This section provides an overview for optical power meters as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 26 optical power meter manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked optical power meter companies as of October, 2024: 1.L-com, 2.Artifex Engineering GmbH & Co. KG, 3.EXFO.
Table of Contents
An optical power meter measures the intensity or power of light, particularly in fiber-optic communications. It may also be referred to by other names, such as a laser power meter, irradiance meter, photometer, or illuminance meter, based on the light type and measurement units involved. Despite the varied terminology, all these devices serve the fundamental purpose of quantifying light's physical intensity.
Optical power meters precisely measure the absolute light intensity from various sources, including optical fiber communication wavelengths, lasers, and LEDs. They are essential for ensuring the safe and efficient use of light sources, especially in preventing harm from overexposure to intense light, which can be hazardous to living organisms, including eye damage.
Optical power meters utilize sensors such as photodiodes and biosensors that employ the photoelectric effect to translate light intensity into measurable physical values like current or temperature changes. These devices typically feature a semiconductor sensor to detect light intensity and an indicator for result display. Calibration at specific wavelengths is crucial for accurate measurements due to the sensors' varying efficiency in converting light intensity based on the wavelength of received light.
While optical power meters measure light intensity, they do not measure wavelengths directly. Users must set the measurement wavelength, and the device uses a corresponding calibration. Meters often support selectable wavelengths, catering to applications from Blu-ray and DVD production to optical fiber communications, with popular ranges including 400 nm to 700 nm for visible light and 1,300 nm to 1,550 nm for fiber optics.
Choosing the appropriate optical power meter for the wavelength of interest is crucial for accurate measurements. Photodiodes, based on the photoelectric effect, vary in their wavelength handling capabilities; for instance, InGaAs photodiodes cover 800 nm to 1,700 nm, suitable for near-infrared through certain fiber optic communication bands, whereas Si-based photodiodes are better for visible light. Consistency in measured wavelengths, stable temperature, and a vibration-free environment are vital for reliable evaluations, especially in optical fiber communications where wavelengths can vary with temperature and mechanical stress.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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L-com was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts. The company serves many industries including electronics, medical, industrial automation, military, and telecommunications a manufacturer and servicer of wired and wireless communications products. The company’s custom product capabilities include customized cable assemblies, WiFi antennas, adapters, and surge protectors. Through its parent company, Infinite Electronics, the company offers a broad range of RF components and assemblies to over 100,000 global customers.
Novanta Photonics, founded in 1947 with headquarters in the UK, is a manufacturer of the key components of laser-based diagnostic, analytical, micromachining, and fine material processing equipment. The company's products include laser beam steering components, multi-axis scan heads, C02 lasers, solid-state lasers, and ultrafast lasers. Novanta Photonics’ products are used by medical and industrial OEMs and system architects to enable and improve laser-based processing equipment. Some examples include glass processing, laser marking, micromachining, metrology combs, and optical tweezers.
Physik Instrumente aka PI, founded 50 years ago, is a private company that creates and produces automation systems, including hexapods, air bearings, and piezo drives that are used in life-sciences, photonics, and aerospace industries and research institutes. Their products are manufactured in North America, Europe, and Asia. Physik Instrumente is ITAR registered. The company's head office is located in Auburn, America. And its manufacturing and other facilities are located in New England.
Agiltron Inc., founded in 2001 and headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, is a manufacturer and developer of premium optical and photonic components and systems for communications, sensing, and instrumentation. The company is an ISO 9001 certified optical systems producer with a team of scientists and engineers, and well-equipped modern facilities. It serves markets with both standard products and customer-driven special product development. Its products are based on optical, micromechanical, and electro-optic systems, in combination with its competencies in manufacturing, imaging systems, and infrared photonics.
Coherent, founded in 1971, and located in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, is a manufacturer, supplier and distributor of laser and photonics-based solutions. Their product range includes lasers, optics, and laser-based systems for industries such as industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. Coherent's lasers are used in precision cutting, welding, medical procedures, and scientific experiments. With ISO 9001 certification, the company ensures quality standards in their products, and solutions across various industrial applications.
Keysight Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1939 and headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. Keysight is a global developer and manufacturer of electronic design and test solutions to communications, networking, aerospace, defense, and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic, and education industries. Keysight’s communications solutions group solutions include electronic design automation software; radio frequency and microwave test solutions, hardware and virtual network test platforms and software applications, as well as optical laser source solutions. Keysight’s electronic industrial solutions group offers various design tools and verification tools. Keysight offers product support, technical support, and training and consulting services. It sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, resellers, and manufacturer's representatives.
