THORLABS BC106-VIS - User Manual

Questions and Answers

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Douglas BurnsAug 11, 2025
What to do if a timeout occurs during a measurement with THORLABS BC106-VIS?
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  Isaac Watson MDAug 11, 2025
  A timeout during measurement with THORLABS Lighting Equipment can occur for several reasons. It may happen if the camera is saturated, in which case you should attenuate the laser beam with additional ND filters or decrease the laser output power. If Normal Scan is applied and the Fine Scan shall add data points, set the timeout to a greater value. If the beam power is too low, remove ND filters or increase the output power of the laser. If the beam size is too small and no ellipse could be calculated, use a longer focal length to avoid beam sizes which are too small. It can also happen if the beam is outside the CCD chip, in this case you should align the beam.
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Kristopher SanchezAug 19, 2025
Why does the M² value differ extremely from the expected value in THORLABS BC106-VIS?
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  Laura HancockAug 19, 2025
  An unexpected M² value in THORLABS Lighting Equipment can occur due to several factors. Check the set wavelength. Also, the Clip Level of the Calculation Area may be the cause. If the selected Clip Level is too high, the beam might be cut and will be measured too small. If the selected Clip Level is too small, this increases the Calculation Area, captures noise around the beam and this way the measured beam width is larger.
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amberholdenAug 26, 2025
How to troubleshoot M² values smaller than 1.0 in THORLABS Lighting Equipment?
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  Kristen YoungAug 27, 2025
  M² values less than 1.0 are non-physical but may be due to a too small Calculation Area (Clip Level too high). Also consider the accuracy of the measured result, and an error of 5% should be considered. Finally, check for an incorrect wavelength setting. Set the wavelength to the correct value; M² results will be corrected without running a new measurement.
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Emily ShannonSep 3, 2025
What causes parasitic reflections on the CCD sensor during THORLABS BC106-VIS Lighting Equipment measurements, and how can I resolve it?
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  Marisa WilliamsonSep 3, 2025
  Parasitic reflections during measurements with THORLABS Lighting Equipment are often due to the reflections of the laser light from the CCD to a filter and back to the CCD sensor. The detection of these reflections can be improved by using the logarithmic color scale. These reflections can also occur when the beam is not perfectly aligned and/or the filters are not parallel to the CCD chip. An effective way to avoid these reflections is to use antireflection coated ND filters.