BladeCam

BladeCam
BladeCam
BladeCam
BladeCam
TaperCamD
TaperCamD
TaperCamD
TaperCamD
TaperCamD
WinCamD
WinCamD
WinCamD
WinCamD
WinCamD
WinCamD™ Series
CCD/CMOS Beam Imagers
User Manual
 VERY IMPORTANT
Read 2 pages. This VITAL information is here so that you cannot miss it.
 Register your product at www.dataray.com/support/prodregform.html.
 For Windows 7, Vista & XP, 32 & 64-bit. [Windows Vista? Read App. F now.]
 New. Now features CTE™ Comet Tail Elimination & HyperCal™ dynamic
electronic fixed-pattern noise/baseline correction. IEC 60825 d63 diameters added.
 QuickStart - if you are one of those rare people who do not read manuals …
1. Minimum PC Requirements? See page 2-3. You will install, open & close the
software before connecting the camera. Install as Administrator - Sec. 2.3.
Open the software to load the driver. Close the software.
2. Install the camera. Connect the camera head & follow the New hardware
found wizard to install the camera. Do not let it go to the web to find the driver.
Let it install automatically. Problem? Sec. 2.3 has more detailed instructions.
3. Start the software. The camera LED cycles Red - Off - Green - Red - Green.
If it stays Red, the port is not reporting itself as USB 2.0. In the pull-down menu
verify Device, WinCamD. The software detects the camera type. Remove the
dust cap. Press .
4. To avoid camera damage, observe the maximum irradiance limits, Section
1.6.2. Damaged imager chips are field-replaceable, but at customer expense.
5. TaperCamD series? Go Alt S, set Pixel Multiply Factor to rear label value.
 You may hot-plug and unplug a camera head from its cable. The software should
recognize it automatically after a few seconds. If it does not, restart the software.
 Centering. Stay within the imaging area for accurate measurements. If energy
spills outside the imaging area, erroneous measurements may result.
 Save files for future reference: Press Stop, then, in the Pull-down menu, go File,
Save, Save current data … to save the single profile/image set, or Save all data
in data buffer … to save a sequence of data, particularly if you are seeing
instability. The saved file (*.wcf, format) includes setup data for your instrument.
Anyone other PC can then display the data exactly as you see it.
 Help us to help you. If you are getting strange results, e.g. corrupted screen
layout, press Stop. In the pull-down menu go File, Load defaults to reset to
default settings, &/or restart the software. If the problem persists, before you report
it, save a *.wcf file (see above) & email it to support@dataray.com or to your
distributor, with your commentary. Then call. See also Solving WinCamD Issues &
Remote Support User Guide at the website.
 By default, all BladeCam & WinCamD’s come with the sensor window removed. See
Sec. 3.6.3 for instructions on cleaning the ND filter &, in extremis, the sensor chip.
 WinCamD-FIR series? See also the supplement supplied with the camera.
 You may install a BeamMap, Beam’R, BeamScope & a WinCamD Series system in
the same PC. Up to eight cameras can be operated from the same PC.
 Read the Manual. If User Manual authors had their way, this paragraph would
read: “If you read this manual first, you are entitled to free product support by
phone or email. For those who decide not to bother to read the manual before
calling for support, a Help line charged at a ‘per minute’ rate is available.”…
Seriously though, read this manual to enjoy the full benefit of your investment.

Other Issues
 Windows (not DataRay software) requires that the WinCamD driver be installed
separately for each newly used USB 2.0 port.
CCD ‘Comet’ Tail. At short exposures and >900 nm, a vertical ‘comet’ tail may
appear. This is an unavoidable ‘feature’ of high resolution CCD chips. Incident light
leaks past the metal over the vertical transfer register. The
effect is worse at longer wavelengths and for beams incident at
other than normal incidence. To eliminate the tail select the
CTE™ button in the toolbar. In addition:
1) Use exposure times >0.5 ms wherever possible.
2) Ensure that the light is incident close to 90o. Tune the angle.
3) Set up a Capture Block appropriate to the size of your beam.
4) Use Inclusion region settings to exclude the tail region from
the calculation.
5) Rotate the crosshairs from 0o to move the measured profile off the tail.
 WinCamD-IR supplements are posted to Application Notes at the website.
Software bugs? We attempt to deliver bug-free software, but - just like operating
system providers - we find it hard to be perfect. It is impossible to test all possible
permutations and combinations of beam size, capture block, processing option, etc.
Some error messages are warnings only. Some require the software to be restarted.
Press Alt, PrtSc, to put the message to the clipboard. Then press OK and see whether
you can continue to use the software. Ctrl V will paste the message into an html email.
If you find a problem, please note the details, wherever possible capture a relevant
*.wcf image file, and email the file and the details of the PC and operating system to
support@dataray.com. We will attempt to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Additional Information. At the website you can find the following Application Notes.
Solving WinCamD Issues Remote Support User Guide
WinCamD-UCM at Short Exposures WinCamD with Lenses
WinCamD M2DU Stage Datasheet WinCamD M2DU Stage User Guide
WinCamD with Beam Expanders Measuring Large Beams with WinCamD
WinCamD with Microscope Objectives WinCamD Series Sensor Replacement
WinCamD Signal-to-Noise Ratio Multiple Camera User Guide
Interfacing to DataRay OCX Software
WinCamD Measurement of 337 nm N2 lasers
USB 2.0 Products Software & Hardware Compatibility
Gaussian Beam Divergence Measurement (Zipped Word doc + Excel spreadsheet)
 WinCamD Series
Laser Beam Imagers

User Manual

Serial Number: _____________________

Purchased by: _____________________
Date: ___________

Rev. 1004a
©2010 DataRay Inc. All rights reserved.

DataRay Inc.
14505 Seaman Gulch Road, Bella Vista, CA 96008, USA

www.dataray.com

Product Support: 1-866-WinCamD [1-866-946-2263] x702

From outside USA: (303) 543-8235  support@dataray.com
 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 7
1.1 WELCOME ................................................................................................7
1.2 ABOUT WINCAMD SERIES .............................................................................7
1.3 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION & DESCRIPTION ..........................................................8
1.4 CALIBRATION ............................................................................................9
1.5 WINCAMD SERIES PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS .....................................................9
1.6 BEAM LIMITS ........................................................................................... 17
1.6.1 Beam Measurement Region ............................................................. 17
1.6.2 Beam Power Limits ......................................................................... 17
1.7 MANUAL CONVENTIONS .............................................................................. 18
1.8 MANUAL AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE .................................................................. 18

INSTALLATION ......................................................................... 19
2.1 UNPACK THE HARDWARE ............................................................................. 19
2.2 MINIMUM COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS .............................................................. 21
2.3 INSTALLATION ......................................................................................... 21
2.3.1 Software Installation Instructions ..................................................... 22
2.4 MOUNTING THE HEAD ................................................................................ 23
2.4.1 Connecting the Camera Head. .......................................................... 23
2.5 SOFTWARE INTERFACING. ............................................................................ 24
2.6 FIRMWARE UPGRADES ................................................................................ 25

QUICK-START TUTORIAL............................................................ 27
3.1 MAIN SCREEN .......................................................................................... 28
3.1.1 Start the Software .......................................................................... 28
3.1.2 Examine Previously Saved Data ....................................................... 29
3.1.3 Main Screen Top ............................................................................ 30
3.1.4 Main Screen Left Hand Side. ............................................................ 31
3.1.5 Main Screen Profile Display .............................................................. 32
3.1.6 Main Screen Bottom Line. ................................................................ 33
3.1.7 Main Screen 2D and 3D Display Area ................................................ 33
3.2 MANIPULATE THE IMAGE AND PROFILE ANALYSIS ................................................ 35
3.2.1 3D Display & Manipulation ............................................................... 35
3.2.2 Choose a Beam Width Definition....................................................... 36
3.2.3 Set Diameter Display Mode .............................................................. 38
3.2.4 Set Pass-Fail .................................................................................. 39
3.2.5 Change Profile Display .................................................................... 41
3.2.6 Pull-down Menus ............................................................................ 47
3.2.7 File ............................................................................................... 48
3.2.8 Device .......................................................................................... 49
3.2.9 Palettes ......................................................................................... 50
3.2.10 Average ........................................................................................ 50
3.2.11 Filter ............................................................................................. 51
3.2.12 Camera ......................................................................................... 52
3.2.13 View ............................................................................................. 52
3.3 SETUP ................................................................................................... 53
3.4 TOOL BAR .............................................................................................. 56
 3.5 SHORT CUTS ........................................................................................... 66
3.6 HARDWARE QUICK-START TUTORIAL .............................................................. 67
3.6.1 Precautions and Safety Warnings ..................................................... 67
3.6.2 Starting Up .................................................................................... 67
3.6.3 Artifacts and Cleaning of the ND filter & Imager chip. ......................... 69
3.6.4 TaperCamD Artifacts ....................................................................... 70

CAPTURING PULSED LASERS ...................................................... 71

4.1 TERMS AND FEATURES ................................................................................ 71
4.2 PULSED BEAM CAPTURE INITIAL SETUP ............................................................ 72
4.3 AUTO TRIGGER MODE ................................................................................ 74
4.4 EXTERNAL TRIGGER MODE ........................................................................... 76

LASER ATTENUATION ................................................................ 79

5.1 IMPORTANT TERMS .................................................................................... 80
5.2 ATTENUATION OF YOUR BEAM ....................................................................... 81
5.3 ADDITIONAL BEAM SAMPLING/ATTENUATION ..................................................... 81
5.4 UV LASERS. ............................................................................................ 84
5.5 WORKING WITH BEAMS LARGER THAN THE CAMERA ............................................ 85
5.5.1 Imaging of the laser beam scattered off a diffusing surface. ................ 85
5.5.2 Use of a long focal length mirror ...................................................... 85
5.5.3 Use of a long focal length lens.......................................................... 86

APPENDIX A: Beam Diameter Definition & Measurement 87

APPENDIX B: Accuracy, Precision & Resolution 90
APPENDIX C: Support, Returns, Distributors, Reps 93
APPENDIX D: Importing TIFF files into MatLab 95
APPENDIX E: Spatial Response Variation Compensation 96
APPENDIX F: Windows Vista Installation & Use Issues 99
APPENDIX G: Multi-Beam User Guide 100
APPENDIX H: Grids and Targets 101

INDEX 103
 Introduction

CHAPTER ONE
1.1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 WELCOME.................................................................................................7
1.2 ABOUT WINCAMD SERIES .............................................................................7
1.3 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION & DESCRIPTION ..........................................................8
1.4 CALIBRATION ............................................................................................9
1.5 WINCAMD SERIES PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS .....................................................9
1.6 BEAM LIMITS ........................................................................................... 17
1.6.1 Beam Measurement Region ............................................................. 17
1.6.2 Beam Power Limits ......................................................................... 17
1.7 MANUAL CONVENTIONS .............................................................................. 18
1.8 MANUAL AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE .................................................................. 18

1.1 Welcome
Welcome to beam imaging. These innovative products define state-of-the-art, feature-
rich, real-time, camera based beam imaging in accordance with the ISO 11146
Standard*. They are Research, Development, QA and Manufacturing test tools
combining easy-to-use intuitive software with proven beam profiling algorithms. With a
little time and patience, we think you will be pleasantly surprised with how easy to use
we have made it.
This manual covers all WinCamD™ series products, of which BladeCam & TaperCamD™
series are a part. We welcome requests for custom hardware configurations.
The website is always the source for the most current versions of software, manuals,
application notes, specifications, parts lists, etc. You may download the latest version of
the software for free, plus manual updates and application notes. You may install and
use this software on other computers at no additional charge.
If you need a function that is not included in the current version, please contact us.
Many requested software functions can be added with relative ease, and may be done
for free and added to future releases. If the requested enhancement is extensive and/or
obscure, we reserve the right to quote a fee for the requested change.
We are committed to providing the ultimate in beam imaging performance, and welcome
constructive criticism of these products and of this manual. Please contact us.
* International Organization for Standardization. ‘ISO 111146: Test methods for laser beam
parameters: Beam widths, divergence angle and beam propagation factor.’ www.ansi.com

1.2 About WinCamD Series

WinCamD series are state-of-the-art, real-time, port-powered USB 2.0 cameras,
optimized for beam imaging. They use high resolution progressive scan CCD & CMOS
chips with small square pixels. Most have window-less field-replaceable imagers.
The CCD chips are directly addressed via customized FPGAs & off-chip 14/16-bit ADC’s
The CMOS chips have on-board RAM, FPGA & USB 2.0 processor & on-chip 10-bit ADCs.

WinCamD Series 7
Introduction

Coupled with full auto-exposure on CW lasers, you know that you are always getting the
best possible Signal-to Noise Ratio on your beam, without any effort on your part
The FULL mode captures every line. The default FAST mode bins adjacent lines and
adjacent pixels, creating a single effective pixel from four adjacent pixels. The size of the
Capture Block can be changed from 32x32 to 1600 x 1200 or 1360 x 1024 (CCD) or
1200 x 1024 (-UHR).
CMOS Imagers. The -HR sensor has a rolling shutter, which can lead to horizontally
chopped images of pulsed lasers.
USB 2.0. This 480 Mb/s serial port, now standard on every new PC, uses flexible serial
cables and compact connectors. WinCamD-U series cameras are port-powered, requiring
no external power supply.
Digital cameras. In WinCamD series cameras, the software talks directly to the chip.
This enables external trigger, wide shutter speed control and user-defined image capture
regions with higher update rates. The serial digital link from head to PC is insensitive to
the EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) problems that used to plague analog video links
in high power pulsed laser measurements.

1.3 System Configuration & Description

WinCamD imaging systems consist of the (interchangeable) camera head, 3 m (10 ft.)
long USB 2.0 cable, and the software. The system is shipped ready to install on any PC
with a 2 GHz or higher processor, with ≥1 GB of RAM and an available USB 2.0 port.
Longer cables runs up to 5 m are possible with extensions, or 25 m with booster
cables/hubs.
The imager chip is driven via a FPGA with embedded ‘firmware.’ WinCamD can:
 … define the Capture Block, the area of the CCD from which the data should
be taken, and the Inclusion Region for which the data should be analyzed.
 … use Fast mode, half Full resolution, for large beams &/or initial alignment.
 … automatically set the correct exposure time for CW lasers
 … vary the pre ADC gain for pulsed lasers.
 … via the BNC, accept an external trigger, or output a trigger to a pulsed laser.
 … automatically synchronize to the pulses from lasers with PRR’s (Pulse
Repetition Rates) between 100 Hz and ~25 kHz.
 … advance or delay the capture timing with respect to an external trigger.
 … process and log acquired images

8 WinCamD Series
 Introduction

1.4 Calibration
1.4
Dimensional beam calibration of a WinCamD Series camera heads is an intrinsic
calibration based upon the traceable precision of CCD and CMOS photolithography. The 1.5
nominal dimensions of the chips and pixels are used in all calculations. The accuracy is
believed to be much better than  0.5 %, and probably better than 0.1%.
Calibration and a certificate is available when requested. Contact us.
Dust on the ND filter or the chip affects the measured image and the accuracy.
Dimensional accuracy of TaperCamD’s is limited by the Schott-specified 3% pincushion
or barrel distortion of the fiber optic tapers, primarily found towards the outside edges.

1.5 WinCamD Series Product Specifications

Specifications apply to all cameras in the series unless otherwise noted, and are subject
to change without notice. WinCamD-XR will be available late ‘Q2 2010.

WinCamD-UCD12 WinCamD-UCD23 BladeCam-HR WinCamD-XR

1
½” CCD 2/3” CCD ½” CMOS. /1.8” CCD
Pixel Count & 1.4 M Pixel 1.4 M Pixel 1.3 MPixel, 1.92 MPixel,
H x V: 1360 x1024 1360 x1024 1200 x 1024 1600 x 1200
Sensor image area: 6.3 x 4.8 mm 8.8 x 6.6 mm 6.2 x 5.3 mm 7.0 x 5.3 mm
Pixel dimension: 4.65 x 4.65 µm 6.45 x 6.45 µm 5.2 x 5.2 m 4.4 x 4.4 m
Min. beam (10 pixels): ~47 µm ~65 µm ~52 m ~44 m
Shutter type: Synchronous Synchronous Rolling Synchronous
Max. full frame rate: ~10 Hz ~10 Hz ~10 Hz ~10 Hz
Max. ‘every pulse’ PRR: ~10 Hz ~10 Hz ~10 Hz ~10 Hz
Single pulse capture PRR: ~20 kHz ~20 kHz ~20 kHz ~20 kHz
Signal to RMS Noise 1,000:1 1,000:1 1,000:1 1,000:1
(Opt./Elec.* dB): (30/60* dB) (30/60* dB) (30/60* dB) (30/60* dB)
Dynamic Range:
Electronic Shutter 43 dB 43 dB 43 dB 43 dB
+ ND + SNR**: 113** dB 113** dB 113** dB 113** dB
(2.1011:1) (2.1011:1) (2.1011:1) (2.1011:1)
TaperCamD pixel: 10.5 x 10.5 m - - -
TaperCamD20-15 pixel: - 14.5 x 14.5 m - -
ADC: 14-bit 14-bit 10-bit 16-bit
(16,384 levels) (16,384 levels) (1024 levels) (65,536 levels)

* OK, we agree that quoting electrical dB for optical SNR is a nonsense, but some suppliers do this, so we offer a
comparable specification.

** OK, we agree that Dynamic Range that includes removable ND filters is also nonsense, but some suppliers do this, so
we offer comparable specification with ND 4.

ITEM SPECIFICATION
Measurable Sources CW beams. –HR is CW only.
Pulsed sources. Isolated pulse 1 to 25 kHz, single pulse isolation
Software configurable Auto-trigger, Synchronous & Variable Delay

Measured Beam Powers See the Saturation Power Graph and Notes, below.

Wavelength Ranges:
Standard camera ~350 to ~1150 nm

WinCamD Series 9
Introduction

-1310 ~350 to ~1350 nm. Residual silicon response.

-IR 1480 to 1680 nm. IR Phosphor. 10% non-uniformity. 40 µm FWHM
Cam-IR Adaptor 1480 to 1680 nm IR Phosphor. 10% non-uniformity. 180 µm FWHM
UV UV converters for <350 nm are available from DataRay, with
options down to X-ray.

Electronic Dynamic Range CW: 44 dB (25,000:1) electronic shutter

Pulsed: 7 dB (5:1) WinCamD gain control

Manual Beam Attenuation: Provided ND 4.0 (10,000:1) C-mount Neutral Density filters. See
transmission curves page 1-9.
Accessories: ND 0.5, 1, 2, 4 & 5 Screw stackable C-mount filters available.
EAM-2 4-wheel stepped variable attenuator, 0 to 90 dB
CUB and CUB-UV ~5 %, 90o deviation wedge beam samplers
Holographic Beam Samplers 1% & 0.05% (Gentec-eo)
HPDA High Power Dielectric Attenuators (CVIMG Laser)

Displayed Profiles Line, 2D & 3D plots. Normalized or un-normalized.

