| Abstract: |
You may not realize the importance of good laser metrology and its many pitfalls until you realize how much of today’s commonplace conveniences – from long distance communications to LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) to state-of-the-art cutting and marking tools – rely on modern optoelectronic devices. For example, there are numerous laser parameters to measure, such as power, energy, pulse width, angular distribution, spatial uniformity, and spectral content, just to name a few. Which of these is a critical measurement parameter depends on the application. While spectral content is a critical parameter for optical communications, power and spatial uniformity are important for LASIK. Choosing the right measurement tool can be just as confusing – there are optical detectors, beam profilers, spectrum analyzers, wavefront analyzers, and others too numerous to mention. |
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