High Dynamic Range Beam Profilers
NanoScan - the most
versatile and flexible beam
profiling system available
Photon's NanoScan scanning slit profilers provide major performance enhancements while maintaining the ease-of-use and flexibility that customers have come to expect with its predecessor, the world-renowned BeamScan. NanoScan scan heads are available to measure CW and pulsed beams across the entire spectral range from UV to far infrared.
Capabilities:
The NanoScan digital controller based on PCI architecture provides deep 12-bit
digitization of the signal for enhanced dynamic range up to 35dBpower optical. he digital controller improves the accuracy and stability of the beam profile measurement by orders of magnitude. It is now possible to measure beam size and beam pointing with a 3-sigma precision of several hundred nanometers. The software controllable scan speed and a "peak-connect" algorithm allows the measurement of pulsed and pulse width modulated lasers with frequencies of a few kHz and higher with any detector.1 The ability to alter the drum speed also helps to increase the dynamic range allowing a much larger operating space for any given scan head (see operating space charts for a graphic explanation).
1The minimum frequency is a function of the beam size and the scan speed. This is a simple arithmetic relationship; there must be a sufficient number of pulses during the time that the slits sweep through the beam to generate a meaningful profile. Please refer to Photon's Application Note, Measuring Pulsed Beams with a Slit-Based Profiler.
Multiple Beam Analysis Software
In addition to the hardware, the NanoScan has an integrated software package for the Microsoft Windows Platform, which can measure from one to 16 beams in the NanoScan aperture, all with sub-micron precision. The software includes ActiveX automation for users who want to integrate the NanoScan into OEM systems or write their own user interface screens.
Power Meter Standard
The silicon and germanium NanoScan systems include the 200mW power meter as a standard feature, and there is a no-charge option (/P75) to replace this with the more accurate 75mW power meter. The power meter can be calibrated against the user's ISO- or NIST- traceable power meter. The 200mW power meter has a quartz attenuator window that provides a uniform response across a broad wavelength range with a 1.5% accuracy when used in the same geometry as calibrated. The /P75 uses a more uniform Kodak Wratten filter that provides better than 1% accuracy, but it has an upper power limit of 75mW and must be supplied for a specific wavelength of use.
The power meter screen in the software shows both the total power and the individual power in each of the beams being measured. The power meter option is not available with pyroelectric detectors due to the broad range of power levels and wavelengths encountered with these scan heads.
Available Detectors
The NanoScan is available with silicon, germanium and pyroelectric detectors to cover the light spectrum from UV to far infrared beyond 100µm. The scan heads are available in several sizes, apertures and slit dimensions. See the table for available configurations.
Features:
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Sub-micron precision for position and beam size
- NIST Traceable Calibration provides 2% absolute accuracy*
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M2 Wizard Included for easy, manual M2 measurements
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Built-in control for RailScan linear stage
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Easy-to-use integrated software package
- Software controllable scan speed (update rate)
- Peak-connect algorithm for pulsed beam measurement
- PCI interface and digital head control
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12-bit digitization of signal
- ActiveX automation for communication with other software packages
- Standard power meter with silicon and germanium scan heads
- Silicon, germanium, and pyroelectric detectors available
Benefits:
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Laser Beam XY position measurement uncertainty better than 300nm
- Beam size measurement precision to better than 0.5% and beam size accuracy to 2%*
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Higher dynamic range (~35dB opticalpower)
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Lower instrument noise/jitter
- Precise pointing measurement for accurate alignment of laser optics
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OEM automation integration capability
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Simple, intuitive software GUI for minimal learning curve
- Flexibility to control more head parameters increases range of operation
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Low-power pulsed beams can be measured
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Many high-power beams can be measured at focus without attenuation
*3% for pyroelectric detector systems
NanoScan Configurations
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