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Laser Output Measurements: Radiometry and Calorimetry

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Safety with Lasers and Other Optical Sources

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Abstract

There are many types of measurements which can be made to characterize a laser’s output. The types of measurements considered in this chapter fall under the broad term of “radiometric;” that is, measurements of a radiometric quantity such as radiant power or radiant energy, irradiance or radiant exposure. The two quantities radiant power and radiant energy are by far the most important and probably more fundamental for laser measurement. The reader should note that the term “radiometric” when applied to a method of measuring power or energy has often been used in a limited sense—referring to the use of instruments calibrated against a radiometric scale derived from a standard blackbody. The contrasting method of measurement under this narrow meaning would be calorimetric measurement where the temperature elevation in an absorber is in itself the final calibration reference. In this chapter the term radiometry is meant to apply to all techniques of measuring optical radiometric quantities such as radiant power or energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA

    David Sliney

  2. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Myron Wolbarsht

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  1. David Sliney
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  2. Myron Wolbarsht
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Sliney, D., Wolbarsht, M. (1980). Laser Output Measurements: Radiometry and Calorimetry. In: Safety with Lasers and Other Optical Sources. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3596-0_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3596-0_11

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