M2 Optics Inc., established in 2001 and headquartered in Raleigh, NC, United States, is a manufacturer and supplier of optical fiber testing equipment and solutions. The company's products include fiber network and latency simulators, network intrusion detection systems, and WDM, CWDM, and DWDM solutions. Most of its products are produced on demand and are customized to suit client requirements, although some of the products are available off the shelf. Its services include fiber characterization, fiber spooling, and 3D printing. It offers individual products or consults on complete solutions for testing and monitoring large fiber networks.
Aitelong Technology Co. Ltd., established in 2004 and headquartered in Shaanxi Province, China, is a fiber optic and battery power testing equipment designer, manufacturer, and supplier. The company's products include fusion splicers, FTTX instruments, and power system testers. It also offers a range of backup power units, including battery chargers, dischargers, and intelligent battery activators. These products are used for speed testing, repairing fiber optical systems, and securing energy supply in telecom, datacom, and automotive applications.
Yokogawa Test & Measurement Corporation was founded in Japan in 1954. Yokogawa currently serves a wide array of industries including the aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, semiconductor and telecommunications industries with both hardware and software solutions. Among Yokogawa’s suite of products are oscilloscopes, voltage probes, power analyzers and meters, data acquisition tools, optical test equipment, a wide variety of handled meters, calibrators, and testers; analog instruments, and manometers.
EXFO is a Quebec, Canada-based developer and manufacturer of analytics solutions for network equipment manufacturers, communications service providers, and data centers. Originally founded in 1985, the company provides solutions for clients to more easily transition to 5G, fiber optic, and cloud-native networking. The company's specialized product lineup includes lab and manufacturing testing equipment such as bit error rate testers (BERTs), waveform generators, and optical modulation analyzers, as well as field network testing tools like fiber inspection probes and optical power meters (OPMs). These supply clients like Nokia, Facebook, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Promax Test & Measurement SLU, founded in 1963 and based in Barcelona, Spain, is a manufacturer of telecommunication instrumentation and electronics equipment. The ISO 9001-certified company stocks products like digital modulators for broadcast, earth resistance meters, and optical fiber fusion splicers used to provide testing solutions for satellite, cable, and digital terrestrial television. It stocks over 200 products at its Barcelona facility, with 18 calibration centers and several service centers worldwide. It produces on-demand PCB circuit boards and electronic equipment and offers software development, training, and industrial design services.
Sanwa Electric Instrument Co., Ltd. was established in 1941, in Tokyo as a manufacturer of measuring instruments. Their product portfolio consists of Digital Multimeters, Analog Multitesters, Insulation, Earth testers, speedometers, and related instruments. Calibrators, detectors, LCR, and clamp meters are also part of the production. The equipment helps with measuring AC/DC voltages, and current, along with resistance and insulation, and for specific measuring applications. Many various industries benefit from Sanwa's products such as speedometers for the measurement of escalator emergency stop distance and detectors to test the direction of Motor rotation before connection of the power supply.
Anritsu Corporation, established in 1931 and based in Atsugi, Japan, is a manufacturer of electronic measuring instruments, quality assurance systems, and Information and Telecommunication equipment and devices. Its test and measurement products include power meters, power sensors, and conformance test systems, while X-ray inspection systems, metal detectors, and checkweighers ensure food safety and security. Other products like instrumentation-grade adapters and optical sensing equipment are used in IT. The company’s stock was listed in the 2nd section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1961, and in 1968, it was listed in the 1st section.
Physik Instrumente is based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and is an ISO 9001-certified manufacturer of positioning systems and nanotechnology established in 1970 as a spin-off from the Max-Planck Society. The company offers hexapod robotic platforms for multi-axis positioning operations, and piezo systems and motion components for nanometer-level accuracy. It also offers motion control instrumentation such as servos and steppers for automated industrial operations. The company’s products are commonly used in the biotech, semiconductor, and automotive industries.
Fluke Corporation is based in Washington State, USA, and is a manufacturer of electronic testing and measurement products that was established in 1948 as a subsidiary of the Fortive Corporation. The company's product lineup includes clamp meters for AC or DC readings, benchtop digital multimeters, and thermal imagers such as infrared cameras. It also offers calibration and repair services for customers requiring additional support. The company's products are commonly used in industrial manufacturing operations, as well as in the electrical and communications industries.
ShinewayTech USA is based in Dallas, Texas, USA, and is a manufacturer and distributor of testing equipment for the telecommunications industry. Incorporated in 2002, the company was later acquired by ShinewayTech. The company’s products include RF testing equipment for radio frequency testing, fiber optic testers for gauging the integrity of fiber optic networks, and IP testing equipment for assessing the stability and performance of home or office IP networks. These products are commonly used by telecom companies, data centers, and network service providers.
