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FireWire BeamPro Camera Beam Profiler

CCD camera profiler with FireWire interface and NIST-traceable calibration

FireWire BeamPro

The FireWire BeamPro is a camera-based beam profiling system that provides highly accurate NIST-traceable measurements of ISO Standard beam profile parameters, including beam diameter, centroid, and power/energy, with enhanced ease of use and portability.

Details

The FireWire BeamPro CCD camera is available in a 2/3" format with 6.7µm pixels, a 1/2" format with 8.3µm pixels or a 1:1.8 format with smaller 4.6µm pixels all with a small form factor that allows easy placement into typical optical paths. The CCD is sensitive from 190nm to 1100nm wavelengths, but operation below 250nm is not recommended due to the likelihood of damage to the array. See the UView attachment for safe measurement of short UV wavelengths.

Photon also provides a full range of optics to measure both small and large beams. There are beam expanders to magnify smaller beams and reducers to fit larger beams onto the camera arrays.

The standard configuration is supplied with a glass OD 2.8 C-mount filter for wavelengths >360nm, while the camera can be equipped with a wavelength-specific (e.g., 355nm or 266nm) fused silica high power reflective filter with ~99.5% reflectivity (similar to OD 2.8). This instrument provides a high level of portability for beam profiling, since a peripheral frame grabber card is not required for this system. Thus, this equipment can be easily transferred to different laptop or desktop computers without the additional step of installing a frame grabber card.

For laser beam profiling applications involving moderately sized beams with wavelengths from around 250nm to 1100nm, the silicon array is an excellent solution. With any camera array based profiler it will be necessary to attenuate the laser beam to prevent saturation of or damage to the sensor. It is important that the attenuation be done properly to ensure that errors are not introduced to the measurements.

The FireWire BeamPro Software is written specifically for Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and takes full advantage of the menu driven, multi-windowing environment. The software performs rigorous data analyses in accordance with the ISO standards, providing quantitative measurement of numerous beam spatial characteristics. Pass/Fail limit analysis for each of these parameters can be also applied. For data display and visualization, the user can arrange and size multiple windows as required:

  • Video Dual Aperture Profiles
  • Beam Statistics
  • 3D Profile View
  • 2D Topographic View
  • Up to 15 Time Statistics Charts
  • Pointing/Targeting
  • M2 Interactive Wizard
  • Notes

Custom configured instrument screens with multiple views can be saved as configuration files for repeated use.

Data can be exported to spreadsheets, math and statistical analysis programs and process/instrumentation control programs by logging to files or COM ports, or by sharing using ActiveX Automation.

To avoid having to deal with attenuation issues, it may be preferable to use a slit-based profiler for your laser measurements.

UView Accessory

The UView Accessory attaches to standard Photon Inc. Firewire Model 2512 and 2523 and USBeamPro Model 2323 Cameras.

Specifications
FireWire BeamPro Specifications
Model 2512 Model 2523
Optical/Sensor
Sensor: Si CCD 1/2" Format Si CCD 2/3" Format
Pixel Array: 780 (H) X 580 (V) 1392 (H) X 1040 (V)
Pixel Size: 8.3µm X 8.3µm 6.45µm X 6.45µm
Array Dimension: 6.49mm X 4.83mm 8.98mm X 6.7mm
Maximum Frame Rate: 35.8fps (full frame @ full resolution) 11.3fps (full frame @ full resolution)
Wavelength: 360nm-1100nm;250nm-1100nm with UV optics
Cover Glass: Removed
Neutral Density Filter: 2.8 OD 360-1100nm Standard
Computer/Electrical
Exposure range: 20µs-27.64ms (Software selectable via 1394 bus) 20µs-81.9ms (Software selectable via 1394 bus)
Scanning Mode: Progressive
A / D Conversion: 12 Bit
Gain: 0-12dB (Software selectable via 1394 bus)
Interface: IEEE 1394a (FireWire)
IEEE 1394 Cable: 1.8m (standard); 10m (optional)
Trigger: Internal or External (Software selectable)
External Trigger Specifications: 5V ±1V @ 10mA ±5mA (Positive transition)
Trigger Connector: 10 pin RJ-45 Jack
Trigger Cable: 10 pin RJ-45 to BNC 1.8m (standard)
Supply Voltage: +8V - +36V DC (+12V DC nominal); <1% ripple (supplied via IEEE 1394 cable)
Supply Power: 3.5W max @ 12V DC (typical)
Mechanical
Image Plane: 17.526mm from the C-mount front surface
Filter/Lens Mount: C-mount (1" - 32 tpi)
Dimensions in mm: 49 X 62 X 62
Conformity: CE; FCC; RoHS and WEEE
Weight: ~ 210g ~ 240g
Mounting: 1/4"-20, M6 optional
Environmental
Operating Temperature: O° - +50°C (+32° - 112°F)
Humidity: 20%-80%, relative, non-condensing

Specifications subject to change without notice

System Requirements
  • 1.8GHz or faster Pentium IV Processor
  • Windows XP Professional SP1, Windows 2000 Professional SP3, or Vista Business (32-bit only) Operating System
  • OHCI compliant IEEE 1394a (FireWire Port): Powered port required
  • 512MB of RAM
  • CD-ROM Drive
  • 30MB free space on hard disk
  • SVGA display monitor
  • 64MB Color SVGA graphics card
  • Mouse or other pointing device
  • Keyboard
Operating Space (Range) Charts
Software
Mechanical Dimensions

FireWire BeamPro Mechanical Dimensions

Additional Information
Pulse Width Modulation. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) traceability is established through a chain of measurements originating with a NIST standard reference material, and every Photon instrument is calibrated to this standard reference material. More - see NIST-traceable See Attenuators and Optics. See Camera-Based Near Field Profilers. Attenuation-Induced Error due to Thermal Lensing in Beam Measurement. See NanoScan Scanning-Slit Profiler.