8.

MEASUREMENT OF LASER BEAM PARAMETERS

AIM
To determine power distribution with in the beam, spot size of the beam and
divergence of the beam for a laser.

APPARATUS REQUIRED
A gas laser, a knife edge mounted on a micropositioner, a photo-detector, a lens
and a bench.

THEORY
Laser beam parameters can be determined using knife edge by measurement of
power past the knife edge which is slowly inserted in the beam. In order to
understand the principle of this method, let us assume that the laser is
oscillating in TEM00 mode so that the spatial distribution of the beam is
gaussian. Let P0 be the total power in the beam of spot size 2w0. The irradiance
distribution I(x,y) as a function of the cartesian coordinates (x,y) measured from
the beam center perpendicular to the direction of propagation is given by

I(x,y) = ((2P0)/πw02)exp(-(2(x2 + y2)/w02)) (1)

The power P transmitted past a knife-edge blocking o_ all points for which x
less than a is therefore given by

P = (P0/2)erfc((a × 1.414)/w0) (2)

where is the depth of the knife-edge in the beam and erfc(x) is the
complimentary error function.

Spot size of the beam

Consider the irradiance distribution represented by Eq(1) : w0 is the radius at
which irradiance falls to e-2 times the central value. 2w0 is, therefore taken as
the spot size. A gaussian beam remains gaussian as it propagates in vacuum or
in homogeneous medium. The output of a laser oscillating in TEM00 mode is
gaussian, and spot size 2w0 refers to the planar wavefront. At any other plane
the wavefront will be either converging or diverging and will have a spot size
larger than 2w0. It is meaningful to measure the spot size for a gaussian beam
only. The above equation can be cast into well-known normalized gaussian
distribution by setting w0=2w’ as

I(x,y)/P0 = (1/2π(w’)2)exp(-(2(x2 + y2)/w02))

where ω’ is the standard deviation.

Similarly the Eq(2) can be written as

P/P0 = (erfc(a/1.414 w’))/2 (3)

Now from the graph it is easy to show that the points for 25% and 75% relative
power are located at distances equal to the probable error (ep = 0.6745w0) on
either side of the maximum of the gaussian distribution. Therefore w’ can be
determined from the experimentally obtained relative power vs knife edge
position curve. The beam spot size (2w0 = 4w’) is then easily calculated.

Divergence of Laser Beam

The gaussian beam has least divergence and maximum power contained in the
prescribed area of the beam. The divergence of the beam is given by

θ0 = (w0 - w1)/D (4)

where w0 is the spot size at near distance, w1 is the spot size at far distance and
D is the distance between the near and far positions.

PROCEDURE
Align the He-Ne laser horizontally on the optical bench. Now keep the
polarizer in front of the laser and adjust the laser output in minimum
position(less than 150 mV). Now keep the knife edge and it is followed by a
convex lens of small focal length (nearly 5cm) and a photodiode at a near
distance to laser. All components should be aligned in the same line. The
photo-detector should not be kept exactly at the focus of the convex lens. Now
insert the knife edge slowly and note down the multimeter reading. After
inserting the knife edge completely, we can start removing the knife edge and
note down the multimeter reading. Now shift the whole setup to a far distance
from laser source and repeat the whole experiment.
OBSERVATIONS

