Newport expands range of thermopile detectors

The three additions are the fan-cooled 818P-500-55, the water-cooled 818P-3KW-060 and the high-sensitivity 818P-001-12NIR.

One of the updated sensors is capable of measuring as low as 1uW range with very low thermal drift, while another can measure up to 3kW of continuous-wave (CW) optical power, which is suitable for fibre lasers and CO2 lasers.

The first model, the 818P-500-55 thermopile detector with a cooling fan, can handle up to 500W of continuous optical power (up from Newport's previous 400W limit for a fan-cooled thermopile detector).

The new device also features a large 55mm-diameter active area and very flat responses in an extended wavelength range from 0.19 to 20 microns.

The second model, the 818P-3KW-060, is a water-cooled detector that can handle up to 3kW of CW optical power.

When illumination is limited, it can handle up to 4kW of power for up to five minutes.

Designed to perform effectively and with low sensitivity to the cooling water temperature, this model is suitable for lasers with a very high optical output power, such as CO2 lasers and fibre lasers.

Output connections include an attached cable with a DB15 connector (for use with a Newport optical power meter) and/or a USB port for direct interface without a power meter.

The third product in the range is the high-sensitivity 818P-001-12NIR thermopile optical sensor.

It is designed to measure down to microwatt-level optical power, with a wavelength range from 0.28 to 1.36 microns.

This product is insensitive to beam position and offers the spatial dependence of thermopiles, while retaining the high sensitivity only available with photodiodes.

It is suitable for users working with lasers in the uW and mW range and those requiring a much lower thermal drift (a low of 6uW/C) than standard thermopile detectors.

Newport's 818P-001-12NIR is calibrated with a fused silica window mounted on the tube, so that long wavelengths (more than 1.36 microns) can be cut out of the measurement.