Ophir Photonics Group, a Newport company, has introduced the Helios, a compact laser power meter for measuring high power lasers in industrial processing applications. The Helios measures high power solid-state lasers - such as diode, fibre, and Nd:YAG lasers - with powers from 100W to 12kW and energies from 10J to 10kJ. For ease of integration into industrial automation networks, the power meter includes easy-to-use PC software and communicates via Profinet industrial Ethernet and RS232 serial communications.
The Helios operates by measuring the power, energy, and exposure time of a short 0.1s-10s high power laser exposure. By keeping the pulse energy under 10kJ, there is no need for water or fan cooling. The Helios has a high damage threshold of more than 6kW/cm2, a fast 2s response time, and short 10s wait between pulse measurements.
The Helios is housed in a dust-resistant industrial enclosure to keep the power meter in clean working order, even under harsh factory conditions. The sensor's cover can be opened and closed remotely, protecting the optics and electronics when not in use.