Fast response optical power meter
First Claim
1. An instrument for measuring a physical quantity, comprising:
- a first sensor providing a first measurement of said physical quantity, and having a first response time for said measurement;
a second sensor, for providing a second measurement of said physical quantity, and having a second response time slower than that of said first sensor; and
an electronic circuit for correcting said first measurement according to said second measurement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical power meter using a thermal detector, with improved response time, in which a fast response sensor is mounted close to the thermal detector, in such a location that it senses a part of the incident beam to be measured. The output signal of the fast response sensor, and the output signal of the thermal detector are electronically combined, such that response characteristics of the fast response sensor are impressed on the output of the thermal detector, thus providing a power meter combining the power handling ability and the accuracy of the thermal detector with a response characteristic of the fast response sensor. This method of combining fast and slow response sensors is also applicable to other measurements, whether physical, chemical or biological, such as those of flow, velocity, temperature, pressure, electrical, electronic, magnetic, thermal, optical, radiative, dimensional or acoustic properties of a material or article.
38 Citations
40 Claims
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1. An instrument for measuring a physical quantity, comprising:
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a first sensor providing a first measurement of said physical quantity, and having a first response time for said measurement;
a second sensor, for providing a second measurement of said physical quantity, and having a second response time slower than that of said first sensor; and
an electronic circuit for correcting said first measurement according to said second measurement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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15. A method for measuring a physical quantity, comprising the steps of:
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providing a first sensor for making a first measurement of said physical quantity, having a first response time for said measurement;
providing a second sensor, for making a second measurement of said physical quantity, having a response time significantly slower than that of said first sensor; and
correcting said first measurement according to said second measurement by means of an electronic circuit.
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22. A power meter for measuring the power of optical radiation comprising:
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a thermal detector on which said optical radiation impinges, providing a signal having a response time to said optical radiation;
a sensor having a response time faster than that of said thermal detector, which provides a measurement of said power by sensing a part of said optical radiation; and
an electronic circuit for correcting said measurement according to the signal provided by said thermal detector. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A power meter for measuring the power of optical radiation comprising:
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a thermal detector responsive to said optical radiation, having a first response time, and generating a first signal;
at least one second detector, having a second response time significantly shorter than said first response time, mounted in proximity to said thermal detector such that said at least one second detector is also responsive to said optical radiation and generates a second signal; and
an electronic circuit for combining said first and said second signals and providing an output corresponding to said power, wherein said output has a response time having characteristics of said second sensor. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40)
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36. An optical power meter electronic circuit for use in combining signals obtained from a thermal detector and from at least one fast response sensor, which corrects the signal obtained from said at least one fast response sensor according to the signal obtained from said thermal detector.
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38. A method of automatically adjusting the gain of a first electronic circuit, with respect to the gain of a second electronic circuit, comprising the steps of:
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making a first measurement of a parameter with said first circuit;
making a second measurement of said same parameter with said second circuit;
adjusting said gain of at least one of said first circuit and said second circuit according to the difference between said first measurement and said second measurement.
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Specification