WB-I VIS: Wide Beam Imager for 350-1100nm wavelengths -Now operates with Ophir’s new, high resolution camera SP932U

July 20, 2022

Yoni Groisman

The challenge

Many applications involve widely diverging or large beams such as VCSELs, laser diodes, LEDs, and fiber lasers. Those devices operate in the UV, Visible, and NIR wavelengths and are used in many devices requiring 3D imaging, like face or gesture recognition, AR/VR, medical devices, and autonomous vehicles.

To guarantee best performance in all these applications, the characterization of the beam profile is highly important. However, the apertures of conventional beam profilers are too small to capture the entire beam. Furthermore, diverging beams cannot be accurately measured with a regular detector, because the response of the detector is highly dependent on the angle of incidence.

Ophir’s WB-I VIS (Wide Beam Imager) solution

This issue is solved by Ophir’s WB-I VIS (Wide Beam Imager) designated for 350-1100nm range which allowed measurement of profile and divergence of beams of up to 70° divergence compared to 15° for standard beam profiler sensors.
It’s a compact, calibrated optical system for measuring the size and power distribution of large and divergent beams with an effective aperture as large as 45mm. It’s durable enough to operate both in field conditions and as a laboratory setup.

Beams are captured on a large, diffusive screen, and then re-imaged by a CCTV lens, thru a variable attenuator, onto the profiler camera. The camera, together with Ophir’s BeamGage software produces a complete and accurate mapping of the light’s intensity distribution.

Recently, the WB-I VIS instrument was updated to a new version and is now uses Ophir’s new, higher resolution camera SP932U. This camera uses a special BeamGage software function, for improved accuracy at NIR wavelengths, while also having faster frame rate and wider dynamic range.

In addition to the camera upgrade, the new WB-I VIS uses an iris diaphragm to adjust the light intensity to the optimal level. This is especially handy for field tests as the instrument comes ready and doesn’t require additional “on site” setup.