THORLABS PM200 User manual

Optical Power and Energy Meter
PM200
Operation Manual
2012

Version:
Date:
1.0.1
08.02.2012
Copyright © 2012 Thorlabs

Foreword
Contents
3
1 General Information 4
41.1 Safety
51.2 Ordering Codes and Accessories
71.3 Requirements
71.3.1 Hardware Requirements
71.3.2 Software Requirements
71.3.3 Interface Requirements
2 Installation 8
82.1 Parts List
92.2 Operating Elements
102.3 Getting Started
3 Operating Instruction 11
123.1 Attenuation Correction
123.2 Wavelength Correction
143.3 Bandwidth
143.4 Range Control
153.5 Measurement Views
153.5.1 Numeric View
163.5.1.1 Subpanels
193.5.2 Needle View
193.5.3 Graph and Statistics Display
213.5.4 Calculator
223.5.5 File Manager
233.6 Zoom
233.7 Delta
233.8 Zeroing
243.9 Min/Max Marker Reset
243.10 Additional Measurement Settings
253.11Settings
263.12 Analog Output
263.13 Auxiliary Input and Output
263.14 Charging the Battery
273.15 Sensor Dependent Functions
273.15.1 Photodiode Sensors
293.15.2 Thermal Sensors
313.15.3 Pyroelectric Sensors
343.16 Application Note

4 Computer Interface 39
394.1 PM200 Utility Software
434.2 PM200 Software Update
444.3 Using the Instrument Drivers
444.4 PM200 SCPI Commands
444.4.1 An Introduction to the SCPI language
494.4.2 IEEE488.2 Common Commands
494.4.2.1 Command Summary
504.4.2.2 Command Reference
514.4.2.3 PM200 specific SCPI Command Reference
584.4.3 Simple LabVIEW Example using SCPI commands
5 Maintenance and Service 62
625.1 Troubleshooting
6 Appendix 63
636.1 Sensor Connector Pinning
646.2 Technical Data
676.3 Certifications and Compliances
686.4 Warranty
696.5 Copyright
706.6 Thorlabs 'End of Life' Policy (WEEE)
716.7 Listings
716.7.1 List of Acronyms
726.7.2 Thorlabs Worldwide Contacts

We aim to develop and produce the best solution for your application
in the field of optical measurement technique. To help us to live up to
your expectations and improve our products permanently we need
your ideas and suggestions. Therefore, please let us know about
possible criticism or ideas. We and our international partners are
looking forward to hearing from you.
Thorlabs GmbH
WARNING
Sections marked by this symbol explain dangers that might result in
personal injury or death. Always read the associated information
carefully, before performing the indicated procedure.
Please read these advices carefully!
This manual also contains "NOTES" and "HINTS" written in this form.
ATTENTION
Paragraphs preceeded by this symbol explain hazards that could
damage the instrument and the connected equipment or may cause
loss of data.
NOTE
3© 2012 Thorlabs

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PM200
© 2012 Thorlabs
1 General Information
The PM200 Handheld Optical Power and Energy Meter is designed to measure
the optical power of laser light or other monochromatic or near monochromatic
light sources and the energy of pulsed light sources.
The space-saving, battery powered design and compatibility to all Thorlabs “C-
Series” Photodiode, Thermal, Pyroelectric sensors, and custom Photodiode,
Thermal and Pyroelectric detectors, combined with a fast USB device interface
open a wide range of applications in Manufacturing, Quality Control, Quality
Assurance, and R&D for stationary and field use.
The provided software, including drivers and applications for LabVIEW and C
makes it easy to integrate the instrument in test and measurement systems.
The PM200 can be operated through its auto-detecting position sensor and the
rotatable kick-stand in both a bench-top style landscape view and a hand-held
style portrait view.
Please refer to the user manual on the data carrier supplied with the unit for
detailed function description.
1.1 Safety
Attention
All statements regarding safety of operation and technical data in this instruction
manual will only apply when the unit is operated correctly as it was designed for.
The power meter PM200 must not be operated in explosion endangered
environments!
All modules, sensors and externally connected devices must only be operated
with properly shielded connection cables.
Only with written consent from Thorlabs may changes to single components be
carried out or components not supplied by Thorlabs be used.
Do not remove covers!
This precision device is only serviceable if properly packed into the complete
original packaging including the plastic foam sleeves. If necessary, ask for a
replacement package.

