connect up to 8 LaserCam HR profilers to the same PC.

The LaserCam HR Camera

The LaserCam HR is based upon a compact 1.3 megapixel CMOS sensor (1280 x 1024 pixels) with Coherent's CAPT™ (Coherent Adaptive Pixel Technology) which corrects inherent non-uniformities in the sensor response to provide extremely accurate measurements of the laser beam's parameters. The small (6.7 x 6.7µm) CMOS pixels provide a high spatial resolution, while the 2/3 inch sensor format accomodates larger beams than rival profilers. The LaserCam camera can be used with lasers in the spectral range from 300-1100nm, or 400-1100nm if the LDFP attenuator is installed. The camera has a native 10-bit dynamic range, meaning that differences in laser intensity over 1,024 distinct levels can be distinguished. LaserCam HR features a C-mount adaptor which allows it to be used with the full range of Coherent laser beam profiler accessories and beam attenuators (for further details, see the Beam Diagnostics Accessories page).

BeamView USB Software

LaserCam HR is controlled from Coherent's BeamView™ USB 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.

Flexible Control

LabVIEW Drivers are now available for the LaserCam-HR. An extensive library of LabVIEW Virtual Instruments (VI) is supplied with the latest release of BeamView USB 4.3.1 laser beam profiling software. This enhancement will allow direct control of virtually all BeamView functions using National Instruments’ LabVIEW software, versions 7.1 through 8.2. BeamView USB can be automated to run remotely through a LabVIEW environment by selecting any of the VI libraries. An Applications Note explaining how to configure BeamView with LabVIEW and a "Getting Started" section detailing how to get connected by using RS232 or TC/IP communication protocols is included on the installation CD.

BeamView USB 4.3.1 now has the ability to communicate either directly by RS232 or remotely through TC/IP (ethernet) protocol. For the first time, you can control the LaserCam HR from a remote location. A user-programmable trigger delay now allows users greater flexibility when synchronising the timing of the laser pulse with the frame integration of the LaserCam HR profiler. For pulsed laser applications that do not have a convenient trigger source available, or if the pulses are infrequent, the AutoTrigger pulse capture capability has been restored with the latest BeamView software release. The AutoTrigger mode captures the laser image by simply selecting a user-selectable intensity level captured from the intensity level of the LaserCam HR.

The flexibility of BeamView USB has been enhanced with the ability to connect up to eight LaserCam HR cameras at the same time, to the same PC. In addition, the software incorporates a "Background Map" subtraction feature which results in a better consistency between each of the cameras connected to the computer.

An optional Pass/Fail TTL hardware output is now available in the BeamView USB software package. By adding a second cable to the existing trigger-in connection, users can now select a high or low TTL voltage level output as a fault action associated with any of the available BeamView USB calculations.

LaserCam HR Specifications

Notes: 1) Damage can occur to the CMOS sensor at 1000x saturation irradiance

BeamView USB Analyser PC Software Specifications

Scope of Supply