Linear or Logarithmic, Zoom x10
2D, 3D in 10, 32 or max. colors or grayscale.
Contoured display at 10 and 32 colors.

Measured & Displayed Raw and smoothed profiles

Profile Parameters [Triangular running average filter up to 10% FWHM]
Beam Diameter: Diameter at two user set Clip levels
Gaussian & ISO 11146 Second Moment beam diameters
Equivalent diameter above a user defined Clip level
Equivalent Slit and Knife Edge diameters
Beam Fits: Gaussian & Top Hat profile fit & % fit
Equivalent Slit profile
Beam Ellipticity: Major, Minor & Mean diameters. Auto-orientation of axes.
Centroid Position: Relative and absolute
Intensity Weighted Centroid and Geometric Center
Beam Wander Display and Statistics

Measurement Accuracy 0.1 m processing resolution for interpolated diameters. Absolute

(See Appendix B. Accuracy is accuracy is beam profile dependent – ~1 m accuracy is frequently
not limited to the pixel size.) achievable.
Centroid accuracy is also beam dependent. It can be as good as ±1
m since it is arithmetically determined from all pixels above the
centroid clip level.

Processing Options Image & profile Averaging, 1, 5, 10, 20, Continuous.

Background Capture and Subtraction.
User set rectangular Capture Block for capture
User set or Auto ellipse Inclusion region for processing
*.ojf files save all WinCamD custom settings for particular test
configurations

10 WinCamD Series
 Introduction

Update rate ~5 Hz maximum for full frame, full screen. Higher for small Capture
Blocks. 1.5
Pass/Fail display On-screen selectable Pass/Fail colors. Ideal for QA & Production.
Log data and statistics Min., Max., Mean, Standard Deviation. To 4096 samples (to be
added shortly)

Relative Power Measurement Rolling histogram based on user’s initial input. Units of mW, µJ,
dBm, % or user choice (relative to a reference measurement input)
Fluence Fluence, within user defined area

Certification RoHS, WEEE, CE

Multiple cameras 1 to 8 cameras. Serial capture or parallel triggered capture.

Camera head dimensions 115 x 61 x 23/29 mm (2.65 x 2.4 x 0.9/1.13“)

Width x Height x Depth without/with 5.0 mm high ND filter holder.
Chip depth from housing/filter WinCamD-UCD12 7.3/12.8 mm (may change, verify with factory)
±0.5 mm WinCamD-UCD23 7.5/12.5 mm (may change, verify with factory)
BladeCam-HR 8.7/16.5 mm (may change, verify with factory)
WinCamD-XR 7.5/12.5 mm (may change, verify with factory)

Mounting – see drawing below ¼”-20 holes aligned with sensor center. 4-40 holes on camera rear

Weight, Camera Head 155 gm (5.5 oz)

Minimum PC Requirements: 1 GHz Processor* running Windows 7, Vista or XP, 32 & 64 bit;
(also runs under Windows on 2 GB RAM; 10 MB Hard Drive space; 1024 x 768 monitor; USB 2.0
Mac-Intel machines) hi-power (500 mA) port
*The software uses floating point calculation, therefore a processor with
integral numeric coprocessor is required.

WinCamD Outline & Mounting – Scale 1:1 (BladeCam & -XR see page 1-12)

WinCamD Series 11
Introduction

Saturation Power/Energy Graphs

Imagers respond to irradiance (W/cm2)). We address CW and Pulsed lasers separately.
[Graphs for WinCamD-UCD12. Other sensors will be within a factor of 2.] Beam power
above the limits? See Chap. 5.

@ λ nm =
400

500
1064
675

800

CW lasers: (Pulsed? See next page.) The graph shows saturation optical power that the
standard camera configuration with ND4 filter can measure versus beam diameter and
wavelength. The Saturation Limit assumes:
- The ND 4.0 filter in place. Relative Exposure vs. Wavelength
- Electronic shutter set at 40 s 100
- The gain is set at 1
The Lower Limit is ~5.10-3 x the
Saturation Limit.
10
Power >2.5 x (Beam diam in mm) W,
or >10 W may damage the ND filter.
The limit is lower for pulsed lasers,
especially ns & fs lasers.
Use the graph (right) to estimate for 1
wavelengths other than those shown. 300 500 700 900 1100
The variation is due to a combination
Wavelength in nm
of detector responsivity versus
wavelength and ND 4.0 filter actual
transmission versus wavelength.

12 WinCamD Series
 Introduction

Pulsed Laser Saturation Limits - See Chapter 4 for setting up to capture pulsed
lasers. [Graphs for WinCamD-UCD12. Other sensors will be within a factor of 2.] 1.6

@ λ nm =
400

500
1064
675

800

PRR is the Pulse Repetition Rate of the laser.

PRR >25 kHz: Treat the laser as CW based on the mean mW. (= mJ/pulse x PRR).
PRR ≤25 kHz: The single pulse saturation energy limit is noted on the upper graph in
terms of J within the exposure time.
To avoid multiple pulse capture, set the Exposure time at 0.95/PRR.
If you set an Exposure time >(1/PRR), you will capture more than one pulse and the
saturation limit will reduced in proportion to the number of pulses captured.
The Saturation Limit assumes:
Relative Exposure vs. Wavelength
- The ND 4.0 filter in place. 100
- Single pulse capture with the
electronic shutter set at <0.95/PRR.
- The gain is set at 1.
Power >2.5 x (Beam diam in mm) W, 10
or >10 W total, may damage the ND
filter. The limit is lower for pulsed
lasers, especially ns & fs lasers.
Use the graph (right) to estimate for
1
wavelengths other than those shown.
300 500 700 900 1100
Wavelength in nm

WinCamD Series 13
Introduction

% WinCamD series Filter Tranmissions ND

100 0

ND1

10 ND2 1

ND4 thin
ND3
1 2
ND4 thick

0.1 3

0.01 4

UG11
0.001 5
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 nm

ND filter transmission [Values from Schott Excel program Filter 2004]

Part ND1 ND2 ND3 ND4 thin ND4 thick UG11

(Older) (Newer)
Thickness (mm) 1.05 2.1 3.1 1.0 2.83 3.0
Material NG1 NG3 NG3 NG1 NG9 UG11

Warning: Power >2.5 x (Beam diam in mm) W or >10 W total may damage the ND
filter. The limit is lower for pulsed lasers, especially ns. & fs lasers.
ND = Neutral Density is specified traditionally at the 546.1 nm Hg line. However, whilst
the visible region is flat, the transmission decreases dramatically below 400 nm, and
increases dramatically above 600 nm. See and use the graphs above.
If T is the transmission (including surface reflection losses), then:
ND = -log10T
e.g. at T = 1% = 0.01, ND = 2.0

ND is sometimes referred to as OD or Optical Density.

ND is more correct for these filters since they have a relatively flat response with
wavelength compared with the more peaked response of a typical OD filters.

Internal transmission values are correct to an estimated ±5%.

Front and back surface reflections lose another 8% on the values graphed.

The -1310 versions of the cameras come with a long pass IR filter which has:
<0.5 % transmission at <1280 nm,
5 % transmission at ~1288 nm
50 % transmission at ~1291 nm
>75 % transmission from 1295 nm to >1600nm

14 WinCamD Series
 Introduction

A complete camera system comprises:

Camera, ND 4.0 filter, Software, 3 m (10 ft) Cable, User Manual. 1.6
The Part Number on the rear label derives from the descriptions and in the table below.

Part # = Camera type & Sensor chip + Suffix (if required)

BladeCam-HR )
WinCamD-UCD12, -UCD23 or -XR ) -UV, -1310 or -IR
TaperCamD-UCD12 )
TaperCamD20-15-UCD23 )

e.g. WinCamD-UCD12 is a complete working system with a High Resolution CCD

sensor with 4.65 m pixels.
TaperCamD-UCD12-1310 is a complete working system with a 14.4 x 10.8 mm FO
Taper for 1310 nm.

Part Number component descriptions

Complete working USB 2.0 camera system.
WinCamD
Add CCD chip extension to generate Part #.
TaperCamD-UCD12 WinCamD with 14.4 x 10.8 mm 1.6:1 FO taper on the sensor.
TaperCamD20-15–UCD23 WinCamD with 20 x 15 mm 2.27:1 FO taper on the sensor.
-UCD12 ½”CCD sensor for CW & Pulsed, 1360 x 1024 pixels, 4.65 m
2
-UCD23 /3” CCD sensor for CW & Pulsed, 1360 x 1024 pixels, 6.45 m
-HR ½” CMOS sensor for CW & high PRR, 1280 x 1024 pixels, 5.2 m
1
-XR /1.8” CCD sensor for CW & Pulsed, 1600 x 1200 pixels, 4.4 m
Adds 50 mm C-mount tube & long-pass filter for 1290 to 1350
-1310
nm work.
Camera with no lenslets, 3 mm UG11 filter instead of ND 4.0.
-UV
Works at 260 through 380 nm.
-IR On-chip IR to visible phosphor converter for 1480 to 1600 nm.

WinCamD-UCD12, -UCD23 Chip surface height, standard and options.

To request a sensor height increment of 4.25 or 8.5 mm, add -S1 or -S2 to the P/N.
E.g. WinCamD-UCD12-S1
There is an additional charge for these options. The case hole is 1.30”-20 tpi for the –S2
and the filter holder accepts C-mount accessories on its upper surface.

WinCamD Series 15
Introduction

TaperCamD Series
Tapers are fused coherent fiber bundles, heated, drawn round to rectangular, and
polished to give an output end the size of the imager chip. The image is demagnified
(M<1) from the faceplate input to the imager end.
NA at the imager end is 1.0; NA at the input faceplate is a factor of M smaller.
Individual fibers at the input end are 6 um pitch with a 50% core/cladding area ratio.
Refractive index is 1.81, leading to a front surface reflectivity of 8.3%.
These taper ends are bonded to the surface of the imager chip.
These tapers do not transmit in the UV. They have low transmission (TBA) at 355nm.
Empty filter holders are available for both TaperCam sizes.
A 0.25” deep extension ring is available with male and female 1.30”-20 tpi threads is
available for the TaperCamD-UCD23.

16 WinCamD Series
 Introduction

1.6
1.6 Beam Limits
1.6.1 Beam Measurement Region
6.3
4.8 ½” -UCD12 & -HR Approximate imager dimensions shown actual size.
See spec. tables for exact sizes.
7.0
1
5.3 /1.8” -XR

8.8
2
/3” –UCD23
6.6
20
14
15
11
TaperCamD TaperCamD20-15

For accurate beam measurement, the beam must lie totally within the area shown.
For the most accurate measurements on TaperCamD’s, center the beam fairly well.
For true 4 (Variance) measurement to the ISO 11146 standard, a Gaussian beam
diameter at the 13.5% clip level, should be a maximum of 55% of the imager size.

1.6.2 Beam Power Limits

Measure your beam with a calibrated power meter before letting power fall on the head.
Use the curves on pages 1-6, 1-7.
The following head damage limits always apply:
 Power >2.5 x (Beam diam in mm) W, or >10 W total, may damage the ND filter.
The limit is lower for pulsed lasers, especially ns & fs lasers.
 Imager chips can take a x1000 overload over the saturation level without damage.
 Beware of back reflections from the ND filter. Employ appropriate eye protection.
Imager chip Irradiance limits, without ND filter.

 nm Damage Threshold Saturation Irradiance

mW/cm2 mJ/cm2 W/cm2 J/cm2 *

355 Few ~0.3 ~0.3 ~0.01

630 >10 “ ~0.15 ~0.005

800 “ “ ~0.1 ~0.004

1060 “ “ ~10 ~0.4

WinCamD Series 17
Introduction

1.7 Manual Conventions

 ‘WinCamD Series’ refers to all DataRay cameras
 ‘click’, ‘select’ or ‘check’ always means ‘left-click the mouse button’.
 ‘double-click’ always means ‘double-click with the left button’.
 ‘click and drag’ means ‘left-click on the object indicated, hold down the button, drag
the object across the screen to the desired position, and then release the button’.
 If a right-click is required this is clearly indicated as ‘right-click’.
 ‘press’ always means ‘press the keyboard key’
 ‘enter’ means enter using the keyboard.
 8 pt. Verdana Bold indicates keyboard entry items or words etc. on the screen.
e.g. ‘Enter Alt F, S‘ means ‘Press the F key while holding down the Alt key, then release
the Alt key & press the S key’. As necessary, use the Enter key to complete a process.

1.8 Manual and Copyright Notice

This manual describes operation of WinCamD Series Imagers. We reserve the right to
make changes to this manual & to the instruments described herein without notice.
We have taken considerable effort to ensure that information in this manual is accurate
& complete. However, we will not be liable for technical or editorial errors, omissions, or
for any incidental, special or consequential damages of any nature resulting from the
furnishing of this manual, or from the operation & performance of the instruments
described herein.
BeamScope, BeamMap, BeamMap2, Beam’R, Beam’R2, BladeCam, ColliMate, CTE,
DataRay, HyperCal, TaperCamD, TaperCamD20-15 & WinCamD are trademarks of
DataRay Inc. All rights reserved. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

BladeCam Outline & Mounting, shown

actual size.
(WinCamD‐XR, not shown,
≈2.65 x 1.8 x 0.75”)

18 WinCamD Series
 Installation

CHAPTER TWO

INSTALLATION 2.1
2.1 UNPACK THE HARDWARE ............................................................................. 19
2.2 MINIMUM COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS .............................................................. 21
2.3 INSTALLATION ......................................................................................... 21
2.3.1 Software Installation Instructions ..................................................... 22
2.4 MOUNTING THE HEAD ................................................................................ 23
2.4.1 Connecting the Camera Head. .......................................................... 23
2.5 SOFTWARE INTERFACING. ............................................................................ 24
2.6 FIRMWARE UPGRADES ................................................................................ 25

2.1 Unpack the Hardware

Please locate and identify all items ordered. If any items appear damaged or missing or
you have any other questions, please contact us. You should receive:
 WinCamD series camera head with USB 2.0 cable 3 m (10 ft.) long. Cable runs to
5 m are possible, or 25 m with booster cables/hubs.
 User Manual with Software CD.
 BladeCam only: SMB to BNC adaptor; #8-32 to ¼”-20 adaptors for North America,
#8-32 to M6 for Rest of World.
Now register your product at www.dataray.com/support/prodregform.html.

QuickStart - in case you are one of those rare (?) people who do not read manuals.
Load, open and close the software before connecting the hardware.
Windows Vista? Read Appendix F before proceeding.

1. Check that your PC meets the Minimum PC Requirements on page 2-3. Install the
software as Administrator - Sec. 2.3. Open the software – this loads the driver. In
the Device pull-down menu select WinCamD. Close the software.
2. Install the camera. Connect the camera head & follow the New hardware found
wizard to install the driver. Do not let it go to the web to find a driver. Allow it to
install automatically.
3. Start the software. The camera LED cycles Red - Off - Green - Red - Green. If it
stays Red when the software is on, the port is not reporting itself as USB 2.0. In the
pull-down menu go Device, WinCamD. The software detects the camera type.
Remove the dust cap. Press .
5. TaperCamD series? Go Alt S, set Pixel multiply factors to rear label value.
Note: The BNC on the camera is a trigger port. It is not an analog video output.
Installation Problems? Go to Section 2.3 and follow the more detailed procedure.

WinCamD Series 19
Installation

Pictured: WinCamD with 1:1 UV adaptor

For both UV converters and Cam-IR adaptors
remove the ND filter on the camera before
attaching the convertor/adaptor. Then ensure
that the PMF value on the label on the
converter adapter is entered in the Setup
dialog box.

For pictures/datasheets of the following, see

the website:

 TaperCamD
 TaperCamD20-15
 WinCamD with Cam-IR Adaptor
 WinCamD with Beam Expanders
 WinCamD with microscope adaptor and
objective.
 WinCamD with C-mount lens

WinCamD
USB 2.0 port* on:
series  - PC
3 m. USB 2.0 Cable - Notebook/Tablet PC
USB A to USB Mini-B5 - Hub
(Up to 5m available. - Booster cable
Longer with - PCI card on PC
booster/hub) - Cardbus in Notebook
WinCamD series Configuration
* Standard 500 mA
port required.

20 WinCamD Series
 Installation

2.2 Minimum Computer Requirements

 WARNING: PC’s with an unusual BIOS, particularly so-called ‘Industrial’ PCs, may
be difficult to configure to work with the hardware. Stick with good name brand PCs
wherever possible.
2.2
 Windows 7, Vista & XP, 32 & 64-bit are supported.
 A 1 GHz Processor faster. [The software uses floating point calculations, therefore a
processor with integral numeric coprocessor is required.]
  1024 x 768 display with ≥256 colors
 USB 2.0 port with 500 mA capability (the standard except on unpowered hubs).
 A Microsoft compatible pointing device.
 ≥1 GB of RAM. 1 GB if you are to use the M2DU Stage. A hard drive with 10 MB or
more available space.
 A CD-R drive.

2.3 Installation
Most installation problems are caused by not carefully following the instructions.
Hardware installation is never as simple as software only installation.
If you want to save time, read and follow the instructions.
IMPORTANT: INSTALL THE SOFTWARE BEFORE THE HARDWARE. The software can be
used to view data whether or not the camera is installed.
You must install the software as ‘Administrator’. ‘User with Administrator Rights’ is not
enough. [Windows requires that hardware drivers be installed by an Administrator. If
you cannot even install the software, it may be that your Administrator (i.e. the actual
IT person) has restricted your software installation rights, and must therefore be called
in to install the software.]
Not sure what your User Profile covers?
Windows 7: Go Start, Control Panel, User Accounts & Family Safety, Add or
Remove User Accounts; this Choose the account that you would like to change
window tells you whether or not you have Administrator status. If you do not, to, click
your account name and change the Account Type.
Vista, XP: Go Start, Control Panel, User Accounts, click on your account name, click
on Change my account type, and verify that Computer Administrator is checked.
Software upgrades are free for the life of the product. The absolutely latest software is
not necessarily the version that arrived with the hardware. Always visit Software
Upgrades at the website in order to determine whether a more recent version is
available for download. Check the version and the date. If you do not already have it,
download the latest version of iDataRay.exe from the website and place it in a
temporary directory named, e.g. c:\Downloads

WinCamD Series 21
Installation

 In case you need to return to an older version of the software, rename any old
Dataray directory, as c:\Program Files\DataRayxyyz, where x.yyz is the version
number found on the top line of the opened program.
E.g. c:\Program Files\DataRay500S8 for Version 5.00S8.