Changchun New Industries Optoelectronics Tech. Co., Ltd. (CNI), established in 1996 and headquartered in Changchun, China, is a manufacturer and supplier of lasers and optical systems. The company's product range comprises Lasers, Spectrum Analyzers, Laser Application Systems, Laser Measurement Tools, and Laser Marking. These products are vital for various applications across research, industrial, and technological domains. They serve sectors such as electronics, photonics, research institutes, and industrial manufacturing. Besides producing hardware, it provides services such as optical measurement, laser processing, machine vision solutions, and photoelectric detection.
Ophir Optronics Solutions Ltd, since 1976, is a manufacturer and distributor of infrared & laser optics, laser beam analysis, and laser power and energy measurement equipment and components headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. They offer various laser power and energy measurement equipment and components including laser power sensors, laser energy sensors, laser power & energy meters, and LED measurement equipment. Their IR optics include long-range IR, lightweight & foldIR zoom, and LWIR, MWIR & SWIR lenses. The company, a brand within MKS Instruments Photonics Solutions Division, offers its products for scientific research, defense, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial, and life & health sciences applications.
ADC Corporation, founded as a subsidiary of Takeda Riken Industry Co., Ltd in 1971 and based in Saitama, Japan, is a producer of analog measurement devices like optical power meters, source monitor units, and digital multimeters. Separating from Takeda Riken Industry Co., Ltd (Present Adventest Corporation) in 2003, the company began being a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of optical and electronic measuring instruments, digital multimeters, monitors for DC voltage/current sources and digital electrometers which they specialize in.
Artifex Engineering GmbH & Co. KG, a company established in 2001 and based in Emden, Niedersachsen, is a manufacturer and supplier of measuring instruments and optical components. Its specialization is manufacturing measuring instruments such as optical power meters, trans-impedance amplifiers, integrating spheres, and pulsed laser diode drivers. It also manufactures optical components, including beamsplitters, optical filters and lenses, polarization optics, laser lighthouses, and composite optics. The company has obtained ISO 9001:2015 certification. Its manufactured products are utilized for industrial and metrological industries across Germany and the UK.
Seeit SARL, founded in 1996 and based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, is a manufacturer and distributor of electrical components. The company’s product lineup includes Ethernet cable testers, optical fiber adapters and testers, and relay modules. It also manufactures cables, spectrum analyzers, and testers for electro smog, as well as memory cards, components, and universal and smartcard programmers. The company serves customers across various sectors, with a particular focus on the automotive industry.
Hioki E.E. Corporation was founded in 1935 and headquartered in Ueda, Nagano. Hioki provides testing & analysis, manufacturing & inspection, and equipment maintenance to industries including mobility, battery, motor, energy, electronic components, and infrastructure. Hioki’s has 10 primary product categories which are: recorders and data loggers including oscilloscopes, LCR/Resistance Meters, safety testing including signal generators and calibrators, power meters including power quality analyzers, probes & sensors, optical & PV maintenance & telecommunication, environmental measuring, DMM & testers & field measuring, IoT & new solutions & meter relay, and bare board & package testing.
Gao Tek Inc., started in 2001, and headquartered in Manhattan, New York, is a supplier of test and measurement equipment like embedded development tools, electronic measurement instruments, and telecommunication testers. The company is a B2B tech supplier that also stocks drone products, commercial gas detectors, and transceivers and is incorporated in the USA and Canada. It provides a one-year product warranty against defective material or workmanship and offers overnight delivery in the continental USA and Canada. It is a member of the GAO group and has served customers in over 50 countries worldwide.
Ranking as of October 2024
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | L-com |
10.7%
|
2 | Artifex Engineering GmbH & Co. KG |
7.6%
|
3 | EXFO |
6.9%
|
4 | PROMAX Test & Measurement SLU |
6.1%
|
5 | Coherent Corp. |
6.1%
|
6 | Agiltron Inc. |
6.1%
|
7 | Novanta Photonics |
5.3%
|
8 | Thorlabs Inc. |
5.3%
|
9 | HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION |
4.6%
|
10 | Anritsu |
4.6%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the optical power meter page as of October 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
---|---|---|
United States of America | 7 | 33.3% |
Japan | 6 | 28.6% |
China | 3 | 14.3% |
USA | 1 | 4.8% |
Canada | 1 | 4.8% |
Spain | 1 | 4.8% |
Israel | 1 | 4.8% |
Germany | 1 | 4.8% |
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