With the new PowerMax™ Pro USB/RS, Coherent, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) brings their unique PowerMax-Pro sensor technology into a “meterless” format, substantially lowering the cost of ownership of this revolutionary, high speed laser power and energy sensor.  PowerMax-Pro sensors, first introduced in 2014, utilize a novel, thin-film technology developed by Coherent, which yields a sensor having the broad wavelength sensitivity, dynamic range and laser damage resistance of a thermopile, combined with the response speed of a semiconductor photodiode.  PowerMax-Pro sensors are more than one million times faster than conventional thermopile sensors; an ideal solution for fast CW laser power and rise time measurements, full modulated laser characterization, and pulsed laser energy measurements over the 300 nm to 11 µm spectral range. 

PowerMax-Pro USB/RS sensors utilize state-of-the-art microelectronics miniaturization techniques to integrate an entire instrument within a USB 2.0 or RS-232 cable.  Specifically, this puts all the signal processing and laser power measurement electronics normally contained in a Coherent LabMax standalone meter right into the sensor itself; measurements are enabled simply by connecting the sensor directly to a PC.  PowerMax-Pro USB sensors are also compatible with Coherent’s new LabMax-Pro Mobile App, which allows control of the sensor using a tablet running the Android operating system. 

PowerMax-Pro USB/RS substantially lower measurement costs by eliminating the need to purchase a standalone meter.  They also reduce service costs, since only the single sensor needs to be calibrated, rather than a separate sensor head and the meter electronics.  Their unique combination of lower cost and smaller size makes these detectors ideal for OEMs who want to embed power measurement electronics within their own instrumentation, for field service engineers who already carry a laptop computer or tablet, and for operators of computer controlled test benches.  These sensors are also useful for general laboratory applications in which experimental data acquisition is performed from a central PC or tablet. 

Founded in 1966, Coherent, Inc. is one of the world’s leading providers of lasers and laser-based technology for scientific, commercial and industrial customers. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global selec Market and is part of the Russell 2000 and Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index. For more information about Coherent, visit the company's website at http://www.coherent.com/ for product and financial updates.