Jun 11 2010
Ophir-Spiricon has introduced a set of new laser beam filters, namely, UV ND Filter system. The system includes slide-in, modular neutral density attenuators as well as a C-mount holder.
The system is used to attenuate ultra-violet laser beams to make them suitable for Pyroelectric and CCD cameras with proper intensity. The new laser filters can be applied for a wavelength range of 190-380 nm, covering different wavelengths such as Helium Cadmium, Nd: YAG UV, and Excimer.
The C-mount holder of the laser filter system can be used for any Pyroelectric or CCD camera of the company. Three filter holders are supplied with the system with each holder having two filters. The holder can be applied easily and quickly. The attenuation range of the filters is from 0.3 to 6.0 OD (optical densities). This enables usage of various kinds of beam profiling cameras. The filters provided with the system are 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0, 0.7, and 0.3 OD. For attenuation, two filters can be used simultaneously in 0.4 or 0.3 OD steps.
The UV ND Filter system offers a clear aperture of 20 mm, which does not vignette the camera. For CW lasers, the damage threshold is 100 W/cm2, while the threshold is 20 mJ/cm2 for pulse-wide, nanosecond lasers. The company provides LBS-300 Beam Sampler featuring the UV ND filters. This beam sampler has the ability to measure 10mW to 400 W of power for high power UV laser attenuation.
The President of Ophir-Spiricon Gary Wagner commented that most of the existing ND filters are made of SCHOTT glass, which does not transmit wavelength below 390 nm. The company’s ND filters are made of fused silica and feature an Inconel coating. The filters are tilted to avoid reflecting and parallel surfaces that can bring interference effects, he noted.
Source: http://www.ophiropt.com/