LaserCam HR™ UV Laser Beam Profiler

Coherent LaserCam HR UV Laser Beam Profiler

A high resolution CMOS-based profiler with USB interface for testing ultraviolet lasers

The new LaserCam HR™ UV camera provides a compact package at an affordable price for beam diagnostic applications from 190 to 355nm. The large format, 2/3" CMOS camera offers high performance as well as being resistant to the harsh UV wavelengths that often degrade the UV phosphor plates used in rival beam diagnostic cameras. This new camera offers adjustable integration controlled through the powerful BeamView™ USB software and an optical dynamic range of greater than 650:1. The LaserCam HR UV can accommodate beam diameters from 0.4 to 6.0mm. The compact design and single USB cable connectivity make it a great solution for demanding production line, field service and laboratory applications.

» Download LaserCam HR UV Datasheet

The LaserCam HR UV Camera

The LaserCam HR UV 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 20 x 20µm CMOS pixels provide a high spatial resolution, while the 2/3 inch sensor format accomodates larger beams than rival profilers. The LaserCam HR camera can be used with lasers in the spectral range from 190-355nm.

The LaserCam HR UV features a C-mount adaptor which allows it to be used with the full range of Coherent laser beam profiler accessories and beam attenuators.

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.

BeamView Software Screen Images

The Latest Updates to BeamView™ USB Software (Version 4.4.0)

BeamView-USB software version 4.4.0 now features:

BeamView USB software 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.
Flat-top beam analysis tools are now included.
Built-in report generation capability.
Support for Windows™ Vista (32-bit) operating system.

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 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 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.

A 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 UV Specifications

Sensor Type	CMOS, 1280 x 1024 pixels
Pixel Size	6.7 x 6.7µm
Effective Pixel Resolution	20 x 20µm
Sensor Active Area	8.5 x 6.8mm
Spectral Range	190-355nm
Beam Diameters	0.4-6.0mm
Window	Removable Low Distortion Face Plate (LDFP) NG10, nominal OD 3 at 248nm
Native Dynamic Range	10-bits (1,024 grey levels)
Interface	USB 2.0
Modes of Operation	CW & pulsed
Variable Exposure Time	20µs-30ms
Trigger Input	TTL, 100Hz max, BNC connector
Maximum Frame Rate	20Hz (live video, without calcuations) 15Hz (with calculations)
CW Saturation Irradiance	248nm: 90mW/cm² with LDFP or 90µW/cm² without LDFP
Pulsed Saturation Irradiance	248nm: 5mJ/cm² with LDFP or 5µJ/cm² without LDFP
Dimensions	68 x 68 x 34mm
Weight	110g

BeamView USB Analyser PC Software Specifications

Measurement Capabilities	Centroid & peak locations Pointing stability Beam width / diameter Divergence Fit to Gaussian Ellipticity Uniformity
Beam Width Calculations	Multiple, including ISO standard D4 Sigma
Flat Top Beam Analysis	Beam uniformity Plateau uniformity Flatness factor Edge sharpness, Effective irradiation area Effective average power density
Displays	2D, 3D, choice of 4 colours
Datalogging	For long term stability analysis
Data File Formats	ATS, PNG, Binary, ASCII, Bitmap, JPEG and many more
Report Generation	PDF
Operating System Compatibility	Windows XP (SP2),Vista 32-bit (SP1)
Pass / Fail Analysis	Of all measurement parameters
Statistical Analysis	Of all measurement parameters
Background Noise Level Monitoring	Alerts user when background correction is invalid
Supervisor Access	Password protected configuration
Automated Apertures	Displays calculated beam dimensions
User-Defined Apertures	Performs "power in bucket" calculations
Cursors	Displays centroid, comparitive and fit data
Crosshair	Defines bore-sighting central axis
Total Power or Energy	Calibrated with a separate power or energy meter
Other Features	On-line help guide Hot function keys Graphical pan & zoom
Min PC Specifications	Windows XP, P4 2GHz (3.3GHz recommended), 512MB RAM, USB 2.0, CD ROM drive

What's Included?

Part No.	Description
1149004	LaserCam HR UV CMOS camera CD (containing BeamView USB 4.4.0 application software and LabView Virtual Instruments) USB cable BNC trigger in & pass / fail output Hard sided case