Enter the peak power and the duty cycle into the calculator to determine the pulsed laser average power.

## Pulsed Laser Average Power Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Pulsed Laser Average Power.

PLAP = PP * DC
• Where PLAP is the pulsed laser average power (W)
• PP is the peak power (W)
• DC is the duty cycle

To calculate the pulsed laser average power, multiply the duty cycle by the peak power.

## What is a Pulsed Laser Average Power?

Definition:

Pulsed laser average power is the average output power of a pulsed laser. It can be expressed in terms of energy or power, and expressed in watts or joules.

The average output power of a pulsed laser is usually combined with the pulse duration to give pulse energy (in joules). The energy of a single pulse is called pulse energy, pulse energy density, or peak pulse power. The peak power is often expressed as either a peak instantaneous power or a peak average power during the pulse duration.

Pulse duration may be expressed in units of time such as seconds, Hertz, cycles per second (Hz), or nanoseconds (ns), while average power may be expressed in watts or joules per second (J/s).

The term average power may also refer to the moderate radiant intensity over some time such as one second.

Suppose radiant intensity is used instead of radiated optical power. In that case, it will include any optical system losses in addition to any laser medium absorption and subsequent re-emission that may occur within the laser gain medium itself.