Re: FS: LaserBee II Laser Power Meter
Do you mean does it take time to warm up before using it when you turn it on? The answer is No. You can use it immediately.
If you mean does it take time to get a stable measurement, then Yes, all thermal meters do. This one only needs about 30 seconds to get a stable measurement, but that can vary depending on the power of the laser being metered. You can get a measurement in less time, but I would recommend at least 30 seconds for a more accurate reading. That is due to the laser stability though, not the meter.
The LaserBee II is our top of the line LPM Product. It can read up
to 3.2Watts (3200mW).
Its response time to a stable reading is
10-15 seconds and has
a 90% response time of
~4-5 seconds.
The Ophir heads are more sensitive, however technically to get a accurate reading of your laser, due to laser stability, it would take the same amount of time with either. The instantaneous power of a laser is not its normal operating power. The only time a really fast head would be beneficial over one such as the LaserBee is if you were trying to meter a pulsed laser. For a continuous laser, you would allow some time for the laser to stabilize to nominal for an accurate reading, and that would basically take the same amount of time on any meter as its dependent on the laser, not the meter.
Im sure Jerry will chime in on this and provide more accurate info.
Agreed.... the only reason I can see that one would need to know
the max reading as close as possible to the "ON" time of a CW
Laser like the 445nm LDs would be for bragging rights... ("Mine hit
XXXX mW Peak")...
Lasers are usually used for more than 10-15 seconds...
When one buys a Laser one would want to know what the run
time output was and what it would peak at with new batteries
for some sustained time.
The other thing to keep in mind since the OPHIR heads were
mentioned is that the OPHIR's radial thermopiles require one
to keep the Laser's beam perfectly centered on the OPHIR
Sensor's active area or Reading Errors WILL result.
By using a Wafer type Sensor (TEC) like Scientec and Gentec do..
the LaserBee products have eliminated that problem since you
can shine a Laser's beam anywhere on a Wafer Type Sensor's Active
Area surface and the readings will not change.
It is not that the OPHIR sensors are more accurate but that they
respond faster because of their Thermopile element architecture.
I guess it depends on what a buyer is looking for....
Response time speed
VS Active area linearity
Jerry