2.3.1 Software Installation Instructions

These instructions assume that:
You are reasonably familiar with Windows & are running Windows 7, Vista or XP, &
using a PC that meets the minimum requirements listed in Sec. 2.3 of this manual.
1) Start your PC. You can avoid potential but unlikely installation problems, by turning
off programs running in the background - e.g. Anti-virus software, Instant
Messenger, automatic fax reception, etc. That said, to date such programs have
given us no problems.
2) Insert the the CD in the drive, assumed drive d. It should AutoRun. If it does not,
go Start, Run.., Browse to d:\idataray.exe and press Open and then OK.
[If installing from downloaded software, in Windows Explorer, from c:\Downloads,
or whichever temporary directory you put the software in, double-click
idataray.exe to install the software.]
3) Install the Driver as follows: Open the software. This should install the driver. In
the Device pull-down menu select WinCamD. Close the software.
4) Connect the camera. Plug the camera into a USB 2.0 port. Follow through the
New Hardware found procedure., but do not allow Windows to search on the web.
If necessary, direct it for to look for 64-bit driver (_x86 directories for 32-bit) in:
c:\Program Files\DataRay\DATARAY_DRIVERS\driver_x64 (64 bit)\USB_Driver_x64.

If the camera does not link properly, then at the desktop, right-click on My
Computer, select Properties, Device Manager, click on the + sign next to
DataRay Inc. USB2.0 Devices, and double-click the driver.

22 WinCamD Series
 Installation

Select Drivers and then click on Update Drivers … to get to the Update Device
Driver Wizard again.
The driver should have installed automatically when you opened the installed software.
It is not separately on the CD. Driver installation problems?
On CD or in PC, right-click iDataRay.exe, select Properties, select the Compatibility
2.4
tab, select Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP, check Run as
an Administrator. Click OK. Reboot. Double-click iDataRay.exe to reinstall. Open, &
then close DataRay software. Plug in the camera & follow the Found New Hardware
wizard.

2.4 Mounting the Head

1. It is recommended that you mount the head before you connect it. WinCamD
cameras have integral ¼”-20 mounting holes in line with the sensor. BladeCam has
#8-32 threaded holes and comes with male and female adapters to ¼”-20 for North
America, or M6 for ROW (Rest of World).
2. Since the sensitive area is only mm in dimension, ensure that either the head or the
source assembly can be adjust in x, y and, as necessary, z.
3. Remove the thin screw-on cap from the ND filter. Do not unscrew the ND filter.

2.4.1 Connecting the Camera Head.

1. You can ‘hot’ plug or unplug the head without damaging it in any way.
2. Start the PC. Connect the USB 2.0 between the head and the PC. [Booster cables or
hubs are required for >5m (16ft); look under Accessories at the website.]
3. Open the software. The camera LED will sequence through to Green. The software
will automatically determine the camera type.To start taking data, click on the Go
button, or press F1 or g on the keyboard.
If there is no camera connected, you will get the message No camera
detected!
If the camera is connected to a USB 1.1 port, or there is any problem with your USB
2.0 port (e.g. low current), the LED will change to Red and stay Red.
4. If you have a TaperCamD series camera, press Alt S to reach the WinCamD
Capture Setup dialog, and enter the appropriate PMF value in the WinCamD
capture screen.
TaperCamD-UCD12 Pixel multiply factor = 2.25
TaperCamD20-15-UCD23 Pixel multiply factor = 2.27
Congratulations. You have successfully completed installation.
Problems? Reread the instructions carefully, and start again from scratch.
*If you are still unsuccessful, contact Technical Support.

WinCamD Series 23
Installation

2.5 Software Interfacing.

For interfacing to LabVIEW™, Visual Basic, Visual C++, etc., we provide the source code
and an Interfacing to DataRay OCX Software application note at the website.
Always ensure that you have first tried doing what you wish to do in the standard
software. If something does not work, include your code in any email communication.
Contact Technical Support as necessary.
In c:\Program files\DataRay you will find the following files:
DataRaySource.zip includes the source code.
datastructs.h describes the definitions used in the Active X interface.
LabView DataRayOcxToVI.doc, DataRayVi.JPG, & DataRayViop.JPG show
examples of LabView interfacing. You wil also find example VI’s at the website.
Tiff.h describes the structure of the Save current data as … TIFF image file.
VBStuff.zip addresses Visual Basic interfacing and includes a sample VB program.
WCBinary.h describes the structure of the Save current data as binary image file.
The Active X Name & ID# of the particular result box is given in the top blue line of the
dialog box. Button color dialog box found by right-clicking on any particular result.

24 WinCamD Series
 Installation

2.6 Firmware upgrades

 What is Firmware? Firmware is software code that resides in the hardware rather
than ‘running’ on the PC. Upgrades may be required to improve performance, add
features, and/or to correct a bug.
2.4
 How frequent are upgrades? Firmware upgrades may happen during the year
following introduction of a new product or a major upgrade. Subsequently they are
rare events.
 How do I know if a necessary upgrade is available? Register your product at
www.dataray.com/support/prodregform.html, we will contact you.

WinCamD Series 25
Installation

This page deliberately left blank

26 WinCamD Series
 Quick-Start Tutorial

CHAPTER THREE
QUICK-START TUTORIAL

3.1 MAIN SCREEN .......................................................................................... 28

3.1.1 Start the Software .......................................................................... 28
3.1.2 Examine Previously Saved Data ....................................................... 29 3
3.1.3 Main Screen Top ............................................................................ 30
3.1.4 Main Screen Left Hand Side. ............................................................ 31
3.1.5 Main Screen Profile Display .............................................................. 32
3.1.6 Main Screen Bottom Line. ................................................................ 33
3.1.7 Main Screen 2D and 3D Display Area ................................................ 33
3.2 MANIPULATE THE IMAGE AND PROFILE ANALYSIS ................................................ 35
3.2.1 3D Display & Manipulation ............................................................... 35
3.2.2 Choose a Beam Width Definition....................................................... 36
3.2.3 Set Diameter Display Mode .............................................................. 38
3.2.4 Set Pass-Fail .................................................................................. 39
3.2.5 Change Profile Display .................................................................... 41
3.2.6 Pull-down Menus ............................................................................ 47
3.2.7 File ............................................................................................... 48
3.2.8 Device .......................................................................................... 49
3.2.9 Palettes ......................................................................................... 50
3.2.10 Average ........................................................................................ 50
3.2.11 Filter ............................................................................................. 51
3.2.12 Camera ......................................................................................... 52
3.2.13 View ............................................................................................. 52
3.3 SETUP ................................................................................................... 53
3.4 TOOL BAR .............................................................................................. 56
3.5 SHORT CUTS ........................................................................................... 66
3.6 HARDWARE QUICK-START TUTORIAL .............................................................. 67
3.6.1 Precautions and Safety Warnings ..................................................... 67
3.6.2 Starting Up .................................................................................... 67
3.6.3 Artifacts and Cleaning of the ND filter & Imager chip. ......................... 69
3.6.4 TaperCamD Artifacts ....................................................................... 70

WinCamD Series 27
Quick-Start Tutorial

Do not just read this User Manual. Do sit at the computer and try out the software.

 Unfamiliar with the hardware, or just evaluating the software? Start at Section 3.1.
 Familiar with the software but never used the hardware? Go to Section 3.6.

3.1 Main Screen

3.1.1 Start the Software
Double-click the icon to start the software. [See Chap. 2 if software is not yet installed.]
In the pull-down menu, under Device, select WinCamD. WinCamD main screen shown
below appears. The software automatically detects the camera type.
Below we identify the 2D Image, 3D Image Area and Profiles Area.

The screen appearance will change slightly depending upon you screen resolution. The
required minimum is 1024 x 768 (H x V).

2D Image Area 3D Image Area

Profiles Area

28 WinCamD Series
 Quick-Start Tutorial

3.1.2 Examine Previously Saved Data

Click on this button, or enter Alt F, O , to open the Open dialog box.

Select Sample.wcf file, and click OK to see a screen similar to that below. This
real image is the 20 sample average of a single mode fiber output. As software upgrades
occur, the detailed appearance and/or the initial settings may change.

3.1
2D Image Area 3D Image Area

Profiles Area

Opening an image does not change the current display settings & measurement options.
[It is possible to change these settings as a group by saving an acquired image with
specific display settings as a *.ojf file and then opening this file which contains display
and analysis settings. See Sec. 3.3.1.]

Important #1: The displayed profiles are the line profiles along the crosshairs. Later
you will learn how to change crosshair Orientation – Sec. 3.1.7 and Position – Sec. 3.4,
and how to generate Effective slit profiles – Sec. 3.1.7.

Important #2: The widths, 2Wua and 2Wva, etc., are for these line profiles. u and v
are used rather than x and y because conventional x (horizontal) and y (vertical) may
not correspond to the orientation of the crosshairs.

WinCamD Series 29
Quick-Start Tutorial

Put the cursor on the 2D image and press i on the keyboard to zoom up to x10 about
the crosshair position., by default the centroid here. Press o on the keyboard to zoom
out. i and o also work on profiles when the cursor is in the profile area.

Important #3: The Exposure time for a recalled file is shown in the top line on the
screen, see next paragrah. It is not the value shown in the Exposure time = bar below
the 3D display; this bar is only correct for the current image from a connected camera.

3.1.3 Main Screen Top

 The blue/gray streak of Caption bar at the top displays:

- DataRay vx.yyz: The software version on your PC.

- Recalled(vx.yyz) The software vereion on which the file was saved.
- WinCamD 1 of n. The profile number ‘i of n’.
- Exp@x.xxxms. The exposure time of the saved image.
- Filter=0.2%. The profile filter setting.
- Wl=660.0nm. The set wavelength
- Pixels=4.65:4.65um. The effective pixel pitch. [Twice the actual pixel pitch in
the default Fast mode.]
- 1024 by 1024 The Capture Block size .]

 Pull-down Menus – have a quick look. Note the existence of keyboard short-cuts.
Section 3.2 describes the pull-down menus in more detail.

 Toolbar/Button Bar: Accesses frequently used functions. Sec. 3.3 contains

detailed descriptions.

If you have no camera installed and are simply evaluating the software, then a
number of buttons will be grayed out.
Hover the mouse over any button to see a description of its function. If additional
buttons appear in later software revs, hover the mouse over them to determine
their function.

30 WinCamD Series
 Quick-Start Tutorial

3.1.4 Main Screen Left Hand Side.

 Clip levels User set profile clip levels that
determine 2Wa and 2Wb. The Clip level is the
% of the peak of the line profile along the
crosshairs. See also Sec. 3.2.3.
 The current head status, either Ready,
…Starting…, or Running.
 2w_Major xxx m 3.1
2w_Minor xxx m
2w_Mean xxx m
These diameters are calculated for Clip[a]
about the beam centroid for the total image,
whether or not the beam appears cicular.
Samples profiles for the calculation are taken
every 0.5o.
The minor axis is the diameter at the center of
the 45o sector that contains the smallest mean
diameter at Clip[a].
The major axis is the diameter at 90o to the
minor axis.
The mean diameter is the mean for the whole
beam. It may be higher than than the minor or
the major values. If this seems not possible,
consider a rectangular beam and the answer
becomes clear.
For ISO 11146 values go to the Setup pull-down menu and choose Use ISO
11146-compliant diameters and orientation. See the end of Section 3.3.
 Eff. Diam. The equivalent diameter of the area above the clip level. See p. 3-19.
 Ellipticity = 2w[minor] / 2w[major]
 Orientationo xx.xo is the orientation of the major axis of the ellipse with respect
to the horizontal x-axis.
 Crosshair xx.xo is the angle at which the crosshairs are currently set.
 Xc[abs] xxx m & Yc[abs] (or [rel]) are the beam centroid positions. These are
determined using all pixels in the image above the specified level. The default is
13.5%. See Section 3.3 for how to set alternative levels. When Xp, Xg or Xu are
selected, the display changes accordingly. 0, 0 is the center of the array.
 Toggle Centroid button: [absolute] or [relative] toggles between Absolute
centroid and Relative centroid. [Pressing z or a on the keyboard gives the same
result.] Selecting z resets the relative centroid [0,0] to the current centroid position.

WinCamD Series 31
Quick-Start Tutorial

 Peak xx.x% is the image peak level as a % of the ADC range, determined as the
peak value for the average of any ‘L’ shaped group of three pixels within the image.
It represents the raw level, calculated before any background subtraction.
 Image zoom N is the current 2D screen zoom.

3.1.5 Main Screen Profile Display

 2Wua & 2Wub: These are the line profile widths at the Clip[a] & Clip[b] levels.
 Zero level. First note that the zero level is a three pixel wide
line. The center is the actual zero set by the software after
subtraction of the baseline. The line is set five pixels above
the graph zero so that negative noise remains visible.

The zero level is calculated by taking the maximum filled level of the histogram of
intensities below 25% of peak. Default mode is baseline subtraction. To set a
different zero level, see item 6 in Section 3.3, Offset.
 Profile Scaling. Scale = xxx.x m/div for the current Zoom setting. Zoom = 2X
indicates horizontal zoom on a profile. (Blank if not selected). The scaling at x1 is
set automatically by the program. Put the cursor on the profile and press i on the
keyboard to zoom up to x10. Press o on the keyboard to zoom out.Hold down the
mouse center button to pan left-right.
 Peak = xx.x%. is the peak value of the (unnormalized) profile as a percentage of
the 16392 levels (14-bits) of the ADC range, [1024 levels (10-bits) for CMOS,
65586 levels for 16-bit]. Note: If the pull-down menu Filter value is the default
value of Filter = 0.2%, this Peak will be less than the Peak value seen on the left
of the screen. Even with No filtering, since the Peak on the left is a three pixel
average, the values will rarely be exactly the same.
 B = x.x% indicates the baseline level subtracted by the software.

32 WinCamD Series
 Quick-Start Tutorial

3.1.6 Main Screen Bottom Line.

 Status Bar Help Hints. VERY USEFUL BUT MUCH IGNORED. Almost every area of
the screen is a ‘Button’ which you may left-click or right-click to cause something to
happen. Watch the Help Hints change on the Status Bar at the bottom of the
screen as you move the cursor across the screen. Instructions for using the current
function appear here. E.g. for the profile area. If at any time you are not sure how
to do something, move to the relevant area of the screen, look at the Help Hints
3.1
bar, and you will often find your answer.

3.1.7 Main Screen 2D and 3D Display Area

2D Image Area 3D Image Area

Top line info shows:

Delta, the radial distance of the current crosshair position from the current (Absolute
or Relative) zero point. Pixel I, the intensity of the individual pixel at the current
crooshair position in ADC units and %.
To use the Delta function, choose the Xu button (for User placed crosshairs) and place
the crosshairs at your desired start point. Then press z on the keyboard and click again
at the crosshair position to set the Relative Centroid to 0,0. Then move the crosshairs
to the new position to get both a Relative Centroid readout in x,y and a radial Delta
value, defined as (x2 + y2)0.5.

WinCamD Series 33
Quick-Start Tutorial

Right-click on the 2D area to open the box below. This allows you to:

 Change the palette selection. Includes Inksaver option for printing - see Sec. 3.2.9.
 Auto orient crosshairs, Force Crosshairs to zero or 45 degrees, or Don’t
Show Crosshairs. If you uncheck all these options, then you can orient the
crosshairs yourself by clicking and dragging on the outer portion of the crosshair.
 Snap to centroid, geometric center, peak location or user placed. These
functions are paralleled by tool bar buttons. See Section 3.4 for detail.

34 WinCamD Series
 Quick-Start Tutorial

 Set an Inclusion region for image

processing. The area of the image outside the
Inclusion Region will be color reversed.
Select Define Inclusion region shape, size
and orientation in order to do precisely that.
Checking Elliptical, Circular & the
Automation boxes automates the inclusion
region. The default Width to Clip[a] ratio is
3.0. A ratio of 1.55 includes 99% of the 3.2
energy for a Gaussian beam.
 Show & Use ‘effective slit” profiles. i.e.
the profiles that would result from sweeping
pixel width slits horizontally and vertically
across the beam. Show merely superimposes
them on the 2D screen. Use uses them in the profile
area. On a future release this will automatically initiate
HyperCal. For now you may to have to initiate it.
 Zoom the 2D profile area, x1 to x10. Press i or o (for
‘in’ or ‘out’) on the keyboard for the same effect. Hold
down the mouse center button to pan left-right.

 Use multi-beam display group. See Appendix G.

 Options: Profile to Clipboard, Save image as

Bitmap file, and Export to Paint (opens Paint).

 Show Image Information opens a box with the data

shown right for a live or recalled image.

 Setup Grid and Targets. See Appendix H.

3.2 Manipulate the Image and Profile Analysis

This takes you beyond the defaults described in Sec. 3.1.

3.2.1 3D Display & Manipulation

 Click and drag in the 3D box to change the view of the 3D
image. Side-to-side motion rotates the image. Up-down
motion changes the tilt angle.
 Zoom the 3D image area by zooming the 2D image.
 Right-click the 3D image and a floating menu appears.
Solid is visually best, but processor intensive, and can
slow the update rate on older, slower PCs. Experiment. 96
wires is normally overkill. 64 wires are often enough.
 Auto rotate does precisely that but slows update.

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 Deselecting 3D enabled speeds screen update.

 There are three image export options: Image to Clipboard, Save image as
Bitmap file, and Export to Paint (opens Paint).

3.2.2 Choose a Beam Width Definition.

 Click on the Clip[a] or
Clip[b] ‘button’ to
open the Clip level
entry dialog box that
allows you to choose a
Beam Width definition
for the displayed
profile.
 13.5% [1/e2] is the
industry’s ‘de facto’
standard. (Strictly 13.53%).
 ‘Standard’ clip levels of
13.5% [1/e2], 50%
[FWHM] (Full Width
Half Maximum), or
86.5% can be selected
from the menu.
 Any percentage 0.5
can be entered in the
Clip level input box.
 If ISO 11146 compliant
Sigma X 4 (variance)
method (Second
Moment) is selected, the clip level is ignored. With a beam profile that is a pure
Gaussian, the Variance definition is exactly the same as selecting a 13.5% Clip
Level, but if your beam is non-Gaussian, and most beams are, the Variance method
may be more consistent. An exception to this general rule is that a significant
background level or background noise will skew the Variance reading to larger
values. For full ISO 11146 compliance, select Average 5, see Section 3.2.10.
 In accordance with Section 6.2 of the ISO 11146 Standard, the software calculates
the Second Moment by integrating 99% (or 98% if set) of the total energy in the
profile. In order to allow for any baseline tilt, the zero levels on either side of the
center are treated separately and integration from the centroid is separately
performed for 99% of the energy on each side of the centroid.
In the Setup pull-down menu,
select Set ISO clip level to open
the Enter Parameter Dialog box
shown. In our experience, the
default 2% works well. To stay
strictly with the ISO standard, for
a pure Gaussian set the value to 1

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%, to include 99% of the energy, but if you have any problems with noise the
diameter values will deteriorate quickly. To choose the area based option, go to the
Setup pull-down menu and choose Use ISO 11146-compliant diameters and
orientation. On a pure Gaussian, the change from 2% to 1% led to an 0.73%
increase in the measured ISO diameter. See Section 3.5 of Appendix A for Beam
Diameter definitions. For a broader discussion on Variance, see Appendix A, Sec. 4.
 Enable knife edge mode will be grayed out in a future release.
 Beam Geometric Angular Divergence. Enter a Source to Image distance in
mm. Remember that the camera chip sits ≈7.5 mm below the surface of the
3.2
camera body. See Sec. 1.5 specifications. Check Enable Angular Divergence.
Choose the unit of measurement. Click OK. At high angles, errors may arise due to
cosine irradiance effects.
The software can automatically performs a cosine2 (for the default line profiles) or a
cosine3 correction (for Use ‘effective slit’ profiles) the data to allow for the use of
a flat measurement plane to measure a spherically diverging beam.
Option: No Cos(theta) correction is applicable to PolarCam development.

