How to Read a
CO2 Laser Datasheet
This guide helps interpret technical specifications used in Novanta CO2
laser datasheets. For more information, a Novanta Photonics Sales Manageror Applications Engineer can help specify the right CO2 laser for your specificapplication.

Specification
Laser Type(Continuous Wave orPulsed)

What It Means• Continuous Wave (CW)
Lasers can produce acontinuous beam of light.
• Pulsed Lasers produce aseries of high peak power
pulses.

Wavelength(9.3 µm, 10.2 µm, or 10.6µm)• Wavelength refers to thewavelength of light producedby the laser.
• Lasers emit monochromatic(single wavelength) light. 9.3µm, 10.2 µm, and 10.6 µm
wavelengths are most common
for CO2 lasers.

Why It Matters• CW Lasers are useful for
marking, engraving, and creatingsmooth cuts in materials likeacrylic.
• Pulsed Lasers produce highpeak power, which can improve
cut edge quality, efficiently drill
or perforate thin materials, andprovide high power density topierce challenging materials likemetals.
• If a material has higher
absorption of a given wavelength,
processing is faster and theresults are higher quality. Laser
wavelength should be matched
to your material’s absorption
properties.
• 9.3 µm: helpful for materials like
PET or Polyimide.
• 10.2 µm: Polypropylene (PP)absorbs this wavelength best.
• 10.6 µm: the most commonlyused CO2 wavelength.

Average Power(Measured in Watts)• This is the measured output
power of the laser averaged
over one on/off cycle.

• Higher average power leads tofaster processing speeds.

Peak Power(Pulsed Lasers only;
measured in Watts)• The maximum power output
of a laser. Pulsed lasers areoptimized to have peak powerthat is much higher than theiraverage power. CW lasers havepeak power roughly equal totheir average power.

• Higher peak power delivers
energy more efficiently, which can
improve cut edge quality, perforate
or drill thin materials more quickly,
and provide sufficient power
density to pierce challenging
materials like metals.

©2021 Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

How To Read A CO2 Laser Datasheet

Specification

2What It Means

Why It Matters

Power Stability( ± specified % of
average power)• A measure of how
consistent a laser’s power
output is over time.

• Greater power stability leads togreater consistency in processing.
Mark color, engraving depth, cut
quality (etc.) will appear consistentover time.

Beam Quality(M2 value, typically <1.2)• A measurement of beam
quality. An ideal beam would
have an M2 value of 1, which is aperfect Gaussian beam.

• M2 indicates how well a beam canbe focused to a small spot size.
This increases power density forhigher speed processing or greater
detail.

• Also called Mode Quality or
Beam Quality Factor.
Beam Diameter(Measured in mm)• Measured diameter of thelaser beam, defined as the full
width where the intensity falls
to 1/e2 times the maximum
value.

• Beam diameter is useful for
properly integrating the laser intoa system. Additional optics can beadded to the beam path to change
the beam diameter.

Divergence(Measured in milliradians)• An angular measurement
indicating how quickly thebeam diverges, or expands fromits narrowest point.

• Divergence is useful for properly
integrating the laser into a system.
Additional optical components
can be added to the beam
path to change the divergencecharacteristics.

Ellipticity(Maximum ellipticity)• Refers to beam symmetry; it
is a measure of how round thefocused spot is.

• A more circular beam produces
the best application results, withconsistent performance regardlessof processing direction.

• An ideal beam would have an
ellipticity of 1, typical values are<1.2.
Polarization(Linear Orientation,Circular, Elliptical, orRandomly)• Polarization describes theorientation of the electric fieldwith respect to the direction thelaser light is propagating.

• Certain materials can be sensitive
to polarization, displaying different
cut characteristics depending on
the cut motion.
• Polarization is also importantfor integrating optical isolators or
beam splitters.

Rise/Fall Times(Maximum value
in microseconds
seconds)•The amount of time required
for the laser output to go fromzero watts up to its maximum
for a given duty cycle (risetime) and then return to zero
(fall time).

• Faster rise/fall times ensure best
results for high speed marking,engraving, perforating, or scribing.
Faster times mean less wasted heat
energy is delivered to the material,
producing higher quality results athigher speeds.

©2021 Novanta Corporation. All rights reserved.

How To Read A CO2 Laser Datasheet								Specification
Operating Frequency(Measured in kHz)

3

What It Means

Why It Matters• This is the maximum frequency
command that can control thelaser (e.g.: how often the laser isbeing commanded to fire). The
frequency for full optical depthof modulation for the pulses islower, and is determined by rise/fall times.

• Low frequencies (<10 kHz) canbe useful for cutting challenging
materials or perforating thinmaterials.
• Higher frequencies (>10 kHz)
allow laser pulses to merge
together and are useful for
marking or cutting.

Duty Cycle Range• Duty cycle is the percent(A percentage of laser on of laser on time in a giventime)command signal. (e.g.: 50% duty
cycle means the laser is firinghalf the cycle time and off theother half).

• Pulsed lasers are typically duty
cycle limited, allowing themto achieve high peak power. Abroader duty cycle range canallow greater processing flexibility,
but the usefulness of this is• CW lasers are assumed to have application-dependent.
a duty cycle range up to 100%,or continuously on.

Maximum Pulse Length(Pulsed Lasers only;
measured in µ-seconds)• Maximum time a pulsed laser
can be on.

• Similar to duty cycle range,
longer pulse lengths can leadto greater processing flexibility,
but its usefulness is applicationdependent.

Additional specifications should be considered, including:• DC Input Voltage: consistent input voltages across a series of lasers allows for an easy upgrade
path in the future if higher throughput is needed. It also allows easier integration with scan headsof the same voltage.
• Maximum Chassis Temperature or Operating Ambient Temperature: higher values in thesecategories ensure lasers are robust and can operate in challenging environmental conditions.
• Form Factor (length, width, height, weight): this may be important depending on how the laser
will be used or integrated into a system.

Interested in speaking to one of our knowledgeablerepresentatives?
Americas & Asia PacificNovanta Headquarters
Bedford, USA
P +1-781-266-5700
Photonics@Novanta.com

Europe, Middle East,Africa
Novanta Europe GmbH
Wackersdorf, Germany
P +49-9431-7984-0
Milan, Italy
P +39-039-793-710

China

Japan

Novanta Sales & Service Center Novanta Service & Sales OfficeShenzhen, China
Tokyo, Japan
P +86-755-8280-538
P +81-3-5753-2460
Suzhou, China
P +86-512-6283-7080
Photonics.China@Novanta.com

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