For inserting(near)
Photo detector reading(mV)
MSR(mm) VSD(div) Knife edge(mm)
Max Min Avg ±Error
-0.50 45 -0.05 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
-0.50 40 -0.1 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
-0.50 35 -0.15 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
-0.50 30 -0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
-0.50 29 -0.21 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
-0.50 28 -0.22 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
-0.50 27 -0.23 0.2 0 0.1 0.1
-0.50 26 -0.24 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.05
-0.50 25 -0.25 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.05
-0.50 24 -0.26 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.05
-0.50 22 -0.28 0.5 0.5 0.5 0
-0.50 20 -0.3 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.05
-0.50 18 -0.32 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.15
-0.50 16 -0.34 1.4 1.3 1.4 0.05
-0.50 15 -0.35 1.7 1.5 1.6 0.1
-0.50 14 -0.36 2.8 2.7 2.8 0.05
-0.50 13 -0.37 3.3 3.2 3.3 0.05
-0.50 12 -0.38 5.6 5.5 5.6 0.05
-0.50 11 -0.39 6.7 6.5 6.6 0.1
-0.50 10 -0.4 10.4 10.2 10.3 0.1
-0.50 9 -0.41 14.4 14.2 14.3 0.1
-0.50 8 -0.42 20.6 20 20.3 0.3
-0.50 7 -0.43 23.4 23.2 23.3 0.1
-0.50 6 -0.44 24.3 24.1 24.2 0.1
-0.50 5 -0.45 25.7 25.5 25.6 0.1
-0.50 4 -0.46 26.6 26.4 26.5 0.1
-0.50 3 -0.47 30.8 30.7 30.8 0.05
-0.50 2 -0.48 53.1 52.9 53.0 0.1
-0.50 1 -0.49 54.1 53.9 54.0 0.1
-0.50 0 -0.5 54.6 54.4 54.5 0.1
-1.00 49 -0.51 54.7 54.5 54.6 0.1
-1.00 48 -0.52 55.2 55 55.1 0.1
-1.00 47 -0.53 55.7 55.5 55.6 0.1
-1.00 46 -0.54 55.8 55.6 55.7 0.1
-1.00 45 -0.55 56.5 56.3 56.4 0.1
-1.00 44 -0.56 57.5 57.3 57.4 0.1
-1.00 43 -0.57 58.4 58.2 58.3 0.1
 -1.00 42 -0.58 59.2 59 59.1 0.1
-1.00 41 -0.59 60 59.8 59.9 0.1
-1.00 40 -0.6 63 62.8 62.9 0.1
-1.00 39 -0.61 65.6 65.4 65.5 0.1
-1.00 38 -0.62 67.9 67.7 67.8 0.1
-1.00 37 -0.63 69.1 68.9 69.0 0.1
-1.00 36 -0.64 71.3 71.1 71.2 0.1
-1.00 35 -0.65 71.8 71.6 71.7 0.1
-1.00 34 -0.66 71.9 71.7 71.8 0.1
-1.00 33 -0.67 72.1 71.9 72.0 0.1
-1.00 32 -0.68 72.5 72.3 72.4 0.1
-1.00 31 -0.69 72.6 72.4 72.5 0.1
-1.00 30 -0.7 72.7 72.5 72.6 0.1
-1.00 29 -0.71 72.8 72.6 72.7 0.1
-1.00 28 -0.72 72.9 72.7 72.8 0.1
-1.00 27 -0.73 73 72.8 72.9 0.1
-1.00 26 -0.74 74.3 74.1 74.2 0.1
-1.00 22 -0.78 74.6 74.5 74.6 0.05
-1.00 21 -0.79 74.7 74.5 74.6 0.1
-1.00 20 -0.8 74.7 74.5 74.6 0.1
-1.00 19 -0.81 74.7 74.5 74.6 0.1

For Withdrawing (near)