1 General Information
© 2012 Thorlabs 5
1.2 Ordering Codes and Accessories
Order Code
Description
PM200
Handheld Power/Energy Meter Console
Photodiode Power Sensors:
Order Code
Type
Detector
Aperture
mm
Wavelength
nm
Power
W
S120C
Compact Sensor
Si
9.5
400 - 1100
50n - 50m
S120VC
Compact Sensor
UV-Si
9.5
200 - 1100
50n - 50m
S121C
Compact Sensor
Si
9.5
400 - 1100
500n - 500m
S122C
Compact Sensor
Ge
9.5
700 - 1800
50n - 40m
S130C
Slim Sensor
Dual Range
Si
9.5
400 - 1100
5n - 5m
500n - 500m
S130VC
Slim Sensor
Dual Range
UV-Si
9.5
200 - 1100
5n - 5m
50n - 50m
S132C
Slim Sensor
Dual Range
Ge
9.5
700 - 1800
1200 - 1800
5n - 5m
500n - 500m
S140C
Integr. Sphere (1”)
Si
5.0
350 - 1100
1µ - 500m
S144C
Integr. Sphere (1”)
InGaAs
5.0
800 - 1700
1µ - 500m
S142C
Integr. Sphere (2”)
Si
12
350 - 1100
10µ - 20
S145C
Integr. Sphere (2”)
InGaAs
12
800 - 1700
1µ - 3
S145C
Integr. Sphere (2”)
InGaAs
12
800 - 1700
10µ - 20
S150C
Fiber Head
Si
3.6 x 3.6
350 - 1100
100p - 5m
S151C
Fiber Head
Si
3.6 x 3.6
400 - 1100
1n - 20m
S154C
Fiber Head
InGaAs
2.0
700 - 1700
100p - 5m
S155C
Fiber Head
InGaAs
2.0
700 - 1700
1n – 20m

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PM200
© 2012 Thorlabs
Thermal Power Sensors:
Order Code
Type
Aperture
mm
Wavelength
nm
Power
W
S302C
Thermally Stabilized
Thermal Absorber
12
190 - 25000
100µ - 2
S310C
Thermal Surface Absorber
20
190 - 25000
10m - 10
S314C
Thermal Surface Absorber
25
190 - 10600
10m - 60
S322C
Thermal Surface Absorber
25
190 - 10600
100m - 250
S350C
Thermal Surface Absorber
Excimer Coating
40
190 - 1100
and 10600
10m - 60
S370C
Thermal Volume Absorber
for high peak power lasers
25
400 - 5200
10m - 15
Pyroelectric Energy Sensors:
Order Code
Type
Aperture
mm
Wavelength
nm
Energy
J
ES111C
Pyroelectric Sensor with
broadband coating
11
185 - 25000
10µ - 150m
ES120C
Pyroelectric Sensor with
broadband coating
20
185 - 25000
100µ - 500m
ES145C
Pyroelectric Sensor with
broadband coating
45
185 - 25000
500µ - 2
ES220C
Pyroelectric Sensor with
ceramic coating
20
185 - 25000
500µ - 3
ES245C
Pyroelectric Sensor with
ceramic coating
45
185 - 25000
1m -15
Please visit our homepage http://www.thorlabs.com for various accessories like
fiber adapters, posts and post holders, data sheets and further information.

1 General Information
© 2012 Thorlabs 7
1.3 Requirements
1.3.1 Hardware Requirements
CPU:1 GHz or higher
RAM:256 MB
Graphic card with at least 32 MB memory
Hard disc with at least 100 MB free storage space
free USB2.0 port
USB cable according the USB 2.0 specification
1.3.2 Software Requirements
Operating System:
Windows ® XP (32-bit) SP3
Windows ® Vista (32-bit, 64-bit)
Windows ® 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)
VISA runtime (version 5.0.3 or higher)
1.3.3 Interface Requirements
A free USB2.0 port is required.

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© 2012 Thorlabs
2 Installation
2.1 Parts List
Inspect the shipping container for damage.
If the shipping container seems to be damaged, keep it until you have inspected
the contents and you have inspected the PM200 mechanically and electrically.
Verify that you have received the following items within the package:
1. PM200 power/energy meter console
2. Desktop power supply (5 VDC / 2.4 A)
3. Power cord according to local power supply
4. USB cable (USB Type A Connector to Mini USB Connector)
5. Cable 3.5 mm Audio Connector to Flying Leads for analog output
6. Adapter for the auxiliary connector in the top panel
7. USB memory stick (Flash Drive 1 GB) with instrument drivers, user
application and operation manual
8. Quick Reference
9. Certificate of Calibration
Optional Accessories
Environmental Measurement Module (Displays Temperature and Relative
Humidity)
Fiber Inspection Camera Module (Monochrome Fiber Inspection Camera
with Power Measurement Capability

