Laser sources can be measured by directly shining laser light into the spectrometer via an optical fiber or through the free-space input port. There are however two key limiting aspects to take into account.

Whether the laser source to be characterized is continuous wave (CW) or pulsed, the following limits must be watched at all time. Failing to respect these power limitations will result in loss of warranty and may lead to breakage of the detector .

• The CW, average or peak power of pulses longer then \( 1\mu\text{s} \) must not exceed 25mW
• The peak power of pulses shorter than \( 1\mu\text{s} \) must not exceed 100W
• For repeated irradiation with pulses shorter than 1 \( 1\mu\text{s} \), the equivalent CW irradiation, i.e. average power over the pulse-to-pulse period should be less than the CW maximum power according to equation:
  (Equivalent CW radiation power) = (pulse peak power)*(pulse duration)*(repetition rate)

Pulsed lasers (or pulsed sources in general) can only be measured if their repetition rate is faster that the FTIR modulation frequency. Typically, only lasers with repetition rates above 10 kHz can be measured. Please contact ARCoptix for further information.