Key factors in accurate beam characterization application

The accuracy of CCD based laser beam characterization has been widely discussed for years in the industry. As we know the obtained accuracy of laser beam characterization depends strongly on many factors of the CCD measurement system and on the properties of the laser beam's power density distribution to be measured. In this paper we discussed the influence of these factors through simulated calculation and investigation, A mathematically generated Gaussian and Super Gaussian beam was computer generated, background and random noise with a Gaussian distribution were added to the mathematically generated beam. Measurements were then made based on second moment method which is a ISO definition. We change the background, noise level and the size of integration area during the simulated calculation so as to determine the influence on the accuracy of beam width measurement of these different factors, the research result shows that image background subtraction and noise control play very important role in the accurate measurement system and application. According to the investigation we designed a measurement system and application which has high dynamic range, an appropriate processing and calculation algorithm which can control the background and random noise effectively so that get high beam measurement accuracy.