2 Installation
© 2012 Thorlabs 9
2.2 Operating Elements
Front Panel
1. LED indicators for „Standby“ mode and „Charging“
2. Touch-pen
3. Touch-screen display
4. Removable protective silicone rubber boot
Rear Panel
5. Four position rotatable and two flap position adjustable stand
6. Adaptor for optional fiber inspection camera

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PM200
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Side View
7. ON/OFF button
8. DC Input (DC 5V/2A)
9. USB host (for flash drive and fiber inspection camera)
10. Analog Output (0...2V DC)
11. Optical head input
Top View
12. Auxiliary In/Output (ext. Trigger, 4 x GPIO, 2 x ADC)
13. USB Device (PC remote operation)
14. Ambient Light Sensor
2.3 Getting Started
For first use, plug in the power supply and allow 4 hours charging the battery.
During the charging process the right LED indicator lights up, even when the unit
is turned off.
Connect a suitable Thorlabs “C-series” power or energy sensor. The sensors
have a self-fixing mechanism. To plug or unplug a sensor slightly press from
both sides on the pins in the connector housing. Sensors can be ‘hot-swapped’
to the console, after recognizing a new valid sensor the type and calibration data
will be downloaded to the console in a few seconds and the unit is ready to
operate with the new sensor.
Turn on the unit by pressing the power button in the side panel.
After switching on the unit, the touch screen display will come up with a boot
screen for about 30 seconds and then jump to the last measurement screen
before power down.

2 Installation
© 2012 Thorlabs 11
3 Operating Instruction
The PM200 supports all Thorlabs ‘C-Series’ photodiode, thermal and
pyroelectric sensors. These can easily identified against older versions of
Thorlabs power or energy sensors by their red connector housing. The console
will not recognize sensors from the ‘A’ and ‘B’ series. Please contact Thorlabs
for upgrading of old sensors with ‘C-Series’ connectors.
To plug or remove a sensor slightly press the two bolts in the connector housing.
Sensors can be ‘hot-swapped’ to the console, after recognizing a new valid
sensor the type and download of the calibration data, the console is ready to
operate with the new sensor.
The PM200 also supports custom detectors, please refer to chapter Photodiode
Sensors , Thermal Sensors or Pyroelectric Sensors and to the connector
pin-out .
From the main menu all functions can be reached by clicking to the appropriate
icon:
Console Info (Type and serial number)
Opens external USB memory (File manager )
Battery status
Measurement Views
Zooms In the actual display
Delta measurement mode
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PM200
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Zeroing the sensor
Resets min / max labels
Settings panel
3.1 Attenuation Correction
The attenuation menu can be used to apply an additional, external related
correction factor to the power or energy reading (e.g. filter). The handling is
similar to the wavelength correction, it is possible to create a list with dedicated
attenuation items in dB or loading complete spectral transmission curves in
comma separated format.
Note
Attenuation must be entered always as a positive value, e.g., (+)10dB. The
software allows to enter negative values as well,but this would be equivalent to an
amplification.
Note
If the attenuation curve e.g. of a filter is loaded and selected, it can be easily
displayed in the 'Sensor' panel. Comparing the graphics in tab 'curve' with the tab
'eff. curve', the superposition of the sensor's response curve and the filter curve
can be seen.
3.2 Wavelength Correction
The PM200 allows the creating and administering of a nearly unlimited number of
user wavelengths and spectral curves of light sources that will be used for
calculating the spectrally corrected power or energy value.
By clicking to the wavelength value, a drop down list appears with saved
wavelength value. The menu item ("Edit...") opens the editor panel. The editor
panel instantly appears when clicking to the Wavelength button:
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3 Operating Instruction
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Wavelength Editor Panel
Left side of the panel
User created wavelength list with scroll arrows. Depending on the connected
sensor the list items appear in standard color for a valid value or in red for a value
that is out of the sensor wavelength range. The selected wavelength will show in
the “edit window”.
Right side of the panel
Wavelength range of the connected sensor.
Edit Window with selectable units
Numeric input field.
Icons
Add item to the list
Delete item from the list
Overwrite item in the list with new value
Load spectral curve
Quit editor
A specialty of the PM200 is the possibility to load spectral curves of broadband
light sources. These files must be in comma separated format (.csv), can be
loaded from the USB drive and will be stored in the user space of the local drive.

