The one-day laser maintenance course introduces participants to the most essential skills for operating laser equipment:
- measurement of laser output parameters,
- cleaning of laser optical components,
- laser beam alignment.
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss practical solutions from their operations.
At course completion students will:
- Know the essential parts of a laser.
- Know the meaning of standard laser operating parameters.
- Know how to measure the basic parameters of a laser beam.
- Know how to measure the diameter and collimation of a laser beam.
- Know how to measure the power, pulse energy and spectrum of laser radiation.
- Know optical materials and appropriate cleaning methods.
- Know which optical components can be cleaned and which cannot.
- Know how to inspect cleaned surfaces.
- Understand the issues involved in cleaning optical gratings and fibres.
- Understand laser beam alignment.
- Work safely with the laser beam.
- Know how to align a visible laser beam to a reference point.
- Know how to align an infrared (invisible) laser beam to a reference point.
- Know how to collimate a visible laser beam.
- Know how to collimate an invisible laser beam.
- Understand the function of an optical telescope in a laser system.
- Build/set up an optical telescope.
- Know how to work with various imaging aids.
Prerequisites
Manual skills
COURSE OUTLINE
Part 1 | Measurement of laser output parameters
- Basic parts of the laser system.
- Meaning of the basic commonly used laser beam parameters ( beam spot size, collimation, power, pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, wavelength, Beam Parameter Product (BPP), M2, Strehl ratio, near and far field, pointing error).
- Measurement of laser beam diameter and collimation.
- Measurement of power, pulse energy and spectrum of laser radiation.
Part 2 | Cleaning of laser optical components
- Optical laser components.
- Overview of optical materials.
- Suitable cleaning methods for optical components.
- Methods for checking surface cleaning.
- Why clean in a “cleanroom”.
- Issues in cleaning optical gratings and fibres.
Part 3 | Laser beam alignment
- Basic rules for working safely with the laser beam.
- Optomechanical elements of laser systems.
- Practical adjustment of the visible laser beam to a reference point.
- Practical collimation of the visible laser beam
- Building an optical telescope in a visible laser beam
- Explanation of the function of an optical telescope in a laser system
- Practical alignment of an invisible laser beam to a reference point
- Practical collimation of an invisible laser beam
- Building an optical telescope in an invisible laser beam
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