What Is The Minimum Repetition Rate Of A Pulsed Laser When Used With A Power Detector?

By Kévin Foster

A recurring question that we hear at Gentec-EO is about the minimum repetition rate that a pulsed laser should have to be properly measured by one of our power detectors. We also ask the same question for energy detectors further below.

Although measuring average power is generally associated only with CW lasers, you can actually also measure the average power of a pulsed laser with a power detector. However, you can imagine that should the repetition rate of your pulsed laser be too low, you could end up seeing the power measurement go up and down between each pulse.