Photo detector reading(mV)
MSR(mm) VSD(div) Knife edge(mm)
Max Min Avg ±Error
-1.5 18 -1.32 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
-1.5 19 -1.31 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
-1.5 20 -1.3 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
-1.5 22 -1.28 0.2 0 0.1 0.1
-1.5 24 -1.26 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
-1.5 30 -1.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
-1.5 35 -1.15 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
-1.5 40 -1.1 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1
-1.5 45 -1.05 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1
-1 0 -1 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.1
-1 1 -0.99 1.5 1.3 1.4 0.1
-1 3 -0.97 1.8 1.6 1.7 0.1
-1 4 -0.96 3.2 3.1 3.2 0.05
-1 5 -0.95 3.3 3.2 3.3 0.05
-1 6 -0.94 4.6 4.5 4.6 0.05
-1 7 -0.93 9.2 9 9.1 0.1
-1 8 -0.92 11.4 11.2 11.3 0.1
-1 9 -0.91 18.7 18.5 18.6 0.1
-1 10 -0.9 28.6 28.4 28.5 0.1
 -1 11 -0.89 39.3 39.1 39.2 0.1
-1 12 -0.88 48.6 48.4 48.5 0.1
-1 13 -0.87 53.4 53.2 53.3 0.1
-1 14 -0.86 56 55.8 55.9 0.1
-1 15 -0.85 56.5 56.3 56.4 0.1
-1 16 -0.84 57.1 56.9 57.0 0.1
-1 17 -0.83 57.3 57.1 57.2 0.1
-1 18 -0.82 57.5 57.3 57.4 0.1
-1 19 -0.81 58.5 58.3 58.4 0.1
-1 20 -0.8 59.3 59.2 59.3 0.05
-1 21 -0.79 59.6 59.4 59.5 0.1
-1 22 -0.78 60.5 60.4 60.5 0.05
-1 23 -0.77 61.9 61.7 61.8 0.1
-1 24 -0.76 63.8 63.6 63.7 0.1
-1 25 -0.75 65.4 65.2 65.3 0.1
-1 26 -0.74 69 68.8 68.9 0.1
-1 27 -0.73 70.4 70.3 70.4 0.05
-1 28 -0.72 71.3 71.2 71.3 0.05
-1 29 -0.71 71.6 71.4 71.5 0.1
-1 30 -0.7 72.5 72.4 72.5 0.05
-1 31 -0.69 72.5 72.3 72.4 0.1
-1 32 -0.68 72.6 72.4 72.5 0.1
-1 33 -0.67 72.7 72.5 72.6 0.1
-1 34 -0.66 72.8 72.6 72.7 0.1
-1 35 -0.65 73 72.8 72.9 0.1
-1 36 -0.64 73.1 73 73.1 0.05
-1 37 -0.63 73.1 73 73.1 0.05
-1 38 -0.62 73.2 73 73.1 0.1
-1 39 -0.61 73.3 73.1 73.2 0.1
-1 40 -0.6 73.8 73.6 73.7 0.1
-1 45 -0.55 74.5 74.3 74.4 0.1
-0.5 0 -0.5 74.7 74.5 74.6 0.1
For Inserting(far)
Photo detector reading(mV)
MSR(mm) VSD(div) Knife edge(mm)
Max Min Avg ±Error
0 0 0 26.4 26.2 26.3 0.1
0 5 0.05 26.1 25.9 26.0 0.1
0 20 0.2 26.1 25.9 26.0 0.1
0 25 0.25 25.6 25.4 25.5 0.1
0 30 0.3 25.1 24.9 25.0 0.1
0 32 0.32 23.3 23.1 23.2 0.1
0 34 0.34 21.9 21.8 21.9 0.05
0 36 0.36 21 19.9 20.5 0.55
0 37 0.37 19.5 19.3 19.4 0.1
0 39 0.39 19.3 19.1 19.2 0.1
0 40 0.4 17.8 17.7 17.8 0.05
0 41 0.41 17.8 17.6 17.7 0.1
0 43 0.43 17.7 17.5 17.6 0.1
0 44 0.44 17.6 17.5 17.6 0.05
0 45 0.45 17.5 17.3 17.4 0.1
0 46 0.46 17.2 17 17.1 0.1
0 47 0.47 16.8 16.7 16.8 0.05
0 48 0.48 16.5 16.3 16.4 0.1
0 49 0.49 16.1 16 16.1 0.05
0.5 0 0.5 15.6 15.4 15.5 0.1
0.5 1 0.51 15.2 15 15.1 0.1
0.5 2 0.52 14.6 14.4 14.5 0.1
0.5 3 0.53 13.7 13.5 13.6 0.1
0.5 4 0.54 13.1 13 13.1 0.05
0.5 5 0.55 12.1 12 12.1 0.05
0.5 6 0.56 11.4 11.2 11.3 0.1
0.5 7 0.57 10.1 10 10.1 0.05
0.5 8 0.58 9.3 9.2 9.3 0.05
0.5 9 0.59 8.5 8.4 8.5 0.05
0.5 10 0.6 7.9 7.7 7.8 0.1
0.5 11 0.61 7.1 7 7.1 0.05
0.5 12 0.62 6.3 6.2 6.3 0.05
0.5 13 0.63 5.8 5.6 5.7 0.1
0.5 14 0.64 5.1 4.9 5.0 0.1
0.5 15 0.65 4.6 4.4 4.5 0.1
0.5 16 0.66 3.7 3.5 3.6 0.1
0.5 17 0.67 3.6 3.5 3.6 0.05
0.5 18 0.68 3.4 3.2 3.3 0.1
0.5 19 0.69 3.3 3.1 3.2 0.1
0.5 20 0.7 3.1 2.9 3.0 0.1
0.5 21 0.71 2.6 2.4 2.5 0.1
0.5 22 0.72 1.8 1.7 1.8 0.05
 0.5 23 0.73 1.8 1.6 1.7 0.1
0.5 24 0.74 1.6 1.4 1.5 0.1
0.5 25 0.75 1.5 1.3 1.4 0.1
0.5 26 0.76 1.2 1 1.1 0.1
0.5 27 0.77 1 0.9 1.0 0.05
0.5 45 0.95 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.05
1 0 1 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.1
1 10 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.1
1 15 1.15 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.1
1 20 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.1
1 25 1.25 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.05
1 30 1.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.05
1 35 1.35 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
1 40 1.4 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
1 45 1.45 0.1 0 0.1 0.05