Gaussian Beam Divergence Measurement

Gaussian beams do not follow the same rules as incoherent beams described by

Measurement
plane

Beamwaist
plane

geometric optics. For a Gaussian beam, it may be shown that:

When a Gaussian beam passes through a lens, the far field divergence of the input beam
may be determined by measuring the Second moment beam diameter at the back
focal distance from the lens.
This is true irrespective of the distance of the source from the lens. Note that this is
not the position of the beamwaist formed after the lens, though it may be very close.
It obviously assumes that the lens does not introduce additional aberrations, normally
achieved by using a long focal length achromat coated for the wavelength(s) of interest.
The far field divergence of the input beam, Θ mrad, is calculated as: Θ = 2W/F mrad
Where: 2W m is the measured Second moment (4σ) beam diameter in the
Measurement plane. F mm is the focal length of the lens at the wavelength of interest.
Modelling? See the Gaussian Beam Divergence Measurement Excel at the website.
Application. This technique requires an appropriate lens and a beam diameter
measurement instrument.

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The instrument may be a WinCamD series camera, or a Beam’R2 scanning slit XY

profiler.
The lens must have a known focal length, preferably AR coated for the
wavelength(s) of interest, and be at least 1.5 times, and preferably twice the 1/e2
beam diameter at the lens.
Errors in the lens focal length value or positioning of the instrument with respect to
the back focal length will lead to errors in the divergence measurement. The
spreadsheet models these errors.
The beam must be centered on the lens.
The beam centroid in the measurement plane does reflect the beam pointing.
The lens and instrument may be supplied by DataRay as a prealigned system, or may be
mounted on an optical bench or table. Use the spreadsheet & contact the factory for
details and lens suggestions for your beam.
Accuracy. Typically an accuracy of 0.1 to 0.05 mrad should be achievable. To simply
adjust an input beam assembly for best collimation, minimize the value of 2W in the
measurement plane. Contact the factory for accuracy and misalignment sensitivity
calculations for your beam.

3.2.3 Set Diameter Display Mode

 Under Setup choose Numeric display Display modes.
XXX.Y um is the default choice.

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3.2.4 Set Pass-Fail

 Left-click on any result area of the
screen to open a Pass/Fail
parameters dialog box. You may set an
Upper Limit and a Lower Limit for the
particular parameter.
Note that the box below Parameter
shows the name of the function for the 3.2
purposes of software interfacing, in this
instance MajorWidth_WinCamD .
 Check the Enable Test box to enable
the test. This is also the box to be
checked for Log enabled data only.
See Log Data in Section 3.4.
 When the test is enabled, the numbers
will be displayed on-screen in the chosen
Pass/Fail colors. The default colors are
Green for Pass and Red for Fail. Right
click on a result to change these colors.
See 3.2.5, below.
 Check the Lock w/ Password box to lock the criteria. The box below appears.
Note: Remember the Password. It you change it, it cannot be retrieved.

If you put in the wrong password, the box

shown right will appear. At the time of writing,
the master password is ‘ peanuts ’, all lower
case. If at some later time this does not work,
contact Technical Support.

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 Right-click on any ‘result’ area of the screen to open Custom button colors select
dialog box. Unless you have good reason, or good color sense, it is suggested that
you stay with the default values.

Note particularly that:

Invalid: If the software determines or suspects a result to be invalid for whatever
reason, the numbers will appear in gold (yellow-orange). An example of
‘determines’ is when the profile peak is >100% (saturated) or <10%; in either
case, the results will appear gold as a warning.
Laser Glasses: If you are using laser glasses, select colors which maximize the
visual contrast while wearing those glasses.
Highlight: If you wish to highlight a particular set of numbers, consider changing
the background color. Ensure that it is not a color that is too close to the text
and/or pass/fail colors, or the visual contrast will ‘wash out’.
Simplify: To simplify the screen, e.g. to make a result that is of no interest
disappear in a production environment, change the Normal Text and the
Background to white. That result will disappear.
Any modified screen layout can be saved as a job file. See Load job and Save job
in Sec. 3.2.7.
The Active X Name & ID# of the particular result box is given in the top blue line of
the dialog box.

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3.2.5 Change Profile Display

Right-click on any 1D profile area to open the display selection box shown here. Default
settings are as shown.

3.2

 *** Global selections*** the default, applies the selected items to all profiles.
 Choose Linear normalized (default) or Log 40db mode profile display modes.
Both linear modes set the baseline to zero to compensate for ambient lighting and
preamplifier offset on a dynamic basis. Linear normalized normalizes the profile to
100%, irrespective of the crosshair position on the display, and is the default
display mode. Log modes are useful for assessing low-level structure and ‘ghosts’ in
the wings.
 Choose between Thin Line (default), Thick Line and Fill mode to choose how the
profile is displayed. The latter modes are particularly useful when adjusting a laser

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assembly and observing the display monitor from across the test bench, or when
saving the screen data for a presentation.
 Enter Intensity Multiplier
opens the box shown which
allows you to superimpose a
magnified profile over the
current profile. The multiplier
may be any integer between
2 and 200.
The legend Profile * XX will
appear next to the red
profile.
 Enter new gain value and Auto Gain do not apply to WinCamD and will be
grayed out in a future version.
 Show clip levels through Show scale grids allow you to control how ‘busy’ the
display appears. Uncheck what you do not need. Default is all off.
 When Show clip levels is selected, the variable clip levels are shown in blue on the
profile. You can click and drag the levels shown on the screen.

Beam fit algorithms. Some algorithms follow generally accepted industry

practice. Some represent specific customer requests, now incorporated in the software.
The Algorithms described here are for:
Gaussian Fit, including GFit, G 2W Max. Deviation, Std. Deviation, Coefficient
and Roughness.
Top Hat Fit, including Max. Deviation and Std. Deviation
Non-uniformity
Effective Diameter
In all modes, the software first determines and subtracts the baseline.
If you need a function that is not included in the current version, please contact us.
TIP: On slower PCs, to speed up the processing, do not show these options.
 Show Gaussian fit. A GFit results line appears under the 2W results and a red line
Gaussian appears superimposed over the profile. The Gaussian fit is based upon a
fit algorithm that, whilst keeping the power under the curve constant, and the
centroid the same as that calculated for the profile, iteratively adjusts the height
and width of the Gaussian until the Least Squares difference between the actual
profile and the Gaussian profile is minimized.

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3.2

Specifically, the steps are:

 Set the centroid position of the fitted Gaussian the same as that of the actual
profile.
 Set the area under the fitted Gaussian equal to the area under the actual beam
profile. i.e. an equal power requirement.
If the area under the curve is ‘A’, and the actual 13.5% diameter is 2W, then
for iteration purposes, the initial Gaussian height is set to:
H = A.(2/2W).(2/)0.5 = 1.596.A/2W.
 The least squares fit iteration starts from the actual 13.5% diameter
 G 2W is the calculated diameter of the least squares fitted Gaussian.
 1.596.A/(G 2W) is then the calculated height of the least squares fitted
Gaussian.
 GFit in % = 100 x [1 - [(∑absolute differences)/(Gaussian profile area)]]
□ Show Max & Standard Deviation A vertical red line appears on the graph at the
point of maximum deviation of the profile from the fit, and the Max Deviation =
xx.x% and Std. Deviation = xx.x% are overwritten in red on the graph.
Deviation is defined at each position on the profile, relative to the fitted Gaussian
curve or to the fitted Top Hat line, depending on the fit chosen. i.e. at position ‘j’ on
the profile, if the Gaussian level is Gj, and the profile value is Pj, then the deviation
at that point is defined as: Deviation in % = 100*((Pj-Gj)/Gj)
E.G. If Pj = Gj, the Deviation is 0%. If Pj = 2*Gj, then the Deviation = 100%.
Therefore the Deviation value can be >100%, and as low as -100%.
Max. Deviation is the maximum value (positive or negative) of the Deviation.

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Std. Deviation is calculated over the fitted region using the Deviation values as
calculated above.
□ Show Coefficient & Roughness. Additional information is given by the alternative
‘Gaussian Fit Coefficient’ and the ‘Gaussian Roughness coefficient’, defined as
follows:
- Find the average difference between the Actual point, Pj, & the fitted Gaussian, Gj.
A = [∑ (Pj – Gj)] / N (N is the # of points)
- For each point determine the difference, Dj, from the average of the deviation:
Dj = (Pj – Gj) - A
- Determine the sum of Dj2: S = ∑ (Dj2)
- Determine the Gaussian Fit Coefficient, C = 1 – ((S/N0.5)/N)
- Determine the Gaussian Fit Roughness, R = 100 x [Max (Pj – Gj)]/[Max (Pj)]
□ Show Top-Hat fit The Top Hat fit:
 Determines the ‘50% of peak’ outer edges of the profile. Defines the center (as
opposed to centroid) of the beam as the midpoint between these two points.
 Determines the mean level of the central 80% of this region. It plots a straight
line at this level, and defines it as 100% for the purpose of subsequent TopHat
fit calculations.
 Shows Top-Hat fit in % = 100[1- (Total area of |deviations|/Area under line)].
 Show max deviation A vertical red line appears on the graph at the point of
maximum deviation, and the Max Deviation = xx.x% and Std. Deviation =
xx.x% are overwritten in red on the graph.

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□ Show Uniformity within Clip A Diameter

 Found by right-clicking on the profiles area.
 Determines the Clip A edges of the profile. For the central 90% of this region, it
calculates the following function in % terms:
Non-uniformity = (100-Min)/(100+Min)
The values displayed on the profile are the values for the profiles shown.
In the View menu you can also choose Show
3.2
Non-uniformity (WinCamD only), the
average non-uniformity value taken in 360 one degree slices about the centroid
is displayed in the left hand panel.

□ Effective Diameter
 Effective diameter, always shown in the left
hand panel of results, is defined based upon the
total area above a certain Clip level.
Count the N pixels above 13.5%. Area of each pixel is Ap. Total area = N*Ap

The effective beam diameter Deff is then: Eff. Diam. = [4*N*Ap/]

In the Setup menu choose Set Effective Diameter Clip Level to change the
clip level from its default value of 13.5%.

 The Zoom 1X to 16X allows you to zoom the profile area on which the cursor is
currently sitting. If Global selections is checked, then all profiles will change,
TIP: Pressing ‘i’ and ‘o’ on the keyboard zooms the profile ‘in’ or ‘out’ respectively,
and is much faster than accessing the menu.
 Profile to Clipboard sends the profile on which the cursor is sitting to the
Clipboard.
 Save image as Bitmap file does precisely that.
 Export to Paint opens Microsoft Paint and places the profile in the Paint screen.
From there you can save as a *.gif or *.jpeg file.
 Export Profile data to Excel opens Excel and tabulates and plots the profiles. It is
fast in Excel 2003, but miserably slow (minutes) in Excel 2007 – an Excel bug, not a
DataRay bug.
 Save Profile data as text does precisely that as a *.txt file.

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□ Beam Profile Fit to Excel is found by right-clicking in the profile area.

Profile fit values in spreadsheet may be changed by editing cells F30 to H40 in
Form1.xls found in the c:\Program files\DataRay directory.
Contact
Technical
Support for
your custom
Excel export
requirements. A
future version
may include
active export to
Excel so that
real-time
adjustment can
be monitored.

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 Set profile colors allows precisely that. You can waste infinite amounts of time
playing with this.
 Other profile manipulation features:
Center profile. In order to center the profile in the profile area in which the cursor
lies, press ‘c’ for ‘Center’ on the keyboard
Pan profile. In order to pan the profile in the profile area in which the cursor lies,
press ‘P’ for ‘Pan’ on the keyboard and the current cursor position in the profile box
will be centered in the window. E.g. place the cursor to the left of the profile and 3.2
when you press ‘p’ the profile will move right.
Pan image. In order to center a part of the image in the image area, place the
cursor on the part of the image that you wish to be centered, and press ‘p’ for ‘Pan’
on the keyboard.
In live mode only, and if the Capture Block is less than the maximum for your
camera, if you have a center wheel on your mouse, click and hold down the center
wheel and drag the image under the cursor to where you want on the screen.
Measure any distance on a profile. Click and drag a line between two features in
the profile, in order to determine the (horizontal) distance between these features.
This is shown as Dist. = xx.x m on the bottom left of the table below the profile.
Left click in the profile area to delete the line and the measurement.

3.2.6 Pull-down Menus

The majority of the pull-down menus are only applicable to live sessions, but it is
important to take a look at them and read the brief description to understand the
versatile and intuitive nature of the software.
If an item in a pull-down menu appears grayed out, it is non-functional either because of
the chosen mode, or because it is inapplicable to the particular camera connected, or
because no camera is present.

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3.2.7 File
Where there is a corresponding
button on the button bar, it is
illustrated below.
 Open… Opens the Open
dialog box for files.
 Save Opens the Save As
dialog box for files.
Save current data saves the
current on-screen profile/image.
SELECT data from data buffer
as WCF. opens a Beam Select
Dialog box that allows you to
select which profiles to save.
Click on an image to deselect it,
at which point a cross appears
on the image.
SAVE ALL data in data buffer
as WCF. saves all the profiles in
the buffer. Be warned that a
single 1024 x 1024 image gives
a 2MB image. Saving multiple
images can lead to a very large
file. If you are going to email
files elsewhere, consider
collecting files over a smaller
Capture Block or at a lower
resolution, &/or zipping the files
prior to sending them.
(www.sendlargefiles.com is a free
file sending service.)
Save current data as binary
does precisely that. The format is
defined in WCBinary.h in
c:\Program files\DataRay.
Save current data as text.
(Can be slow) saves a file in
text format. These files may be
imported into programs such as
Excel using , and ; (comma and
semi-colon) as delimiters.
Save current data as 8 bit TIFF
does precisely that.

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Save current data as 16 bit TIFF (non standard) does precisely that. Note that
there is no standard 16-bit TIFF format. These files do successfully import into
Windows Paint. For the file format see Tiff.h in c:\Program files\DataRay.
Tiff.h describes the structure of the Save current data as … TIFF image file.
MatLab: To import TIFF files into MatLab see Appendix D.
 Screen to Clipboard sends the screen area between the Toolbar & the Status bar
to the clipboard, allowing import into reports generated in other software. Other
options are Save current screen as bitmap file & Export screen to Paint. 3.2
To save images as *.jpg (JPEG) or *.gif (Graphics Interchange Format) files, use
the Export to Paint feature in the DataRay software.
 Print… Ctrl P, Print Preview & Print Setup… are self-explanatory. The software
will print the current screen, plus the date & a screen plot title. The profiles
are deliberately printed with vertical elongation for greater visibility. The
header includes the software version number, & the day & date of printing.
To avoid soggy black paper with ink-jet printers, go Palettes & choose Inksaver.
 Print with Notes allows you to do precisely that. The information is saved
and may be modified for subsequent prints.
 Load Defaults does precisely that, useful if things seem ‘screwed up’. Holding the
Shift key down while starting the software has the same effect.
 Load Job and Save Job… A Job file allows saving and opening particular software
setups. It is especially useful when testing a variety of laser assemblies on a regular
basis. Saving a complex setup with specific Pass/Fail criteria is a very effective way
of saving time and establishing parameters for repeatable results. Multiple *.ojf files
can be saved, each with a different set of settings.
 The next block shows the names and paths of the six most recent files that have
been saved and/or opened. Where no file path is shown, then the file is in the
c:\Program Files\DataRay directory where you originally installed the software.

3.2.8 Device
 Select the hardware that you are working with.
 WinCamD: DualCam Compare displays the
results from two cameras on a single screen.

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3.2.9 Palettes
Select the palette that you require.
 High color palette is whatever your PC supports.
 Monochrome palette is whatever your PC supports.
 32 color palette is precisely that
 10 color palette is precisely that. On a normalized 2D
image (see page 3-31) these will be 10% contours.
 Ink Saver mode, changes the black and blue-black background (the lowest 2% of
the levels after background subtraction) to a white background. This does what it
says. It saves ink when you print, and minimizes that soggy floppy paper feeling.

3.2.10 Average
Opens the Image Averaging menu.
Choose either a running average based upon a specific
number, Average 5 to 20, of profiles, or choose
Continuous (accumulation) averaging of the profiles. An
averaging mode indication will appear in blue on the profile
graphic.
The displayed results are derived from the averaged profile.
Reset average [ESC]. Press or the Esc button on
the keyboard to restart the averaging.

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3.2.11 Filter
Selects profile and/or area smoothing. IMPORTANT: For beams below 20 times the
pixel dimension the Filter should be set to No filtering.
Filter selects a triangular weighting smoothing function performed as a running smooth
of the profile. The default is 0.2% filter. Select Filter = 0.X% Full Scale. The actual
FWHM of the triangular filter may be calculated as:
FWHM = [% of full scale x Scale m/div x Zoom factor]/10
3.2
FWHM

Samples

E.g., for: % of full scale = 0.2

Scale m/div = 50
Zoom factor =4
FWHM = 4 m
Since smoothing causes an increase in the width of
the smoothed profile, the displayed value for the
beamwidth is corrected using the same algorithm as
is used for slit width correction.
The area image filter, for WinCamD series only,
calculates the average of the sum of the pixels over
the specified sample. E.g. on 3 x 3 pixels, it takes all nearest neighbor intensities,
sums them, divides by 9, and places the result at the center pixel location.

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3.2.12 Camera
Selects the camera to be used.
If only a single camera is attached, it will automatically find that camera.
If more than one camera is attached, it will default to the first camera on the list. For
any other camera, you will need to manually select it.
Alt N selects WinCamD cameras.
Shift N selects WinCamD-U cameras.
Use all USB cameras sets all connected
USB 2.0 cameras to capture images in
parallel (e.g. when triggered by the same
trigger input pulse). Individual captured
images are stored in the individual
camera buffers and are then read out into
the software buffer in a serial manner.
See page 3-32 for how to scroll through
the image buffer.
There are subtleties to using multiple
cameras. See the Multiple_Camera
_User_Guide Application Note at the
website.

3.2.13 View
Allow you to select what is occupying the
screen. Some options may be grayed out if
they are not available for the system that you
are using.
Open / Close Log Dialog does that.
Open / Close M2 Dialog does nothing.
Show Non-uniformity is now accessed by
right-clicking on the profiles area.
Open M2 Dialog does that.

