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Optics & Photonics Talk

Using Laser class IIIb as class 1 or 1M
<Unknown>
hello

I'm doing a project for my master study in electrical engineering.
My Project is a simple free space optical communication system.

Choosing and applying a laser in free space communication needs to consider safety issues. Most of commercial lasers are in class IIIb and I want to know how I can apply 

it as a class 1 or 1M using a lens.  I was wondering if anyone can help me and give me some advice.

Thanks
Nicholas Croglio
You have to ensure that the power level leaving your system does not exceed the limits for class 1 or 1M. There are formulas for the MPE for each wavelength and pulswidth combination in the ANSI Standard. That means you need to have at least one fail-safe also.

An important question is if you will have enough power to do your project with just a class 1 output. The MPE is higher for certain wavelengths as you can see in the standard,so you will need to design the system to meet safety and performance requirements. At a previous employer, we actually patented ways to do this for different applications.
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