For (far)Withdrawing
Photo detector reading(mV)
MSR(mm) VSD(div) Knife edge(mm)
Max Min Avg ±Error
1 30 1.3 15.5 15.4 15.5 0.05
1 25 1.25 15.3 15.1 15.2 0.1
1 20 1.2 15.2 15.1 15.2 0.05
1 15 1.15 15.1 15 15.1 0.05
1 10 1.1 14.6 14.5 14.6 0.05
1 5 1.05 14.3 14.2 14.3 0.05
1 0 1 14.2 14.1 14.2 0.05
0.5 45 0.95 14.1 14 14.1 0.05
0.5 40 0.9 14.1 14 14.1 0.05
0.5 35 0.85 13.4 13.2 13.3 0.1
0.5 30 0.8 12.5 12.3 12.4 0.1
0.5 29 0.79 12.2 12 12.1 0.1
0.5 28 0.78 11.3 11.1 11.2 0.1
0.5 27 0.77 11.3 11.1 11.2 0.1
0.5 26 0.76 11.3 11.1 11.2 0.1
0.5 25 0.75 11 10.9 11.0 0.05
0.5 24 0.74 10.2 10 10.1 0.1
0.5 23 0.73 10 9.8 9.9 0.1
0.5 22 0.72 9.9 9.7 9.8 0.1
0.5 21 0.71 8.2 8 8.1 0.1
0.5 20 0.7 7.6 7.4 7.5 0.1
0.5 19 0.69 7 6.9 7.0 0.05
0.5 18 0.68 6.6 6.4 6.5 0.1
0.5 17 0.67 5.8 5.6 5.7 0.1
0.5 16 0.66 5 4.9 5.0 0.05
0.5 15 0.65 4.3 4.1 4.2 0.1
0.5 14 0.64 3.6 3.4 3.5 0.1
0.5 13 0.63 3.2 3 3.1 0.1
0.5 12 0.62 2.8 2.6 2.7 0.1
0.5 11 0.61 2.4 2.2 2.3 0.1
0.5 10 0.6 2.1 2 2.1 0.05
0.5 9 0.59 1.9 1.8 1.9 0.05
0.5 8 0.58 1.7 1.5 1.6 0.1
0.5 7 0.57 1.5 1.3 1.4 0.1
0.5 6 0.56 1.3 1.1 1.2 0.1
0.5 5 0.55 1.2 1 1.1 0.1
0.5 4 0.54 1.1 1 1.1 0.05
0.5 3 0.53 1 0.8 0.9 0.1
0.5 2 0.52 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.05
0.5 1 0.51 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.1
0.5 0 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.1
0 49 0.49 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.05
0 48 0.48 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.05
0 47 0.47 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.1
0 46 0.46 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.1
0 45 0.45 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.1
0 44 0.44 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.05
0 43 0.43 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1
0 42 0.42 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1
0 41 0.41 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.05
0 40 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1
0 39 0.39 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1
0 38 0.38 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1
0 37 0.37 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
0 36 0.36 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
0 35 0.35 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
0 34 0.34 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.05
0 33 0.33 0.1 0.1 0.1 0
0 32 0.32 0.1 0.1 0.1 0
0 31 0.31 0.1 0.1 0.1 0
0 30 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0
0 29 0.29 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
0 28 0.28 0.1 0 0.1 0.05
0 19 0.19 0 0 0.0 0
 Plot:

30

80
25
70

Photodetector reading (mV)

Photodetector reading (mV)

60 20

50
15
40

30 10

20
5
10

0 0

-10 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
-0.9 -0.8 -0.7 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0
Knife edge position (mm)
Knife edge position (mm)

Figure 1: Inserting(near) Figure 3: Inserting(far)

80 16

70 14
Photodetector rreading (mV)
Photodetector reading (mV)

60 12

50 10

40 8

30 6

20 4

10 2

0
0

-2
-10
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
-1.4 -1.2 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4
Knife edge position (mm)
Knife edge position (mm)

Figure 2: Removing(near) Figure 4: Removing(far)

Fitted curves
𝑉0− 𝑉𝑝
𝑉 = 𝑉𝑝 + ( (𝑥−𝑥0 ) )
1+ 𝑒 𝑡

30
80

70 25
Photodetector reading (mV)

Photodetector reading (mV)

60
20
50 Graph 3
40 Graph 1 15

30
10
20

5
10

0
0

-10
-0.9 -0.8 -0.7 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Knife edge position (mm) Knife edge position (mm)

Graph 3 Value Standard Error Graph 1 Value Standard Error

V0 74.6 -- V0 24.70177 0.58219
Vp 0.05 -- Vp -0.01503 0.23724
x0 -0.47296 -- x0 0.53222 0.00592
t 0.038 -- t 0.08837 0.00461

80 16

70 14
Photodetector rreading (mV)
Photodetector reading (mV)

60 12

50 10

40 8
Graph 2 Graph 4
30 6

20 4

10 2

0 0

-10 -2
-1.4 -1.2 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Knife edge position (mm) Knife edge position (mm)

Graph 4 Value Standard Error Graph 2 Value Standard Error

V0 -0.80708 0.99919 V0 0 --
Vp 69.88534 0.89597 Vp 15.45 --
x0 -0.88592 0.0035 x0 0.70375 --
t 0.02885 0.00259 t 0.0555 --
Calculations:

Difference between near and far distances = 104.8 cm

Spot size of the beam
Peak voltage 75% Vp 25% Vp
Graph ep (mm) w’ (mm) 2w0 (mm) w0 (mm)
Vp (mV) (mV) (mV)
1 74.6 56.0 18.7 0.08 0.13 0.50 0.25
2 69.9 52.4 17.5 0.06 0.09 0.34 0.17
3 24.7 18.5 6.2 0.19 0.28 1.13 0.56
4 15.4 11.6 3.9 0.12 0.18 0.73 0.37

Divergence of Laser Beam

Value of w0 from graph 1 & 2 = (0.21 ± 0.04) mm.

Value of w0 from graph 3 & 4 = (0.47 ± 0.10) mm.
Beam divergence = 00 0’ 50” (in millradians??)

RESULT
The graphs for each tabular column are plotted and the spot width and
beam divergence for the given He-Ne laser was calculated and values were
tabulated.