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3.3 Setup
 Capture setup dialog
Press ALT S to open the WinCamD Capture Setup
dialog.
The top of the dialog screen shows the Firmware
version and the Clock source. If you see problems,
Product Support may ask for this information. 3.3
This screen operates in live mode only (i.e. not on
recalled images) and allows you to do the following:

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1) Capture resolution. At the expense of a factor of two in linear resolution, you may
approximately double the speed of image capture by choosing FAST rather than
FULL.
2) Capture Block. Select the image size that you wish to capture. Using a smaller
Capture Block may increase the frame rate on some PCs. Drag-and-click it on the
small screen in the dialog box in order to place it over the beam area of interest.
3) Flip image flips the vertical orientation of the image. Its default is unchecked, to
ensure that positive Y is up.
4) Rotate 180 deg does that. Its default is unchecked.
5) Gain. G = X.X Most useful when working with pulsed lasers where exposure control
is ineffective for pulse widths less than several tens of s, and the user must insert
sampling &/or attenuation in a quantized manner, Gain allows the user to set the
Peak to a suitable value. With CW lasers, this is only used if the beam is so faint
that even at the maximum 1024 ms exposure with the ND filter removed, the Peak
is still not reaching >80 %.
6) Offset. The offset is automatically set above the zero of the ADC full-scale range.
This ensures that the noise although very low, is properly sampled. [Though optical
intensity is by definition always 0, voltage noise will have negative components.]
This is primarily a diagnostic tool with limited user utility. [Disable this function by
clicking the Lock ADC offset [disable auto adjust] box. Set the Offset by setting
the Offset slider. The Offset is shown in mV and as ADC Peak = X.X %. … but
why would you want to?]
7) Drag capture box to desired location. The slider bar allows you to access the full
imager width on some sensor options. The box below shows the location of the top
left hand edge of the box. This will be changed to the center of the box in a future
software revision.
8) Pixel multiply factor. Allows you to adjust for ancillary optical elements that may
change the scale between the object plane and the CCD pixel plane. For
TaperCamDs this number is on the label on the back of the camera and on page 1-
14. The PMF value is now held in the camera EEPROM, and will not change unless
you specifically change it.
9) IR Camera Settings now includes the ability to select the Enable IR Camera
option with a default gamma value of γ = 1.41
The ‘Gamma’ (Greek ‘’) of the phosphor is the power relationship between the CCD
signal and the input irradiance (intensity):

Video Signal = (Input irradiance)

[Gamma correction is not required for cameras without the IR phosphor.]

You may ignore the test modes unless directed there by Tech Support.

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 Enter Magnification Factor. Grayed out. Ignore.

 Enter Wavelength … . You may always ignore. When the M2DU is in use, you will
enter wavelength in the M2DU setup dialog.
 Numeric display modes is discussed in section 3.2.3
 Set centroid cliplevel allows you set a
default other than the 13.53% (1/e2).
The centroid is calculated for all pixels
with % level above the centroid clip 3.3
level. Currently, the level may be set
between 5% and 90%. If you try to set
higher or lower values, it will default to
13.53% without warning you.
 Enter Effective Width cliplevel allows precisely that
 Set geo-centroid cliplevel allows precisely that for the Geometric centroid
 Setup trigger. See Chapter 4 on Pulsed Lasers.
 Jitter suppression. Inoperative. Will be grayed out in a future software revision.
 Enable auto-naming. A name will be suggested in the format:
WC_YY_MM_DD_HH_MM_SS
WC, followed by the date & time (24 hr clock) read off your computer’s clock.
 Use ISO 11146 compliant diameters and
orientation calculates 4 diameter & beam orientation
based upon analysis of the whole image, rather than
simply the line profiles along the crosshairs. See Appx.
A for equations.
 Enabled d63 calculates beam major, minor & mean
d63 diameters in mm, & area
A63 mm^2 about the centroid
containing 63 % of the total
energy in the beam. [Per the
requirements of IEC 60825.]
Entering the total beam power as measured by a
calibrated power meter gives the power P W in A63 and
the irradiance I63 W/cm^2.

SUPPORT pull-down menu – see Appendix C.

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3.4 Tool Bar

The Toolbar (Button bar) functions provide quick access to many items.
Grayed Out? Some buttons are grayed out until you press Stop. Some will be grayed
out if they are inapplicable to your Device or to your current mode of operation.

Clear, Open, Save. These three buttons, in order, Clear the data
from the screen, and Open and Save files.

Select the centroid mode to determine the X,Y position of the

intersection of the crosshairs, within the current Capture Block, or
the Inclusion Region (p.35) if selected.
Xc - the mathematical centroid for all points above the level set in Section 3.3.
Xg - the geometrical centroid for all points above the set centroid level. [It is the center
of all the beam above the Clip[a] level, with no intensity weighting.]
Xp - sets the crosshairs on the peak in the profile.
Xu - allows the user to place the crosshairs. Use the arrow keys to move it in single
pixel increments.

Normal & Fast Mode. N & F allow display in Normal or Fast mode. When the
N button is grayed out you operate in normal mode; standard & user
requested calculations are performed for the beam. This limits the speed of the screen
update. Select F to tell the software to simply update the screen as fast as possible.

Go, Stop, Single Shot and Refind camera(s).

The G button starts the capture of images by the head, or press F1.
The S button stops the capture of images by the head, or press F2.
The 1 button initiates single shot capture of images by the head, or press F3.
The R button refinds the attached camera(s).

Lock Baseline. Large beam measurement. The padlock style Lock

and Unlock buttons allow you to Lock the baseline. This allows the
measurement of beams which overfill the sensor and are therefore too large to allow the
determination of a good zero level while the beam is on the camera.
First, with the beam on the camera, uncheck auto
exposure, p. 3-39. Then block the beam and click
on the Lock padlock-style button. Then unblock
the beam. The zero level from which clip levels are
determined will be now be based upon the level
determined while the beam was blocked. In the
example shown because the left hand profile edge
is above 13.5%, that clip level shows 0.0 µm.

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Obviously (?), if beam wings are absent, second moment (4σ) widths calculated for such
a beam are invalid. To disable this feature, click on the Unlock button.
To normalize the 2D & 3D displays to 100%, click the left hand button.
Does not work on recalled files - must have been set on before the file was
saved.

X, Y, B & L allow display of the X profile only, the Y profile only,

Both X & Y profiles, or Large in which the profiles are not shown. The Large option 3.4
allows the viewing of a screen across the lab. Select B to return to the default screen.

Background Subtraction. Right-click on the Exposure time box & disable

auto-exposure. Click OK. As appropriate set Average=20, especially if the background
to be subtracted is noisy.
Click the button to initiate background subtraction.
The box shown right will appear. Block the beam
and then click OK. The captured background is
subtracted from subsequent images. If Average is
still engaged, subtraction will be gradual.
Press the bracket button to turn it off.

HyperCal™. To engage HyperCal electronic fixed pattern noise elimination click

on the middle red star button. Press the bracket button to turn it off.

Select Beam
Set Dialog The
matrix button opens a dialog that
allows you to select an image
beam from the stored set. Move
the cursor over the array to view a
beam.
The left-right keyboard arrows
allow you to scroll through the
beams without first opening the
dialog. The caption line at the top
tells you which beam you are
looking at. Page Up, Page Down
has the same effect.

Live versus Saved.

These buttons allow
you to toggle between live mode and saved data.

Reset Averaging. This button clears and restarts the averaging.

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Print & Print with Notes. See p. 3-23.

This button accesses the M2

measurement feature used with the
camera mounted on the M2DU stage.
This is all described in a separate Data Sheet
and User Guide available at the website.
Log Data opens the Data Logging
Control & Status dialog box. This
allows you to log data to the hard
drive, save the results as a *.log file,
export the results as text or to Excel,
and recall the results as required.
Click on Setup Log… to enter sample
intervals and periods for up to three
different sample intervals, saving up
to three files. Press Show example 1
and Show example 2 to see how
these boxes should be filled in.
If you enter multiple sample rates,
but use the same file name, the
program will log the two or three sample sets sequentially into the single *.log file.

Selective logging. As a default, all displayed

results are logged. To log only data that is
Enabled in the Pass/Fail parameters box,
(accessed by clicking the individual results boxes,
see right), select Log enabled data only
Click OK to return to Data Logging Control &
Status. The rest of the buttons in the Data log
dialog are self-explanatory. Logged data is saved
as *.log text files which may be exported into
Microsoft Notepad using Show log file as text,
and into Microsoft Excel using Convert to Excel.
See examples below:

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3.4
Graphing in Excel. If you are unfamiliar with graphing in Excel, please see the
Graphing in Excel application note at the website which will take you through the
basics.

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Results log to Text File.

Logs results data in real-time to a file
called RTDATA.txt, (example
shown), where it is available for
access by other software.
By monitoring the Update_key#,
you can determine when updated
data is available for readout.

Image Log. Logs

up to 64 images at intervals
of 1 to 5,000 s. An example
is shown below:
In the future, the number of
images will be increased and
the interval will be reduced
to as fast as possible.
Because this function fills up
your hard drive at ~2.1 MB
per full resolution image, the
software will assess
available space and
deliberately not fill it.

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Beam Wander

Use the button or press Ctrl W.

The display auto-scales as points are
added.
The number in brackets after the RMS
value is the Standard deviation value
:
3.4
RMS = [[Xr2+Yr2]/n]0.5

where Xr,Yr are relative values

σ = [[Xr2+Yr2]/(n-1)]0.5

Time interval allows you to set the

time interval between samples.
Samples to be recorded allows you to
set the number of samples, up to 8192.
Clear restarts the plot, after a warning.
Normalize recenters the plot.
Replay or Replay Fast replays the
beam position history.
Sequence off Press this button and
use the + and – buttons on the numeric
keypad to scroll through the data for
the deviation data for the individual
points.
To Clipboard puts Beam Wander to
the Windows Clipboard.
To Excel opens the data in Excel
Export to Paint opens the image in Paint
Save as bitmap does precisely that.

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Fluence

Click this button to see:

If it says: !! No relative
Power setting !! you need
to enter a value before the
Fluence can work.

Click anywhere on the

Power Bar to open the
dialog box shown below.
Enter the power as
measured by a calibrated
power meter, and the unit
of measurement. The power
bar will then display relative
to the measurement
entered.

If you enter dB or dBm, it

will recognize these terms and work in logarithmic mode. You may also enter 100 as the
number and % as a label to give answers in %.

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3.4

Press the Setup Fluence button to open the second screen shown above.
Choose: Round or Square Defined Fluence Area; enter the Fluence Diameter and
Area units that you require.
Check the Show Fluence Area box to show the fluence area on the main 2D screen as
a white circle or square.
The default area for the Peak Fluence Aperture is shown on the red grid screen. Click
on the grid to add pixels to the defined four pixel square shown.
To save and use what you define, press Save. To return to the four pixel square, press
Clean. To restore the area that you previously created, press Restore.
You may also enter values and Enable Pass/Fail testing of Fluence Test Limits. Finally,
click OK.

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This ‘movie camera’

button allows you to
replay the 64 image buffer at a
user-defined update rate. Leave
it at 0.0 seconds for PC
processor limited replay speed.
Press it again to stop the replay.

Power Bar
The auto-scaling Power bar function
gives an indication of relative power as
a scrolling ten sample histogram. The
power is calculated as the integral of
the energy in the image at a fixed
exposure.
It is not a calibrated power meter.
Click on the bar to open the dialog box
shown. Enter the power as measured
by a calibrated power meter, and the
unit of measurement. The power bar will then display relative to the measurement
entered.

If you enter dB or dBm, it recognizes these terms and works in logarithmic mode.
You may also enter 100 as the number and % as a label to give answers in %.

Trigger Delay

The slide bar is located below the 3D image area. See Chapter 4.

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Imager Gain

The slide bar is located below the 3D image area. It is a qualitative, not a quantitative
illustration of gain. i.e. Gain =1 is greater than Gain =1 but is not necessarily exactly
twice as large. It offers 5:1 Gain control
3.4
Exposure control may be accessed by right-clicking on the Exposure time area.
Defaults are shown.

For faint beams, you may

uncheck Enable limits to allow
longer exposure up to 1000 ms.
To manually set the exposure,
uncheck Enable auto
exposure adjustment

CCD ‘Comet’ Tail Elimination. [This button will be added in a future release.]
At short CCD exposures and  >900 nm, a vertical ‘comet’ tail may
appear.
This is an unavoidable ‘feature’ of high resolution CCD chips.
Incident light leaks through the metal over the vertical transfer
register. The effect is worse at longer wavelengths and for beams
incident at other than normal incidence. To eliminate the tail select
the CTE™ button in the toolbar.
In addition:

 Use exposure times >0.5 ms wherever possible.

 Ensure that the light is incident close to 90o. Tune the angle.
 Set up a Capture Block appropriate to the size of your beam.
 Use Inclusion region settings to exclude the tail region from the calculation.
 Rotate the crosshairs from 0o to move the measured profile off the tail.

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3.5 Short Cuts

Keyboard Short Cut keys are tabulated below. Some require hardware to be present.
Grayed out items are not available at the time of writing, but may become available
later.
F1 Starts active image acquisition Page Up Access previous image

F2 Stops active image acquisition Page Down Access the next image

F3 Single frame capture Alt F4 Exits the program

a Selects absolute position display Alt S Opens Camera Setup

b Selects both profiles

c Centers the profile in the grid

g Go (Start); starts data collection

i Zooms in

o Zooms out

p Pan the profile

r Resets Profile scale Zoom to 1X

s Stop; stops data collection

x Selects x profile

y Selects y profile

Ctrl O Opens a file

Ctrl P Prints the results

Ctrl S Opens Save dialog

Ctrl T Opens Trigger dialog

Ctrl W Opens Beam Wander

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3.6 Hardware Quick-Start Tutorial

3.6.1 Precautions and Safety Warnings
Do not skip this. If you do not take these precautions, you may
damage the equipment or your eyes.
 Always look-up or measure the beam power and try to estimate the beam diameter
before analyzing a laser beam for the first time. Ensure that it meets the maximum 3.6
irradiance and maximum power limits in the specifications.

Follow the guidance in Chapter 5

 Be aware of the laser beam path and its reflections. Where appropriate use beam
blocks and Wear Proper Eye Protection for the wavelength being analyzed.
 To avoid fragmented files, always close the program properly. Never turn off the
computer while the program is active.
 Image spots and diffraction rings. See Section 3.6.3

3.6.2 Starting Up
a) If you have not already done so install the software and camera – Chapter 2.

b) Eye Safety: If the beam power is high, put on your laser safety goggles
before you turn on the laser. It is your responsibility to determine eye
safety issues. Use a viewer or phosphor card for beams invisible to the
naked eye.
c) Disconnect the cable before moving the camera head a large distance. You
may hot-plug and un-plug the camera head while the software is on. If you
continually move the head around with the cable attached, drag on the cable may
cause the connector retention shell to bend and weaken.
Mount the head in a rigid manner such that the head will intercept the laser beam in
a plane perpendicular to the beam axis.
It often helps to install the head or the assembly to be measured on an XYZ stage.

d) If you have not already done so, read this manual.

e) If it is the first time you are using the software, but have been experimenting with
the settings, go File, Load defaults, to reset the software to its defaults.
To start taking data, press ‘g’ on the keyboard or click on the Go or Ready button.
The defaults include auto-exposure. The exposure will be set to ~1 ms initially and
then automatically adjust for your beam in the range 40 s to 1000 ms.
The defaults set the Inclusion Region image size to 1024 x 1024 and fast mode.
Enter Alt S to enter the setup screen and change the values in accordance with
Section 3.3.

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Once the beam is set within the image area, the readings will be accurate and the
profiles may be analyzed as discussed throughout the earlier in the chapter.
f) When you close the software, it will automatically save the settings that you were
using when you exited. To save an alternative and consistent set of settings, use
the *.ojf file approach outlined in section 3.2.8.
When you next open the software, you may carry on with the settings saved on the
last exit, load the defaults, or load a saved *.ojf file.
g) If you are working with pulsed lasers, read and understand Chapter 4.
h) The standard cable supplied is a 3 meter (10 ft) cable.
If you need a longer or shorter camera cable, then you may purchase one at your
local electronic store. It is a standard Male A to Mini B5 USB 2.0 cable; beware -
there are other terminations for USB 2.0 cables. 2 m extension and 5 m booster
cables (both Male A to Female A) are readily available. Warning: Some very thin
USB 2.0 cables may not work due to their internal resistance.
i) Background image subtraction … see Section 3.4
j) Large images … if the beam is larger than the image area, you may still measure it
at a clip level that lies within the image area, even though the edges are outside.
Set up the beam to a reasonable Peak % level and then disable the auto-exposure.
Then block the beam, press Alt S, and Lock ADC offset. Click OK, unblock the
beam and then measure it in the normal way. See the first page of section 3.4.
k) Comet tails at >900 nm? Use the CTE™ button.

With comet tail … with CTE™

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3.6.3 Artifacts and Cleaning of the ND filter & Imager chip.

The first advice is ‘Do not’, but sometimes it becomes necessary.
ND Filter Dust & Marks. If you see what looks
like circular diffraction patterns on the screen
that do not move with the source image, then
these are dust specs on the ND filter.
Sometimes, simply moving the image
or rotating the filter will move the spots off the 3.6
image.
To clean the ND filter, first unscrew it from the
camera. These spots are most easily cleaned
with an oil free air-duster. Some air duster fluid
can leave a film so keep the can upright, do a
test spray to one side first and bend the nozzle if the angle is awkward.
If the problem is finger marks, rub with a small quantity of laboratory grade ethanol or
methanol on a lint-free cloth (paper towels are quite good, paper handkerchiefs are
appalling). Sometimes you have to do an alcohol wash with a cotton bud first, followed
by an edge to edge blow-dry.
Some marks can be water-soluble but not alcohol-soluble. Rub with a damp lint-free
cloth.
Imager Chip Dust. If you see very small black spots on the image that do not move
with the source image, or when you rotate the filter, then this is dust on the chip. A
small of dust is inevitable, so try to avoid the pursuit of perfection. However, if the dust
is interfering with the measurements, at your own risk, remove the ND filter, and use
an oil-free air jet* to blow the surface of the chip. [With the filter removed, in typical
ambient light, the ambient illumination of the imager will easily show such spots, so it is
simply to tell when they have been removed.]
*Some air duster fluid can leave a film so keep the can upright, do a test spray to one
side first and bend the nozzle if the angle is awkward. Damaged chips can be replaced
but at your expense. (~$600 for standard chips, higher for -IR chips.).

 Do not touch the surface of the chip.

 Do not blow directly on the fragile bond wires

Imager chip destroyed? Most cameras have user-replaceable imager chips. Contact
your local Rep/Distributor or support@dataray.com.

