Agilent HP 5517B
Agilent / HP 5517B Laser Head
Product Description
The Agilent (formerly Hewlett-Packard, now Keysight Technologies) 5517B Laser Head is a precision Helium-Neon (HeNe) laser source designed for laser interferometer measurement systems. It’s a critical component in high-accuracy positioning and measurement applications, particularly in industrial and scientific settings where extreme precision is required.
The 5517B produces a highly stable and accurate 633 nm (red) wavelength light beam, which is a two-frequency, orthogonally polarized laser beam. This dual-frequency nature is fundamental to its operation in interferometry, allowing for highly precise displacement, velocity, angular, and straightness measurements. The laser head generates a coherent and collimated beam that is then directed through a series of optics (interferometers, reflectors) to create an interference pattern, which is analyzed by a receiver to determine changes in position.
Primary applications for the 5517B include:
- Machine Tool Calibration and Compensation: Ensuring the accuracy of CNC machines, measuring lead screw errors, backlash, and geometric errors.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing: For precise positioning stages in lithography and inspection equipment.
- Metrology: High-accuracy length measurements, calibration of gauges and standards.
- Research and Development: In laboratories requiring highly stable and accurate displacement sensing.
- Quality Control: