When monitoring laser beams, their measurement must be carried out during the laser process without affecting the processing beam. It is also imperative that the measurement beam is absolutely identical to the processing beam.
One excellent option is the use of a diffractive beam sampler because the beam that is coupled out is a perfect copy of the laser beam to be measured. Not only that but there are also at least two additional beams available that allow power measurements and beam profile measurements to be carried out simultaneously.
This is how it works: The diffractive optical element (DOE) is placed in transmission into the collimated beam. Approximately 99% of the main beam is transmitted through the DOE without changing; the other 1% of the beam intensity is split into higher orders for measurement purposes. Thus, a part of the power is emitted at ±15°, for example; other copies of the main beam can be found at even lower power in the other orders (±30°).
Special features of DOE partial beams: The intensity does not depend on the polarization of the laser; in addition, they have an identical beam profile in all regards!
Product range: There are quite a few standard elements available, as well as designs according to customer specifications for the wavelengths between 193 nm and 10.6 µm at attractive prices.