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3.6.4 TaperCamD Artifacts

The following are inevitable consequences of the use of fiber optic tapers. If you, the
customer, find these artifacts to be unacceptable in your application, you may return the
unit for a full refund, but not replacement, within 30 days of receipt.
 Image distortion. Schott quotes barrel or pincushion distortion up to ±3% from
the nominal magnification. This distortion tends to be towards the taper edges. We
do not measure or compensate this distortion.
 Diamond pattern. Due to the fiber bundles used in taper manufacture, TaperCamD
series may show a slight superimposed diamond or chicken-wire pattern shadow.
 Edge misalignment. Early assembly techniques led to a soft edge of up to ~5 %
of the image area, where the taper edge is misaligned with the identically sized CCD
edge. This assembly tolerance is improved to better than ~3% on current versions.
 Response Non-uniformity Compensation. See Appendix E

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CHAPTER FOUR
CAPTURING PULSED LASERS

4.1 TERMS AND FEATURES ................................................................................ 71

4.2 PULSED BEAM CAPTURE INITIAL SETUP ............................................................ 72
4.3 AUTO TRIGGER MODE ................................................................................ 74
4.4 EXTERNAL TRIGGER MODE ........................................................................... 76

WinCamD Series makes pulsed beam capture as simple as possible. That said, learn to 4.1
operate the software with a simple CW beam before you try to operate with a
pulsed beam. Trust us on this … your time will be well spent. WinCamD Series:
 … has comprehensive Auto Trigger capability and a input/output trigger via BNC.
 … can synchronize to a +1.0 to +12V amplitude (preferably TTL) input pulse.
There is ~200 ns delay between a trigger pulse and the shutter opening.
 … can output a 5 V TTL sync pulse to trigger a laser.
 … can advance/delay the electronic shutter with respect to the input/output trigger.
 … can ‘dissect’ pulse widths >40 s, and do so with synchronous triggering. The
pulse may be ‘dissected’ by using an exposure time less than the pulse width and
temporally scanning it across the pulsewidth.
 … can vary the shutter exposure time from 50 s to 1024 ms, allowing beam
‘attenuation’ on pulsed beams with pulse widths greater than 40 s.
 can vary the CCD gain up to 5:1 (7/14 dB, optical/electrical).
Use of gains >1 lead to lower SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio).

4.1 Terms and Features

Synchronous Camera Trigger. The camera is triggered by a TTL pulse from the laser.
Synchronous Laser Trigger. The laser is triggered by a pulse from the camera.
Exposure/Electronic Shutter. The light falling on the array leads to a proportional
integrated signal while the electronic shutter is open.
Be aware that the terms Trigger, Gating and Capture can sometimes be used
interchangeably, and sometimes imply different things.
Trigger strictly implies that something happens as a result of some input.
Gating implies that the presence of something allows something else to happen.
Capture is the act of capturing a pulse.
PRR is the Pulse Repetition Rate of the laser.

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SNR is Signal to (rms) Noise Ratio

Progressive scan. WinCamD Series uses ‘Progressive Scan’ where the imager is read
out as a continuous sequence over the range of interest. The frame rate is frame size
and resolution dependent.
 The electronic shutter opens once per frame. The Exposure time (integration time)
can be changed in small steps from 0.040 to 1000 ms.
 Imagers perform “energy in a bucket” integration. All photo-electrons [pulse(s) plus
background] incident within the electronic shutter period is integrated.
An ideal situation is that a single laser pulse falls within the period when the shutter
is open, and that the background is zero. It is therefore important to use a logical
procedure to systematically adjust settings to correctly capture beams.
Consider a laser pulse train. A pulse will only be captured when it falls within an
open shutter period. The pulse train and the imager exposure period must coincide.
The frame transfer timing pulse reads out all charge accumulated on the pixels,
essentially clearing the imaging area.
 For pulse duration <40 s, the electronic shutter can only ‘gate’ pulse capture.
For pulse durations >40 s, the electronic shutter may be used to attenuate the
background and the beam intensity.
 In some capture modes, the electronic shutter is left open continuously. The charge
in each pixel is read out upon request (by movement it into the transfer register)
without closing the shutter. The pixel charges are emptied by the readout.
 Imager gain may be increased in order to increase signal closer to saturation (85%
of Peak on the ADC is ideal) at the expense of slightly degraded signal to noise
ratio.

4.2 Pulsed Beam Capture Initial Setup

Capturing pulsed beams may require some trial and error to obtain the best results.
WinCamD covers most conceivable triggering options, pulse durations and PRRs.

If you ignore the advice that follows, you may damage the camera head and/or your
eyes.

a) Read and apply Section 3.6 and Chapter 5 for your personal safety and to set the
power falling on the camera head to acceptable levels. If you are unsure, move the
beam in slowly from the edge to first pick-up the edge of the beam.
b) Start in CW mode. Press File, Load defaults. It is highly recommended that you
initially treat the beam as if it were CW, with the camera shutter on auto, watching
and centering the occasional captured pulses on the screen. If you see nothing
untriggered mode, you will see nothing in any of the triggered modes. At
this stage you are concerned with ensure that the beam is not too faint to observe
and on centering the beam on the imager.

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c) Note that the Gain may be increased using the on-screen slider located just below
the 3D display areas. Higher gains assist in setting the signal level (Peak = xx.x
%) to its optimum value of ~90% (% of ADC saturation) but at the expense of
somewhat degraded SNR.
d) Next, minimize the ‘dead’
space around the beam by
redefining the Capture Region
(Section 3.6.3) to be as small
as possible while still fully
capturing the beam. If this is
not done, residual un-
subtracted integrated image
background may be a
4.2
significant percentage of the
pulsed signal, and may
GOOD NOT GOOD
compromise correct capture and analysis. [The software automatically subtracts
overall background, based upon the lowest signal level in the capture region.]
There are two triggered modes of operation.
 Auto Trigger, where no ‘formal’ laser synchronization occurs.
 Synchronized mode, useful if the laser provides a trigger output or input.
The sections which follow explain these modes.
In order to access the Trigger Setup dialog, right-click on the trigger delay box located
below the 3D area.

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4.3 Auto Trigger Mode

In Auto Trigger
mode,
WinCamD
automatically
captures and display pulses that lie within the intensity limits set by the user.
Auto Trigger is attractive to many users of a WinCamD Series. It works well in many
circumstances. Auto Trigger may require some trial and error experimentation to get
consistent results. It may require a level of knowledge of what is “good data”, based
upon a level of experience with the WinCamD and the laser being tested. Even if your
laser driver provides a TTL trigger output or accepts a trigger input, try Auto Trigger
before going to Section 4.4.
a) Auto-trigger is totally ungated and untriggered, with a simple upper and lower
intensity level criteria to Accept or Reject images each time a frame is
captured.
b) Capture status messages are displayed in the box on the left hand side
immediately below the button bar.

Auto-Trigger Mode Operation.

a) As previously advised, first
set up approximately in CW
mode.
b) Press Ctrl T, or right-click on
the non-slider area of the
Trigger Control box, to
open the dialog box shown,
and select Auto Trigger On
(Exposure settable).
c) Unless you have a reason to select otherwise, start with the defaults of 10% and
100% for the Minimum & Maximum level in percent respectively. The % is
expressed as a proportion of the saturation level of the ADC, as shown on the
screen. Beams with intensity above 100% will also be captured. Setting to any
value below 100% (e.g. 99%) excludes such beams. If the Minimum is set at 0%,
then the software triggers on noise as well as real beams.
d) Pulse Repetition Rate dependencies.
PRR <25 kHz. Choose Exposure settable mode below.
PRR ≥25 kHz. Treat as a CW beam, and ignore pulsed laser operation.
The # of pulses captured per exposure = Exposure period in ms. x PRR in kHz.
e) Exposure settable mode. Choose this mode if you wish to use the Exposure time
to help control the beam saturation.
‘Control’ can mean attenuating a single wide pulse beam by capturing only a part of
that beam (e.g. a pulsed LED) or sampling a string of high PRR laser pulses by
capturing a larger or smaller number of pulses during each exposure.

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Normally, set Exposure ≈ 0.95/PRR, to capture single pulses.

Any longer exposure time will capture 1 or more pulses.

E.g. For PRR = 200 Hz, set Exposure time to just below 5 ms (1/200) in order to
capture nearly every pulse. If background illumination levels are a problem, set the
exposure time to a lower value, but at the expense of probability of pulse capture.
The camera will repeatedly capture beam images, as fast as the set Exposure, the
software & the PC will allow.
Pulses with an ADC % within the set levels will be captured and displayed.
Pulses which do not meet the criteria will not be displayed.
g) Intensity Variations. Because the Auto-Trigger mode is asynchronous with the 4.3
pulsing laser, the intensity can fluctuate to a greater or lesser extent as one or
more pulses fully or partially overlaps the exposure period, and one or more pulses
gets included.
To restrict the captured images to unsaturated images of reasonable intensity, set
the Maximum level in percent to 90%, and increase the Minimum level in
percent. Then adjust the external attenuators and/or the CCD gain until pulses are
being captured. A narrow ratio between the Maximum and Minimum levels
ensures that only single pulses will be captured.
Important:
If … you use an Exposure below the laser pulsewidth;
And … the pulse spatial distribution changes during the pulse;
Then … a single pulse image will not fully represent the pulse.
Instead … use External Trigger mode, below.

h) Capture but too low! If this message appears in the Ready area, it is telling you
that a frame was taken, but the peak level was below the set Minimum level in
percent.
Capture but too high! If this message appears in the Ready area, it is telling you
that a frame was taken, but the peak level was
above the set Maximum level in percent.
There are two counters on-screen in this mode. In the blue line at the top of the
screen, the image counter of captured images continually cycles from 1 to 64.
In the Ready button area, a counter counts the number of
times since go was pressed, that the software sampled the
camera to determine whether an image meeting the Minimum and Maximum %
criteria has been captured. If every image is good, then these two numbers will be
equal. If, as is frequently the case, not all images are good, the count in the Ready
button area will increase at a greater rate than the captured image count. In
addition, if there is a difference between the numbers, the Ready button will also
frequently display the message Waiting. [For processing speed reasons, the
update priority on the Ready button is not as high as some other areas of the
screen. When no image is captured, there is more time available for the button to
be updated, so the message tends to stay at Waiting.]

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4.4 External Trigger Mode

In this mode, WinCamD captures and display pulses by laser synchronization.

Caution should be exercised once a triggerable laser is connected to the

WinCamD. The laser could trigger from the shutter signal immediately the
camera is turned on.

a) Ctrl T opens the dialog box.

Select either External
Trigger Enabled
(Exposure settable)
b) Isolated Pulse Triggering.
For some users (e.g. doing
fusion experiments) single
pulse triggering on the first
incident pulse is required.
For these applications, the
trigger pulse must arrive Δt
= 40 s to 20 ms before
the laser pulse. The
exposure must be set >Δt.
In such cases with WinCamD
use Direct Trigger Input
(no locking) The camera
will trigger on the single TTL
input pulse and will also
indicate on-screen how many
pulses have been received.
Set Trigger is input.
c) Pulse Train Triggering. Set up the dialog box in accordance with the trigger
characteristics. [Source Repetition Frequency (optional) currently does nothing
and maybe deleted in a future release.]
d) The BNC on the WinCamD head can be configured as an input or output socket.
The expected input pulse is a TTL pulse.
The pulse goes high in synchronization with the exposure signal start on the imager
chip and the pulse-width equals the exposure length.
Attach a 50  or 75  BNC cable to the BNC connector on the camera head. In most
scenarios, the laser will provide the trigger to the camera. The WinCamD BNC I/O
impedance is 1 k.
If it does not work, verify the electrical pulse shape on an oscilloscope.
e) The camera will repeatedly capture images as fast as the software, the PC and the
Capture Block setting will allow. In this setting the shutter is open continuously. As
requested by the software the accumulated image is moved to the interline transfer
register for readout.

76 WinCamD Series
 Capturing Pulsed Lasers

Only pulses with an ADC % within the set levels will be captured and displayed.
Pulses which do not meet the criteria will not be displayed. [The software has a
peak level detector for every image captured by the ADC. If the peak does not lie
within the criteria, the image is not displayed and no further processing occurs.]
Set an appropriate Exposure time as discussed earlier.
f) There are two counters on-screen in this mode.
In the blue line at the top of the screen, the image
counter of captured images continually cycles from
1 to 64.
In the Ready button area, a counter counts the number of
times since go was pressed, that the software sampled the
4.4
camera to determine whether an image meeting the Minimum and Maximum %
criteria has been captured. If every image is good, then these two numbers will be
equal. If, as is frequently the case, not all images are good, the count in the Ready
button area will increase at a greater rate than the captured image count. In
addition, if there is a difference between the numbers, the Ready button will also
frequently display the message Waiting. [For processing speed reasons, the
update priority on the Ready button is not as high as some other areas of the
screen. When no image is captured, there is more time available for the button to
be updated, so the message tends to stay at Waiting.]
i) Capture but too low! If this message appears in the Ready area, it is telling you
that a frame was taken, but the peak level was below the set Minimum level in
percent.
Capture but too high! If this message appears in the Ready area, it is telling you
that a frame was taken, but the peak level was above the set Maximum level in
percent.
Waiting means not receiving a trigger pulse.
g) Advance or delay the Trigger Control slider to change the timing of the capture in
relation to the trigger pulse, until the whole pulse is captured.

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Capturing Pulsed Lasers

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78 WinCamD Series
 Laser Attenuation

CHAPTER FIVE

LASER ATTENUATION
5.1 IMPORTANT TERMS .................................................................................... 80
5.2 ATTENUATION OF YOUR BEAM ....................................................................... 81
5.3 ADDITIONAL BEAM SAMPLING/ATTENUATION ..................................................... 81
5.4 UV LASERS. ............................................................................................ 84
5.5 WORKING WITH BEAMS LARGER THAN THE CAMERA ............................................ 85
5.5.1 Imaging of the laser beam scattered off a diffusing surface. ................ 85
5.5.2 Use of a long focal length mirror ...................................................... 85
5.5.3 Use of a long focal length lens.......................................................... 86

** It is very important to understand this section**

This chapter addresses appropriate attenuation/beam sampling techniques and the
measurement of large diameter beams. ‘Catalog Optics’ companies can supply suitable
5
instruments, optics and optical mounting hardware to meet most measurement,
attenuation, and beam sampling requirements outlined here.
Links to Accessories are at the website.
The notes in this chapter are provided for guidance only. DataRay Inc., its Distributors
and Representatives accept no liability for errors or omissions in these notes.
Where a recommendation not covered by this chapter is required, please fax or email a
description of your problem, together with a diagram and full laser beam details.

Cameras are designed to be sensitive to low light levels.

Lasers are high intensity sources.
If the beam Irradiance (W/cm or J/cm2) exceeds the Damage Threshold (Minimum
2

signal/unit area which causes damage) of the camera, irreparable damage may result.
If the laser beam Irradiance (W/cm2 or J/cm2) exceeds the Saturation Irradiance
(Saturation signal/unit area) of the camera, a saturated image results.
If the beam overfills the active area, inaccurate measurement of the beam will result.
Typical attenuation factors required between laser beam and camera are factors of 103
to 1010 or more [ND5.0 to >ND10.0].
WinCamD Series cameras feature as standard:
 ND4.0 attenuating filter (LDFP Low Distortion FacePlate) set at 3o to the optical
axis in order to avoid interference fringes. See page 1-7 for ND4.0
transmission.

WinCamD Series 79
Laser Attenuation

 Electronic shutter giving effectively ND4.5 (45 dB or 32,000:1) for CW beams.

 Imager Gain variation for Pulsed beams
This makes achievement of the required levels of beam attenuation as simple as
possible, but it is still important to understand what the considerations are, and how
to address beam attenuation and large diameter beam measurement.
Ambient Background Attenuation. Although the WinCamD software offers
background subtraction, for best dynamic range and SNR, it is better to reduce the
ambient background to black level on the camera. Measurements under typical lab
conditions require a reduction of the ambient level of around 10,000. The ND4 filter
provided with WinCamD cameras provide suitable levels of ambient attenuation.

5.1 Important Terms

 Irradiance (Power Density). For a Gaussian beam of 1/e2 [13.5% of peak intensity]
width of ‘2w’ cm, and total beam power ‘P’ Watts, the peak Irradiance in W/cm2
in the beam, ‘I0’ may be calculated as:
I0 = (2 x P) / ( x w2) = 2.55.P/(2w)2

 Signal-to-Noise Ratio [abbreviated as SNR] SNR = Peak Signal/RMS noise.

 Pulse Repetition Rate Pulses per second for a pulsed laser, abbreviated as PRR.
 ND or Neutral Density is a commonly used logarithmic approach to defining the
Attenuation Factor provided by a neutral (approximately wavelength independent)
filter. It has the advantage that logarithmic numbers may be added and subtracted,
whereas attenuation factors must be multiplied and divided. ND is defined as:
ND = log10(Attenuation Factor)
E.g. Attenuation Factor ND Value
1 0.0
2 0.3
3 0.5
10 1.0
1,000 3.0
100,000 5.0 e.g. ND 2.6 is a ratio of 400:1

 Electronic shutter. Most CCD cameras offer a manual, pull-down menu or

software controlled ‘electronic shutter’ mode in which the Exposure (integration)
time per frame may be set, effectively acting as an attenuator for CW inputs.
For WinCamD Series cameras, the software interacts directly with the electronic
shutter controls on the CCD chip, allowing on-screen shutter control in small steps
from 40 s to 1000 ms. For CW beams, the exposure automatically adjusts to the
beam intensity.
Obviously, use of an electronic shutter:

80 WinCamD Series
 Laser Attenuation

 Does not change the Damage Threshold in W/cm2 for either CW or Pulsed
lasers.
 Does change the Saturation Level in W/cm2 for CW lasers.
 Does not change the Saturation Level in J/cm2 for Pulsed lasers, unless the
pulsewidth is greater than the minimum electronic shutter period of 40 s.

5.2 Attenuation of Your Beam

a) Using a suitable calibrated Power or Energy meter, measure the laser beam total
power ‘P’ Watts or energy per pulse ‘E’ Joules, preferably at the point at which you
wish to measure the beam profile.
b) By viewing the beam on a diffuse screen, or by using an IR Display Card or IR
viewer for IR lasers, or by calculation, or by some other means, estimate the laser
Beam Diameter. This dimension will be assumed to be the ‘1/e2’ diameter 5.2
estimate, denoted as ‘2w’. If you are using a lens or a microscope objective to 5.3
magnify or demagnify the beam onto the WinCamD, then the beam diameter will
vary as magnification ‘M’, and the irradiance will vary as 1/M2.
This dimension should be less than the dimensions shown in Section 1.7. If not, go
to Section 5.4
c) Go the graphs in Section 1.6. If your beam is less than the saturation limits, then no
further attenuation is required. If it is above the limits, carry on reading.
d) Calculate any Additional Attenuation required. Pay attention to units.

