Application Note: Collimation Measurements Are Easier Than You Think!

A common misconception about laser beam collimation angle measurements is that it must involve at least two or more beam size measurements along the beam path. For this reason, collimation measurements are often viewed as complicated and time consuming, and real time laser beam collimation angle measurements are considered out of the question.

In fact, a single beam size measurement is all that is required to determine laser beam collimation, which greatly simplifies this measurement. Thus, real-time optical alignment can be performed to determine best collimation. In addition, the measurements are quite simple to perform and require no special training. Unlike with most measurement shortcuts, high-precision collimation measurements can be performed with exceedingly high resolution, higher than alternative techniques.