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PM200
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3.3 Bandwidth
Depending on the sensor type, the measurement bandwidth can be selected.
This can be useful to lower the impact of sensor noise to the measurement
result, particularly at low power levels.
3.4 Range Control
Up to 6 current measurement ranges (corresponding to power measurement
using photo diode sensors) and 4 voltage measurement ranges (for power
measurement using thermal sensors or energy measurement using pyroelectric
sensors) can be chosen manually with the or buttons near the
measurement unit
or by opening a list box when clicking on the measurement range value.
For power measurements an auto-ranging function is available that can be
activated by clicking on the Range label (toggle function) or via the list box, which
appears when clicking on measurement range value.

3 Operating Instruction
© 2012 Thorlabs 15
3.5 Measurement Views
This menu can be reached via the button.
The different measurement views can be easily selected after pressing the
“views” button. For most applications the “numeric ” and the “needle ”
view will be the best choice for an excellent visible and quickly configurable
power or energy readout. The interactive touch areas allow fast access to all
settings and the drag and drop box gives up to 6 useful, free configurable extra
displays.
From this panel, also graph and statistics measurement panels can be
selected. Additionally, the File Manager and the Calculator can be started.
3.5.1 Numeric View
The upper part of the display important measurement settings are displayed.
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PM200
© 2012 Thorlabs
These settings can be changed either in the Measurement settings menu or
directly by clicking to the appropriate item.
In the bottom of the display, additional parameters can be displayed (see
Subpanels )
Precision of the Readout Value
The precision of the power or energy readout can simply be changed by clicking
on the power or energy value in the numeric or needle screen. The reading will
toggle between 3, 4 or 5 significant digits.
Units of Measure
The units of measure can be selected by clicking on the measurement unit in the
numeric or needle display. A list box will open and offer sensor depending
choices of the selectable measurement unit in W, dBm, J, A or V.
3.5.1.1 Subpanels
In the numeric display it is possible to configure supplementary displays. Click to
the , a choice of available, depending on the connected sensor, subpanels
will appear (below shown for a S120C sensor):
Up to 6 subpanels can be enabled by drag and drop to the measurement screen.
To remove items, the container needs not to be opened, just pick the item and
drag it back to the container.
Frequency
The PM200 can measure and display frequencies of pulsed, modulated or
chopped light sources up to 100kHz. The maximum measurable frequency is
depending on the sensor type and instrument settings. The measured frequency
is displayed in a subpanel.
Alternative Unit
Depending on the sensor type, alternative measurement units are available and
can be selected in both the numeric and needle view panels by clicking to the
appropriate unit.
Photodiode sensors - they deliver a current, proportional to the incident power,
but also wavelength dependent:
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3 Operating Instruction
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W (nW, µW, mW)
A (nA, µA, mA)
dBm (1mW = 0 dBm)
Thermal sensors - they deliver a voltage proportional to the incident power:
W (nW, µW, mW)
V (mV)
dBm (1mW = 0 dBm)
Pyroelectric sensors - they deliver a voltage peak, proportional to the incident
pulse energy:
J (mJ)
V (mV)
Power / Energy Density
The calculation is based on the beam parameters, entered in Measurement
Settings panel ( and in the next panel ):
Beam shapes can be selected from a drop-down menu:
To change the beam dimension, click into the numeric field - an editor comes up:

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PM200
© 2012 Thorlabs
Also, beside the default flat top beam profile, where the power is distributed
evenly over the beam area, 2 more typical cases are also considered:
Gaussian: In case, the beam shape has one significant peak, the power density
around the peak is much higher than on the periphery. In order to consider that,
the calculated average power density value is doubled.
Hotspot: Some lasers have a beam profile shaped like a donut, or 2 or more
significant peaks appear in the profile. The power density in these hot spots is
much higher than the average across the entire beam diameter. The calculated
average power density value is tripled.
Note
Power density is always displayed in W/cm², energy density in J/cm². Density is
measured correctly only if the connected sensor is calibrated. In case a
customer made sensor is used, please make sure that the correct calibration
coefficient is entered.
Min, Max and Ratio
These subpanels show the minimum, maximum value, and the ratio out of both
numerically, in addition to the green and red markers on the power bar:
These values will update permanently. The "Reset Min / Max" button will reset
the displays to zero and restart the measurement sampling.
The ratio value will show "nan" ("No A Number") when a negative reading occurs.