5.3 Additional Beam Sampling/Attenuation

Choose between the beam sampling/attenuation approaches given below. Note that
since wavefront aberration, diffraction and interference results from the inclusion of any
optical component in a coherent beam. Schemes that introduce the minimum number of
reflections, optical surfaces, optical media (and dust & fibers on surfaces!) are clearly
preferred. The catalog optics companies list a range of suitable accessories.
Techniques for beam attenuation/sampling may fall into the following categories:
 Absorbing Neutral Density (ND) filters.
Attenuation factors up to ND5.0 (1/105) are available with single absorbing ND filters.
As standard we offer stackable ND filters, 5 mm stack height, each in a circular housing
with male and female C-mount threads. Filters are tilted by a few degrees to avoid
interference fringes. Standard values are ND 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0. Each filter assembly
adds an additional 5.7 mm (0.225”) in depth in front of the CCD chip.
Neutral density filters are not truly neutral. ND values are normally quoted at 546 nm.
See section 1.7 for details.
Power >2.5 x (Beam diam in mm) W, or >10 W total, may damage the ND filter. The
limit is lower for pulsed lasers, especially ns & fs lasers.

WinCamD Series 81
Laser Attenuation

We offer the EAM-2 C-mount 4-wheel variable

attenuator assembly, with >90 dB of
attenuation. The EAM-2 may be used in series
with a microscope objective to magnify smaller
beams onto the WinCamD camera.
Do not attempt to attenuate high powers or
power densities (irradiance) with absorbing ND
filters. Absorbed power >2.5 x (Beam diam in
mm) W, or >10 W total can cause the filters to
shatter, presenting danger of injury and
camera damage.
Note that 3.5” diskette material is uniform and
has ND ~2.0 and is sometimes a quick fix, but
beware the fire risk if used too near to the
focus. 5.25” diskettes are ~ND 3.0.
 High Power Dielectric Attenuators
See the HPDA_Datasheet at the website. These C-mount reflective attenuators with
OD factors up to OD3.0 (1/1000) are available with HPDA reflective narrow bandwidth
dielectric reflectors. Damage limits are very high, at 20 J/cm2, 20 nsec, 20 Hz @ 1064
nm at the wavelength of interest. Angle of incidence is limited to ±10o. Avoid reflecting
the beam back into the laser. Care must be taken to direct the reflected beam to a beam
dump and to avoid forming an external cavity laser with the source under measurement.
 Metallic Neutral Density filters
Attenuation factors up to ND4.0 (1/10,000) are available with single metallic ND filters.
Avoid reflecting the beam back into the laser. Care must also be taken to direct the
reflected beam to a beam dump. Above ND2.0, metallic ND filters are highly wavelength
dependent. For these reasons, metallic ND filters are normally not recommended.
 ‘Electronic shutter’.
See the discussion earlier in Section 5.1. This is why the WinCamD series cameras
exploit this feature with direct software addressing of the electronic shutter.
 Reflection off a window, prism or wedge
front surface.
Sampling factors from ≈4% for an uncoated window
to <1% for an AR coated window. (ND1.4 to
>ND2.0). An issue with any such reflection is the
degree of polarization sensitivity as a function of
angle of incidence. Catalog optics companies also
offer suitable wedged windows. Note that fused silica
damage thresholds can be as high as 1 kW/cm2, so
this can be a very effective way of dumping power.

The CUB and CUB-UV are C-mount accessories

which take a 3 to 10% sample using a optical
wedge. Note that the wedge gives two reflections of
similar intensity, separated by 30 arcmin (8.7
mrad), meaning 0.9 mm at 100 mm. [A future version will use a 3° (52 mrad.) beam

82 WinCamD Series
 Laser Attenuation

splitter. Use an ETCM series spacer tube to separate these before both reach the sensor.

 Multiple reflections in a wedge beamsplitter.

Sampling factors of 1/1,000,000 are attainable, but multiple internal reflections may
lead to interference if the beam divergence is comparable to the beam deviations in the
wedge prism. Since the angular separation of the beams is 2, if the beam is large and 
is small, it can be hard to determine which beam is being sampled.
If the reflection coefficient per surface is x, [around 0.04 (4%) for material with a
refractive index ‘n’ of 1.5] then for angle of incidence , and wedge angle , then
samples come off at the following intensities and angles:

3 2 2
Surface Intensity @x=4%Angle x (1-x) x(1-x) x
Top x 4.0.10-2 - 
Bottom (1-x)2 0.92 (+n)
Top x (1-x)2 3.7.10-2 -(+2n)
Bottom x2(1-x)2 1.5.10-3 (+3n) 5.3
Top x (1-x)2
3
5.9.10-5 -(+4n)
Bottom x4(1-x)2 2.4.10-6 (+5n)

Eventually the remaining energy is totally 4 2 2 2 2

x (1-x) x (1-x) (1-x)
internally reflected. As angles approach the
critical angle for total internal reflection, the sampled intensity becomes extremely
sensitive to the polarization of the beam.
 Holographic Beam Sampler (HBS).
A holographic (diffractive) beam sampler transmits the main part of the beam and
diffracts a percentage of the light into multiple orders off to one side. The hologram is a
surface structure in the fused silica (used for silicon wavelength HBSs), giving substrate
damage thresholds are as high as the 1kW/cm2 of the starting material, just like wedges
and windows. For pulsed beams, keep the level below 1J/cm2, especially at <400 nm. A
major advantage of HBSs over angled wedges and windows is their polarization
insensitivity, <1% at 100 and ~5% at 200.
WCamD
sampling
HBS diffracted beam

Incident beam
Main Transmitted
Beam

o o
Diffracted beams at  , 2 ,
Sampling ratios range from 1/50 to 1/2,000 in first order. A ‘typical’ HBS is designed for
a sampling fraction ‘s0‘, at ‘0’, at o in first order. For two typical sampling fractions,
the calculated sample intensities may be calculated as follows:

0 s0 = 1% (1/100) s0 = 0.05% (1/2,000)

WinCamD Series 83
Laser Attenuation

1st Order 10o s0 = 1/100 ND2.0 1/2,000 ND3.3

2nd Order 20o s02/2!2 = 1/4.104 ND4.6 1/1.6.107 ND7.0
3rd Order* 30o s03/3!2 = 1/3.6.107 ND7.6 1/2.88.1011 ND11.5

*Due to manufacturing tolerances, the exact value of the sampling factor and angle
may vary and the 3rd order beam may suffer some (unspecified) level of distortion.

At wavelengths  other than the design wavelength, replace s0 by s and 0 by  .

Sampling fraction ‘s’  s0.(0/)2 i.e. s decreases as  increases.
Sampling angle ‘‘  arcsin[(sin0).(/0)] i.e.  increases as  increases.

E.g. Consider a first order HBS designed for 1064 nm: s0 = 1%, 0 = 10o
Used at 800nm the values change to: s = 2.1%,  = 6.9o

Standard HBSs are wedged by (e.g.) 30 arcmin, perpendicular to the sampling angle
plane, in order to avoid interference effects.
Sources of diffractive sampling optics include Gentec [www.gentec-eo.ca]. Note that
binary gratings are not holographic gratings and though less expensive, may not
perform as well in terms of ghost images etc.

5.4 UV Lasers.
DataRay offers screw-on UV converters.
Download the UV Profilers Datasheet
from the website.

84 WinCamD Series
 Laser Attenuation

5.5 Working With Beams Larger Than The Camera

This section assumes that you have already considered use of a TaperCamD, a
TaperCamD20-15 or a Beam Expander. Unsure? Contact support@dataray.com .

5.5.1 Imaging of the laser beam scattered off a diffusing surface.

Incident

Scattering from a
Diffuse Scattering
Focusing lens Surface 5.5
WinCamD

This has been found to be a very effective technique. Not only is the beam image
optically reduced to fit the CCD area, but also the scattering reduces the beam intensity.
 If a standard camera lens assembly with integral focusing and iris aperture is
employed, then focusing is simple and the beam intensity can be further attenuated
by closing the iris.
 If the incident and scattered angle employed are small and similar, the cosine
distortion of the beam on the diffuser is compensated with the camera and lens
aligned as shown, orthogonal to the axis of the scattered light.
 A perfect diffuser backscatters 31.8% per sr. (sr. = steradian of solid angle). For
beams up to 24 mm total diameter, the Melles Griot SpeckleEater™ is a rotating
diffuser that employs a rotating diffusing disk to eliminate speckle for CW beams.
 A 10mm lens aperture at 100mm distance samples 7.86.10-3 sr. and therefore
would pick up ~0.25% (1/400) of the beam reflected off a perfect diffuser.
More generally, if the beam image on the diffuser is focused through a lens iris
aperture diameter ‘D’ at distance ‘L’ from the diffuser, (where DL), then the
effective Collection Factor may be calculated as ~0.25.(D/L)2. On top of this
must be added the increase in irradiance of 1/m2 due to lens magnification ‘m’, (m
is <1).
Hence the total effective beam attenuation factor is:  0.25(D/mL)2
Since m = f/L the factor becomes:  0.25(D/f)2
 0.25(1/Lens f-number)2

5.5.2 Use of a long focal length mirror

Use a long focal length spherical concave mirror, worked slightly off-axis, to reduce the
beam diameter to a size which will fit on the camera. Sample the beam along its

WinCamD Series 85
Laser Attenuation

converging path at a point where it is small enough for the CCD. This will inevitably
result in some limited aberration of the laser beam due to both the off-axis operation of
the spherical mirror and its residual surface imperfections.

5.5.3 Use of a long focal length lens

Use a high quality long focal length lens to reduce the beam dimension. As with the
mirror, the introduction of any optic can change the characteristics of a coherent beam.

86 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

APPENDIX A: Beam Diameter Definition & Measurement

1. Gaussian Beams
True Gaussian beams have no ‘edges’; that is, the intensity of a perfect Gaussian never
actually falls to zero at large distances from the center. This arises from the nature of
the (circularly symmetric) Gaussian intensity
Normalized
profile:
Gaussian Intensity Profile
2
/ w2 2P 2
/ w2
I(r )  I0 .e 2r  2
.e  2r
w
1
Where: r is the radius
0.8
w is the radius at the point at which
the intensity has fallen to 13.5% 0.6
(1/e2) of the peak value.
P is the total power in the beam 0.4
0.2 2 App.
The ISO standard specifies that a 4 beam (1/e ) 0.135
diameter measurement should use at least 0
99% of the power in the beam. For a circularly
A
-2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0
symmetric Gaussian this 99% of total power
integrates out to a diameter of 3.03w, the r/w
point at which I(r) has fallen to 1%.

For a Gaussian: % of Peak Circular Gaussian % of Peak vs. Included % of Power

I(r) = 50% @ Diameter = 1.2w 100%
I(r) = 13.5% @ Diameter = 2w
I(r) = 1% @ Diameter = 3.03w 90%
I(r) = 0.5% @ Diameter = 3.25w
80%
I(r) = 0.1% @ Diameter = 3.7w
70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Included % of Power

WinCamD Series 87
Appendices

2. Beam Irradiance
In order to assess whether the irradiance (W/mm2) from a given laser might overload a
beam profiler, it is useful to be able to calculate the peak irradiance. From equation 11),
the on-axis irradiance at r = 0 is given by:

I(0) = (2P/w2)
= 2.6P/(2w)2 W/mm2 for 1/e2 (13.5%) diameter 2w in mm.
For example:
 The peak irradiance from a 1 mm diameter, 10 mW HeNe is 26 mW/mm2.
 The peak irradiance from a 5 mm diameter, 5 W Nd:Yag is 520 mW/mm2.

3. Second Moment Beam Diameter

Conventionally beam diameters have been measured at the 1/e2 intensity point; i.e. at
13.5% of the maximum intensity. For the reason outlined in section 2.2a), ISO 11146
mandates the use of a ‘Second Moment’ definition of beam diameter:

2W ( z )  2 2 .( z ) ….12)

where the variance, 2(z), is calculated as:

 r .I(r, , z).r.dr.d
2
2 z  
 I(r, , z).r.dr.d ….13)

Where I(r,,z) is the radial intensity distribution versus angular position , along
propagation axis z.
In more useful x and y terms, (since these are what actually get measured):

 ( x  x ) .I( x, y, z).dx.dy
2
 x 2 z  
 I( x, y, z)..dx.dy

 ( y  y ) .I( x, y, z).dx.dy
2
 y 2 z  
 I( x, y, z)..dx.dy
2Wx ( z )  4. x ( z )
2Wy ( z )  4. y ( z )
2 2 2
The rotation angle  is given by:  = 2x’y’ /(x’ - y’ ) ….14)

x,y denotes the centroid of the I(x,y,z) intensity distribution

(The ISO 11146 standard actually terms the quantities E(x,y,z) rather than I(x,y,z) ,
and dx(z) & dy(z) rather than 2Wx(z) & 2Wy(z). Here we have used the more familiar
terminology rather than the less common terminology used in the ISO standard.)

88 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

For a pure Gaussian intensity distribution, the second moment width is identical to the
more familiar 1/e2 (13.5% of peak intensity) width.

There are a number of potential disadvantages to the use of second moment as a beam
diameter definition, none of which are insurmountable in a well-designed system.

a) Unless the results are gathered and processed automatically, the second moment
diameter is non-trivial to calculate. It is not possible to simply ‘measure’ it directly
from a graphical plot of the data.
b) Any unsubtracted background in the wings, either purely analog noise or
quantization noise due to inadequate dynamic range in the sensor or the ADC
(analog to digital converter) leads to errors in the second moment. In general it
leads to an over-estimation of the second moment width.
c) If the I(x,y,z) intensity profile has wings which fall at a rate slower than 1/x2 or
1/y2, then the double integral actually increases as x and y increase.
For reasons b) and c) most commercial second moment beam diameter software first
automatically determines and subtracts the background, and then truncates I(x,y,z) to App.
the zeroed background level at a predetermined distance from the 1/e2 diameter. Some
software allows the user to override this distance. A
4. Acknowledgements.
Parts of this Application Note draw on Reference 2, and we have used the same notation
wherever possible.
5. References
1. ISO 11146. “Optics and optical instruments. Lasers and laser related equipment.
Test methods for Beam widths, divergence angle and beam propagation factor.”
Published by the International Organization for Standardization. Available from your
national standards organization, www.ansi.org in the US.
2. T. F. Johnston Jr., “Beam propagation (M2) measurement made as easy as it gets:
the four-cuts method”, Applied Optics, Vol. 37, No. 21, 20 July 1998, pp. 4840-
4850.

WinCamD Series 89
Appendices

Appendix B: Accuracy, Precision & Resolution

At Issue: Customers ponder, and sometimes ask, the following apparently reasonable
questions:
i) What is the beam measurement accuracy/error of WinCamD Series?
ii) How can you justify listing accuracy values smaller than the pixel size?
iii) How does the accuracy depend on the beam size?
They may feel frustration when the answers are not always totally clear-cut and
unambiguous. Why the uncertainty? Why is every answer qualified by: “… depending, of
course, on the actual beam.” ?

1. Definitions - Accuracy versus Precision versus Resolution

The Accuracy of a reading describes how close the reading is to the Absolute value of
the parameter being measured. The Absolute value is the value that would be read by a
perfect measurement system in perfect calibration with zero errors.
The Precision of an instrument refers to the Repeatability of the value obtained. An
otherwise perfect measurement instrument that was incorrectly calibrated could be
described as Inaccurate but Precise.
The Resolution of an instrument refers to the smallest increment (i.e. above the noise
level) that the instrument can measure.
Readout Resolution is the smallest increment
that may be read on the screen or via the
software interface. DataRay software offers
several Numeric Display Modes. The default is
XXX.Y m. The user may choose other options,
but, simply choosing a higher Numeric Display
Mode resolution option does not make Accuracy
higher.

2. Pixel size/pitch quantization?

The pixel dimension (actually the pixel pitch, since
the fill factor is never 100%) is 4.65 m for
WinCamD, 6.7 m for WinCamD-UCM. With
TaperCamDs the effective pixel size is even larger.
[In fast mode the pixel dimensions are twice as
large]
The casual observer might conclude that all
measurements must be ‘quantized’ in terms of the pixel dimension. As shown below, this
is not the case.

90 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

3. Beam Diameter based on clip level

WinCamD measures the outer diameter at the clip level. It must achieve this whether or
not a pixel is at the specified clip level intensity. To do this it relies upon inter-pixel
linear intensity interpolation.
The magnified orange profile portion, shown against the
light green grid, shows the profile intensity (y-axis)
versus position (x-axis) for the left hand edge of a
profile. There are pixels above and below, but not on,
the blue line indicating the requested clip level.
Rather than simply taking the outer pixel as a diameter
basis, WinCamD determines the position of the two
(adjacent) pixels above and below the requested clip
level, and performs a linear interpolation between these
two values.
I.E., the software determines the position where the
profile would have crossed the clip level if the imager pixel size were infinitely small. It
then makes the same determination for the right hand side of the full profile. The
difference between these two interpolated position values determines the diameter for
App.
the specified clip level. B
Since these interpolated values are not quantized by the pixel location, the measured
beam diameter is not quantized by the pixel size.
Smallest beam size.
Understanding this inter-pixel intensity interpolation leads to an understanding that
accuracy will degrade as we move to smaller beams.
The profile of a 100 m Gaussian beam shows well that even with 4.65 m pixels, the

validity of linear interpolation starts to break down as we go to smaller beams. This is

because the two adjacent pixels start to lie on a curve rather than a straight line
segment.

WinCamD Series 91
Appendices

It is for this reason that the normal advice is to use a smallest beam diameter limit of
about 10 times the pixel size. DataRay errs on the conservative side and suggests limits
of 50 m for WinCamD, and 70 m for WinCamD-UCM.
A user may choose to measure smaller beam diameters, but should be aware of these
accuracy limitations.

4. Second Moment Diameter

The Second Moment Diameter of an image is based upon an area integral weighted by
the square of the distance from the beam centroid. As such it does not include a specific
clip level. See Appendix A for a full description and the formulae.
Since Second moment diameter is a total image based calculation, then, at least to a
first order, it is not subject to pixel dimension quantization limits.
In accordance with the ISO 11146 standard, DataRay cuts off the calculation at 99% of
the included energy. For a pure Gaussian beam 99% of the energy corresponds to
curtailing the calculation at a clip level of 1%, corresponding to a beam diameter 1.5
times greater than the 13.5 % clip level diameter. For typical beams that are not pure
Gaussians these numbers would be different.

5. Centroid
The Centroid (Xc,Yc) of an image is the intensity weighted arithmetic mean position of
all pixel intensities above the centroid clip level (default value 13.5%). It is the ‘Center
of Gravity’ of the beam.
As noise moves pixels above and below the centroid clip level, and hence in or out of the
centroid calculation, the centroid value may change by an amount lower than the pixel
size. For large beams the ‘quantization’ is barely visible. For smaller beams, it may
become significant.

