Overview
EN ISO 11145:2026 – Optics and photonics - Lasers and laser-related equipment - Vocabulary and symbols – is the international standard published by CEN and ISO for unifying terminology, symbols, and measurement units in laser technology. This document provides an authoritative, harmonized vocabulary enabling clearer definitions, consistent communication, and reproducible testing of laser beam parameters and laser product properties. EN ISO 11145:2026 serves as the basis for technical specifications, safety documentation, and compliance in industrial, scientific, and commercial applications involving lasers and laser-related equipment.
Key Topics
EN ISO 11145:2026 includes standardized terminology and symbol conventions for critical laser concepts:
- Beam Position and Axis: Definitions for beam centroid, positional stability, and beam axis.
- Beam Diameter, Width, and Radius: Both encircled-power and moment-based metrics for circular and non-circular beams.
- Beam Cross-sectional Area and Ellipticity: Clear quantification for shape, size, and circularity of laser beams.
- Beam Waist and Divergence: Minimum spot size, waist location, divergence angles, and astigmatism parameters.
- Propagation Characteristics: Rayleigh length, beam parameter product, propagation ratio (M²), and far field definitions.
- Coherence and Polarization: Temporal and spatial coherence, coherence length and time, and various types of polarization (linear, elliptical, circular, partial, random).
- Power and Energy Metrics: Definitions for fluence, irradiance, average and peak power, pulse duration, repetition rate, and energy per pulse.
- Modes and Spectral Characteristics: Longitudinal and transverse modes, spectral bandwidth, relative intensity noise (RIN).
- Symbols and Units: Standardized notation for all terms, detailed in Annex B.
Note: The vocabulary and symbol hierarchy in EN ISO 11145:2026 intentionally differs from IEC 60825-1 to address the unique requirements of each standard.
Applications
This standard is critical for all stakeholders in the optics, photonics, and laser technology sectors. Practical applications include:
- Product Design and Development: Ensures laser and optoelectronic device specifications use globally recognized terms and definitions, supporting accurate transfer of requirements and measurement protocols across borders.
- Testing and Measurement: Guarantees reproducibility and comparability in the testing of laser beam parameters (such as beam width, diameter, power, and divergence) and in evaluating product performance.
- Regulatory Compliance and Safety: Facilitates coherence between international regulations and safety standards by providing universally accepted definitions and measurement principles.
- Standards Alignment: Enables interoperability between products and systems from different manufacturers and simplifies documentation required for procurement, certification, and market access.
- