Characterizing Lasers that Emit Widely Diverging Radiation

Abstract

It is often difficult to accurately measure the power emitted from mid- and long-wave IR lasers because their inherently large radiation divergence. This is simply due to the fact that experimental geometry limits the solid angle of the emitted radiation that the sensitive area of a power meter can capture. However, one can confidently estimate the total power emerging from a widely diverging laser by integrating the power of an elliptically symmetric Gaussian beam that is incident on the meter's sensitive surface.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA485986

Entities

People

  • Richard L. Tober

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Efficiency
  • Emission Spectra
  • Geometry
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Low Temperature
  • Measurement
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Military Research
  • Optical Lattices
  • Peak Power
  • Power
  • Power Meters
  • Quantum Cascade Lasers
  • Quantum Efficiency
  • Radiation
  • Spectra

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy