MKS Instruments, Inc., a global provider of technologies that enable advanced processes and improve productivity, announced the Ophir SP932U USB 3.0 High Resolution Beam Profiler. The SP932U system is a compact, CMOS camera-based beam profiler for UV, VIS, NIR, and Nd:YAG wavelengths that delivers the most accurate laser intensity distribution measurements. It combines wide dynamic range, high sensitivity, linearity, and high resolution. The SP932U profiler includes the industry's most sophisticated beam profiling software, BeamGage. BeamGage features a new, optimized Blooming Correction algorithm designed specifically for NIR and Nd:YAG wavlengths. This makes the SP932U ideal for applications in the popular NIR 1000-1100nm range, including materials processing, medical, surgical, and cosmetics. The SP932U profiler provides 2048 x 1536-pixel resolution, a 3.45 µm pixel pitch, and a frame rate of 24 Hz at full resolution. The compact, square design of the profiler increases setup versatility.
"CMOS sensors are 30% faster than CCD imagers and don't produce a 'smearing effect'," says Reuven Silverman, General Manager, Ophir Photonics. "The challenge is that CMOS imagers can introduce 'Blooming,' reducing accuracy in systems operating at 1000-1100nm. The SP932U is the first CMOS camera in the industry to incorporate a Blooming Correction algorithm."
Silverman continues, "High accuracy measurements are critical in many applications. When welding at 1064nm, power density is an important value that directly affects the yield of the system. That requires measuring laser beam size at the focus. The new Ophir SP932U beam profiler is designed to accurately measure the spot size, which has a direct impact on production yields."
The SP932U profiler is supported by Ophir BeamGage Standard and BeamGage Professional software, the industry's most advanced beam analysis system. BeamGage is based on Ultracal, Ophir's patented, baseline correction algorithm that helped establish the ISO 11146-3 standard for beam measurement accuracy. BeamGage software includes all the calculations needed to make accurate, ISO approved laser beam measurements, including total power, peak fluence, ellipticity, goodness of fit, and more. The software provides advanced image processing features, NIST-traceable power measurements, trend charting, data logging, pass/fail production testing, and multilingual support for English, Japanese, and Chinese. Advanced features include partitioning of the camera output for separate analysis of multiple laser beams from sources such as fiber, a .NET interface for full remote control when integrating beam analysis into an automated application, and camera sharing.