Sensor Selection Assistant

Choosing the correct laser power or energy sensor depends on source type, power level, wavelength, and whether the measurement is of continuous-wave average power, single-shot pulse energy, or per-pulse energy at a given repetition rate. This decision tool maps those inputs to sensor categories: photodiodes (Si, InGaAs, GaP, or Ge depending on wavelength and sub-milliwatt power levels), thermopiles for milliwatt-to-kilowatt CW and average-power measurements, water-cooled thermopiles for high-power CW above 100 W, pyroelectric sensors for pulsed sources (surface or volume absorber depending on pulse energy), and calorimetric sensors above 30 kW. Enter source type, wavelength in nm, and power in watts or pulse energy in joules to receive a ranked sensor recommendation with the rationale behind each choice.