92 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

APPENDIX C: Support, Returns, Distributors, Reps

The Support pull-down menu has hyperlinks to:
 www.dataray.com
 The software upgrade page.
 The product registration page
 support@dataray.com

See also Solving WinCamD Issues & Remote Support User Guide at the website.
DataRay maintains a network of knowledgeable Distributors and Representatives, and
also offer direct product support. Contact details vary with time, and therefore have not
been included here. Visit the website for a complete listing.
Service, Returns/RMAs, Repairs, Equipment Problems, Recalibration
If you did not receive the product directly from DataRay, contact the vendor directly. If
you did receive the product directly from DataRay, see the current procedure for
returning product for repair posted at the website, under Returns/Repairs in the Sales App.
& Support menu. The simple steps below are designed to minimize the number of calls
that you need to make, minimize time to handle the issue, minimize your costs and our C
costs, and get you back to a working system as soon as possible. Current support
contacts are at the website.
Remember:
 There is a three-year product warranty on all standard DataRay manufactured
product (excluding customer damage). Third party manufactured items normally
carry a one-year warranty. Outside the warranty period, there is a reasonable
minimum repair charge that covers many issues other than customer damage.
 Repair turnaround time target is 5-15 working days.
 If you purchased this product via a distributor, if you obtain their agreement, you
may be able to ship the product directly to DataRay for repair.
1) Clearly identify the problem and write it down. Have the name, contact number &
email address of the person with direct experience of the problem at hand when you
call.
Save relevant *.wcf etc. files, including reference files, so that you can show us the
problem. [If a third party is going to call us to arrange the return, all this is even more
essential.]
Tip 1: Do check that everything is correctly plugged in. Never unplug a head
(except WinCamD heads) while the software is on. Where possible, check hardware
and cables by substitution. Use static safe procedures when working with PC cards
or disconnected heads.
Tip 2: If 'The software is not working like it used to', remember that you can flush
the software to its default configuration by going to File, Load Defaults. You may
also download software upgrades for free from Software Upgrades at the website.

WinCamD Series 93
Appendices

2) If you have a production line down due to equipment failure, or some other time
crisis, call Technical Support.
3) If you are sure that the equipment must be returned, e.g. it is physically damaged or
it was an evaluation item, go to step 5).
4) If it is not working, but you are not sure why, contact Technical Support. We can
frequently solve problems over the phone, or identify the problem well enough to
minimize turnaround time on returned equipment and/or the number of items that need
to be returned.
5) Generate the paperwork. [Not providing the paperwork inevitably leads to delays]:
a) Contact support@dataray.com with a description of the reason for return to
obtain an RMA number and a copy of the current RMA form, also found at the
website.
b) Print it out the RMA form, found at the website, fill it out, keep a copy for your
records and include a good copy with the shipment.
c) Mark the number on the RMA form, the outside of the shipping box and on the
packing list attached to the outside of the shipping box:
6) Pack it properly.
 Where possible use the original packaging.
 Always ensure that all boards and hardware with electrical connections is first
wrapped in static dissipative foam [pink or mauve] or bag [metallic
silver/gray].
 If an improperly wrapped item is found to be zapped by static, unlikely but
possible, then we must charge you for the replacement.
 Include the cables.
7) Return the equipment to the address on the RMA form. Different products are dealt
with at different facilities.
8) If an International return, carefully follow the instruction on the RMA form concerning
Harmonized code, product description and Value. If this information is incorrect, then
you will be responsible for an excess duties/taxes.

94 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

APPENDIX D: Importing TIFF files into MatLab

Applies to: Import of 2D TIFF image files into
MATLAB (www.mathworks.com).
By default, DataRay renders WinCamD files as false
color images. [There is also a monochrome option
under Palettes.] For the purposes of this example we
use sample.wcf, the Gaussian output from a single-
mode fiber found in c:\Program files\DataRay.
To import the background subtracted image data into
MATLAB, go Stop, File, Save, then in the WinCamD
File Save Dialog select Save current data as 8-bit
TIFF, or Save current data as 16 bit TIFF.
[The 16-bit matrix has a greater value range than the
8-bit matrix and is more appropriate in most
applications.]
The Matlab command for importing the .tiff files is:
A=imread('sample.tiff','tiff');
This command will import both the 8-bit and 16-bit files correctly into the matrix A.
App.
However, remember that some built-in MATLAB functions, which you may want to use
for your analysis, only work with double-precision floating-point values. However, the
D
*.tiff files are imported as unsigned 8- or 16-bit integer values, as they should be. To
fix this, simply run:
A=double(A);
[This command is not required, but will fix a problem that you might quickly encounter.]
A simple plot of the matrix using the code below is illustrated below for the imported 16-
bit sample.tiff: figure;
imagesc(A,[min(A(:)) max(A(:))]);
colormap(gray);
colorbar;
axis equal;

DataRay software false color image 16-bit TIFF displayed in MatLab

WinCamD Series 95
Appendices

APPENDIX E: Spatial Response Variation Compensation.

Applies to: TaperCamD, TaperCamD20/15, and -U series cameras.
You may use this approach to compensate for any spatial non-uniformity in the response
of the array.

1) Go File, Load defaults. This sets Fast mode

and a 1024 x 1024 Capture Block in the
position shown. [If you will be working in Full
resolution mode, select that option.]

2) In the Setup pull-down menu choose Capture

setup dialog [ALT S]. Set the Pixel multiply
factors if it should not be 1.0. E.g. = 2.25 for
the TaperCamD. See page 1-14 for values.
Click OK.

3) Right-click on the 2D image and choose Force

crosshairs to zero degrees & Crosshairs
user placed. Place the crosshairs in the
approximate center of the image (not critical).

4) Remove the ND filter and attach a tube at

least 100 mm long to the front of the camera.

5) Point the camera plus tube at an

approximately Lambertian source. E.g. a
ceiling or a wall with a non–glossy finish. Press
the Go button. The illumination level must be
such enough that the Exposure time lies
between 1.000 ms and 50.00 ms.
In the Average pull-down menu set Average
20. You may see an image something like that
shown right. There may some ‘shading’, plus
individual bad pixels or (TaperCams) small
groups of bad pixels, corresponding to the
(inevitable) broken and cracked fibers in the fiber optic taper. After Background
subtraction, you will save this as the compensation file.

96 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

6) Press the background subtraction

button.
The prompt shown will appear.
Block the open end of the tube (e,g, screw on the
ND4.0 filter if you have a C-mount tube), and press
OK. Unblock the tube, press the Go button, and let
the Average grow to 20. Press the Stop button and
Save this file as DXXXX_Default_Comp.wcf, where DXXXX is the SN: on the
label on the back of the camera. As a default it will save in the DataRay directory,
by default c:\Program Files\DataRay. It is good practice to back it up elsewhere.
Press the button to the right of the background subtraction button in order to turn it
off.

7) In the Setup pull-down menu choose Capture setup dialog [ALT S]. Click the
Enable box and Browse to the file that you just saved. Click OK.

App.
E

8) Press the Go button. The

screen should appear flat if
you are viewing the same
scene that was used to take
the compensation file.

9) If you view a different scene,

the image will be
compensated for array
variations as long as you
look at the same part of the
array with the same
resolution. Currently, if your
change the Capture block
you will need a correction file
for that specific Capture
Block. This is complex, but
may be addressed in a future
release.

WinCamD Series 97
Appendices

10) On an actual beam variations between 20% and 500% of the mean will be
compensated.

Uncompensated

Compensated

98 WinCamD Series
 Appendices

APPENDIX F: Windows Vista Installation and Use Issues.

Applies to: All DataRay products.
If you are using Windows Vista, you will already have noticed that in the name of
enhanced security, Vista includes a number of UAC Permission related pop-ups, even if
you are Administrator. To quote Paul Thurrot at the URL below, “Vista downgrades
Administrators to regular Users by default, in a misguided attempt to enhance security”
[http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000571.html]
What this means for Installing and Using DataRay software, is that everything is as
described for XP, except that:

1) After installing the software, right-click the DataRay icon, select Run as
… and select your User Name if you are an Administrator on this PC*.
Uncheck the Protect my computer from unauthorized program activity box.
Click OK.
* [Not sure what your User Profile covers? Go Start, Control Panel, User Accounts,
click on your account name, click on Change my account type, and verify that App.
Computer Administrator is checked. If Limited is checked, see your IT Dept.]
F
2) The box shown
right will appear.
Click Allow. This
allows the DataRay
software to register
its OCX and install
the driver.
3) In Device,
select WinCamD &
then close the
software.
4) The rest is the
same as the
instructions for XP.
If you get fed up with all these Vista Permission issues, at your own risk, and with the
explicit permission of your IT department, you can remove the warnings. See e.g.
http://lifehacker.com/software/vista/windows-vista-tip--disable-annoying-need-your-
permission-to-continue-prompts-230866.php

[For the Microsoft official line on these UAC security issues, see your Windows Vista
manual, and/or
User Account Control Overview
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa906021.aspx
and/or
Windows Vista Help and How to
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/f941cb45-b2cd-4b39-ab87-
cb9ea959f44e1033.mspx ]

WinCamD Series 99
Appendices

APPENDIX G: Multi-Beam User Guide

1) Set up the Beams. Learn to use

the WinCam camera in normal mode,
including the use of Capture Block &
Inclusion Region as described in the
manual. [For the highest update rate,
set a Custom Capture Block slightly
larger than the area within which the
beams are expected to appear.]
2) Right-click on the 2D screen & select
Use Multi-beam display.
 Set the cross hairs to Xc.
 Setup the Inclusion Region on the
first beam. See page 3-9. Do not
use the automatic settings.
 Press and hold the Ctrl key & click and drag the crosshairs to the new beam and set
up an Inclusion Region on that beam. Do this on up to four beams on the screen.

 Optionally, right-click on the 2D area & Force

Crosshairs to zero degrees.
 Optionally, when the region is on the beam or
beam position that you wish to set as the relative
zero, press z on the keyboard to set the Xc values to zero.
 Optionally, choose to focus on one of the multiple beams. E.g. select Use third
beam on multi-beam display.
Questions? As we go to press, this feature is still being finalized. Contact
support@dataray.com.

100 WinCamD Series

 Appendices

APPENDIX H: Grids and Targets

Ver. 7.0T7 & higher.
This feature allows you to
set a square grid on the
screen and or/to set up
concentric beam
bullseyes and target
position bullseyes in
order to visually assist in
moving a beam towards a
target position on the
sensor.

Remember that if
working some distance
from the screen, you can
always press the L button
in the toolbar in order to
increase the size of the 2D image.

1) Set your beam on the camera. Right-click on the 2D area and select Setup Grid and
Targets to open the Grid and Bullseye Setup screen shown above.

2) Click on Set to Defaults and click OK. The 2D screen settings shown below will
appear. In this example due to the (common) 1280 x 800 screen resolution of the
laptop, some grid lines are not appearing. Go back into the Setup screen and set the
grid line size to 2 pixels.

3) Additionally, the cross hairs are confusing the image. Right-click on the 2D area and
select Don’t show Crosshairs. This gets you the image below right.

WinCamD Series 101

Appendices

4) The Target position bulls-eye (aim point) is by default rose-red, 1.1 mm diameter
and 2 pixels wide, centered on the zero of the grid, whether or not the grid is visible.
In the setup screen you can change target bullseye color, diameter and line width in
pixels, and disable/enable it.

By default the reference grid of blue lines has a 1 mm pitch and a 1 pixel line width.
In the setup screen you can change both color and pitch and width in pixels, and
disable/enable it.

By default, the grid is centered on the 0,0 center of the sensor. To change the zero
point of the grid, select Xu in the toolbar, click and drag the light green target to the
position that you choose, and then click  Load Current Xc/Yc in the Setup
screen. Then click Xc to reposition the green target on the beam.

5) The beam centroid bulls-eye is by default light green color, 0.9 mm diameter and 1
pixel wide, centered on whatever is the current centroid position. In the setup screen
you can change centroid bullseye color, diameter and line width in pixels, and
disable/enable it.

6) The Target Match Indicator has a default setting of ±10.0 μm. In the setup screen
you can change the Pass/Fail criterion in μm, and disable/enable it. The text tells
you: Offset Radius = xxx.x um, limit = xxx.x um.

When the match is within the criterion the text is green. When outside the criterion,
the text is red.

Questions? Contact support@dataray.com.

102 WinCamD Series

 Index

Index

A Mode, 64
Absolute position, 31 Chip height, CCD, 11
Accuracy, 90 Cleaning CCD, ND filter, 69
ADC, 8 Clear, 56
Angular Divergence, 37 Clipboard, 2D, 3D, Profile,
Attenuation, 79, 80 Screen dump to, 59
Auto-inclusion region, 33 Clip Level, 36
Auto Trigger, 74 Clock source, 53
Averaging, 50 Colors, 40, 50
Profiles, 50 Comet tails, CTE, 65, 68
Results, 50 Computer Minimum Requirements, 21
Reset button, 50 Compensation Files, 96
Configuration, system, 8
B Crosshair, 30, 56
Background subtraction, 57 CTE, 65, 68
Baseline lock, unlock, 57
BNC, 20, 71 D
Beam d63, 55
Acquisition/Measurement area, 17 Damage Threshold, 17
Angular Divergence, 37 Data
Attenuation, 79 Buffer, 57 Index
Fit algorithms, 42 Examine Previously Saved, 29
Power Limits, 12, 13, 17 Log, 58
Sampling, 82, 83 Save to File, Select, 58, 56
Select from stored data, 37 Defaults, Load, 49
Wander, 62 Deviation, Max. & Std., 43
Width Definition, 36 Device Selection, 28, 49
Binary, save as, 48 Diameter Display mode, 36
Button Bar, 56 Diffractive Beam Sampler, 83
Diffusing Surface, 84
C Dimensions, 9, 11
C++, 24 Display Modes, 36
Calibration, 9 Distance, 46
Camera select, 52 Distributors, 93
Cam-IR adaptor, 20, 54 Divergence, angular, 37
Caption Bar, 30
Capture E
block, 54 EAM-2, 83
pulsed lasers, 71 Ellipticity, 29
resolution, 54 Electronic shutter, 67, 71, 75
CCD Enabled d63, 55
Chip height, 11 Exposure control, 65
Cleaning, 69 for pulsed lasers, 74
Center profile, 46 Eye Safety, 67
Centroid
Averaging, reset on drift, 50
Beam, 31
Clip level, 55

WinCamD 103
Index

F Definition, 79
Fast mode, 54 Peak, 79
File Saturation, 12, 13
Auto-name, 65 ISO 11146, 35, 88
Open, Save, 48, 46
Filter, profile smoothing, 52 J
Firmware, upgrade, 25 *.jpg files, 50
Flip image, 53 K
Fluence, 62
Frame Rate, 9 L
Full mode, 54 LabVIEW, 24
Functional Description, 10 Large beam measurement, 56
Line Type, 41
G Linear, 41
G, Go, 56 Live versus saved, 57
Gain CCD, CMOS, 65 Log data, 58
Gamma correction, 64 Logarithmic, 41
Gaussian
Angular Divergence, 37 M
Beam Definition, 87 Magnification, see Pixel multiply Factor
Fit, 43 Main Screen, 28
*.gif files, 49 Major axis, 31
Global Selection, 41 MatLab, 95
Grids, 35, 42, 101 Manual Conventions, 18
Maximum Power Graph, 12, 13, 17
H Mean axis, 31
Hardware Measuring distance, 47
Mounting, 11, 23 Menus, Pull-down, 47
Pull-down Menu, 47 Minimum computer requirements, 21
Quick-Start Tutorial, 67 Minor axis, 31
HBS, 83 Mirrors, use of long focal length, 85
Help, Tech Support, 93 Mode, Normal, Fast, 54
Holographic Beam Sampler, 83 Mounting the head, 11
HyperCal™, 34, 58, 64 Multi-beam display, 35, 100

I N
IEC 60825, 55 Neutral Density
Image Definition, 80
Artifacts, 69 Filters, 80
Average, Filter, 51 Filter cleaning, 69
Inclusion Region, 34, 73 Filter transmission, 15
Ink Saver, 57 Normal mode, 54
Installation, 19 Normalize Profile, 41
Driver, 22
Software, 21 O
Intensity multiplier, 42 Offset, adjust, 54
Invalid data, 40 *.ojf files, 29, 50
IR camera settings, 54 Open, 49
Irradiance, Orientation, 31
Beam, 87 Outline & Mounting, 11
Damage, 17

104 WinCamD
 Index

P Q
Palette, 59 Quick-Start Tutorials, 28
Pan, Image, Profile, 47 Hardware, 67
Pass/Fail Criteria Software, 28
Colors, 40
Setup, 39 R
Password, 39 Registration, 19, 55
PC minimum requirements, 21 Representatives, 93
Peak Resolution, 90
Irradiance, 79 Results averaging, 50
% of ADC, Image, 32 Returns, 93
% of ADC, Profile, 32 Rotate Image 180 degrees, 53
Percentage Fit, Gaussian, 42
PMF, Pixel multiply factor, 54 S
Power S, Stop, 56
Bar, 64 Safety, 67
Limits, 12, 13, 17 Sample Data, 29
Maximum, 13, 14, 21 Saturation, Power Limits, 12, 13, 17
Relative, 64 Save As, 48
Precautions, 67 Scale Profile, 31
Precision, 90 Screen Dump to Clipboard, 35
Print, 49 Second Moment Beam Width, 36, 88
Print Setup, 49 Setup, 53
Product Registration, 19, 55 Short Cut Keys, 66 Index
Profile Single shot, 56
Averaging, 60 SNR, 9
Center, 47 Software
Clipboard, to, 49 Interfacing, 24
Colors, 50 Installation, 21
Filter, 51 Quick-Start Tutorial, 27
Gain, 32 Upgrades, 21, 55
Gaussian fit, 42 Specifications, 10
Grids, 42 Starting Up
Linear, 41 Hardware, 69
Measure distance, 47 Software, 28
Logarithmic, 41 Support, 55, 93
Normalized, linear, 41 Synchronous Trigger Definition, 19
Pan, 37
Scaling, 32, 45 T
Smoothing, 51 Targets, 35, 101
Widths, 32 TaperCamD
Zoom, 29 Artifacts, 71
Pull-down Menu Bar, 30 Compensation Files, 96
Pull-down Menus, 47 Outline & mounting, 11 + 16
Pulse/Pulsed/Pulses Pixel multiply factor, 30, 53
Lasers, capturing, 71 Technical Support, 93
Repetition Rate, Definition, 71 Threshold, Damage, 17
Saturation limits, 13, 17 *.tiff files, 48, 95
Toolbar, Button bar, 30, 56
Top-hat fit, 44

WinCamD 105
Index

Trigger, 66, 71
Auto, 74
External, 76
Input, 76
Output, 76

U
U profiles, 32
UV converter, 20
UV lasers, working with, 83

V
V-profiles, 32
Variance (Second Moment), 36, 88
Vista, 99
Visual Basic, 24
Visual C++, 24

W
Wander, beam, 53
Wedge Prisms, 83
Windows Vista, 99
Wireframe, 35

X, Y

Z
Zero Centroid, 32
Zero level, 32
Zoom
Image, 29
Profile, 29

Numeric
2D Image, 28, 33
3D View, 34
4 ‘Second Moment’ Beam Diameter,
36, 88

106 WinCamD