Manufacturing Trends Drive Advancements In Laser Beam Measurement Technology

By John McCauley, Sr. Business Development Manager, MKS Ophir

Products to measure the performance of lasers were first employed by sophisticated laser users who had a strong understanding of the behavior of light and what to expect from the measurements that were produced. These users were typically PhD level researchers and scientists who devoted their careers to understanding a laser's characteristics and applications.

As a result, early laser measurement products were mostly suitable for laboratory environments and not necessarily designed to withstand harsh industrial environments. As laser applications have evolved, so has the typical laser user.

Today, lasers are used in a wide variety of environments in an ever-increasing number of applications. From mapping objects in front of a vehicle at thousands of times per second to pointing multiple kilowatts of light at a flying object for the purposes of disabling it, lasers are becoming more commonplace. As a result, developers of these laser-based products now realize the importance of measuring the laser's performance. Let's take a look at the latest trends.