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HELP!! Is an Optical Power Meter different from LPM?

E

Elektr0n3Ro9000

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there's no LPM in our country available i decided not to buy online abroad as some people say it's a bit "dangerous" and money risking. but there is so called optical power meter... can i use it as a sub for Laser power meter? or it's very different? thanks!:beer:
 





Where do you live at..? :thinking:
Maybe there is a member with a LPM in your country :beer:

Jim
 
i'm new for this stuff but i need it as experiment. I just wanna know if they differ? i'm from east asia so laser hobbies isnt as much as popular as in the US so i cant just knock on my neighbor's door and borrow some cause they dont have it and it is pretty expensive y' know.. can you please answer my question tho.. thanks
 
Hmm...I think it's probably going to work but I can't really tell you
without having the Brand/Model of this OPM (Optical Power Meter) :beer:

Jim
 
Last edited:
Elektr0n3Ro9000 said:
there's no LPM in our country available i decided not to buy online abroad as some people say it's a bit "dangerous" and money risking. but there is so called optical power meter... can i use it as a sub for Laser power meter? or it's very different? thanks!:beer:
Click to expand...

The main difference is the Sensor.

A Thermopile Sensor uses the heat produced by the Laser's
beam to calculate the Laser's output in Watts.
Since it uses heat and good Thermopile Sensor's coating
would normally be a Broadband coating it see's most Laser
beams the same way and reads them almost identically.

An Optical Sensor uses the photonic (light) output of the
Laser to calculate the Laser's output in Watts but at only
one specific wavelength at a time. That is why an Optical
LPM needs to be told the wavelength of the Laser being
tested or you need to use an Optical correction factor
usually supplied as a Graph or Chart.

Optical LPMs can usually only measure Laser of much lower
output than a Thermopile based LPM can.


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics
 
i can't seem to understand.. sorry but in summary so can i use it? if that "Optical LPM's" you're saying is just the same as what im talking about but has a different sensor then maybe i can use it. as you may have seen in my previous posts i just need to know the power output (at any method) of the laser i have e.g 1mW, 5mW and 100mW.. i saw a cheap Optical Power Meter so do you recommend it? and how exactly is it used?
 
Elektr0n3Ro9000 said:
i can't seem to understand.. sorry but in summary so can i use it? if that "Optical LPM's" you're saying is just the same as what im talking about but has a different sensor then maybe i can use it. as you may have seen in my previous posts i just need to know the power output (at any method) of the laser i have e.g 1mW, 5mW and 100mW.. i saw a cheap Optical Power Meter so do you recommend it? and how exactly is it used?
Click to expand...

I explained it as simply as I could....:undecided:

How about a link to the "cheap Optical Power Meter" you
are referring to...


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics
 
Even though that meter is for fiber optics
maintenance you can't use it since it only works
with lasers within this range 800nm-1600nm.... :beer:

Jim
 
Elektr0n3Ro9000 said:
i already told that I'm very new at these stuff... so please go easy on me for this..anyways this is a link

ST800H Optical Power Meter - Shandong Senter Electronic Co., Ltd
hope you guys can help me for this resolve...
Click to expand...

As jimdt7 stated... that is only used to test lasers in Fiber
optical communication systems and it only detects IR (Infra
Red) wavelengths.

It also only reads out in dBm not Watts.

If you only want to test Lasers up to 100mW as you stated
above then this might be what you want for something under
$100.00...

Products

BTW... referring to your Post #8....
Is that all you understood from all the help I posted on
this Thread...:thinking::thinking:


Jerry

You can contact us at any time through our Website: J.BAUER Electronics
 
Last edited:
Elektron, does this make any more sense?

The main difference is the Sensor.

A Thermopile Sensor uses the heat produced by the Laser's
beam to calculate the Laser's output in Watts.
Since it uses heat and good Thermopile Sensor's coating
would normally be a Broadband coating it see's most Laser
beams the same way and reads them almost identically.

An Optical Sensor uses the photonic (light) output of the
Laser to calculate the Laser's output in Watts but at only
one specific wavelength at a time. That is why an Optical
LPM needs to be told the wavelength of the Laser being
tested or you need to use an Optical correction factor
usually supplied as a Graph or Chart.

Optical LPMs can usually only measure Laser of much lower
output than a Thermopile based LPM can.


Jerry
Click to expand...

The first one measures the heat intensity of the laser (i.e. how much light is coming out despite what color it is). Good for high power levels.

The 2nd one has to be told which color laser to measure and looks for that color light. Not as good for high power levels.
 
Elektr0n3Ro9000 said:
One more question. I've seen a post which where an IR thermometer can be made as LPM. I think the one who posted that was Warske, has anybody done that? did it actually worked? Thanks for the answers http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/simple-laser-power-meter-using-ir-thermometer-26341.html
Click to expand...
There are many DIY LPM projects here on the Forum...
They all work.... Problem is... they are not calibrated.

It all comes down to... what are you going to use to
accurately calibrate your DIY LPM after you build it.

We use a recently calibrated commercial LPM to calibrate
our LaserBee LPM products.


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics
 
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yes but usable tho. based from what i remembered (after reading that yesterday) there accuracy is 15 or 20% *correct me if im wrong* but it's only the temp. you are measuring there and needs to use some equations as directed.. i really do not need the 100% accuracy and it's going to come down very expensive..this is just an experiment tho so maybe i can.. i bet you already did the IR thermometer LPM how was your experience about it? except for the accuracy many thanks

regards,
 
Elektr0n3Ro9000 said:
yes but usable tho. based from what i remembered (after reading that yesterday) there accuracy is 15 or 20% *correct me if im wrong* but it's only the temp. you are measuring there and needs to use some equations as directed.. i really do not need the 100% accuracy and it's going to come down very expensive..this is just an experiment tho so maybe i can.. i bet you already did the IR thermometer LPM how was your experience about it? except for the accuracy many thanks

regards,
Click to expand...
You will need to read that entire Thread... Post by Post
so that you can make up your own mind if that DIY LPM
will be right for you.

It seems that the suggestions and advice on this Thread
seem to fly over your head or are just ignored...:thinking:


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics
 
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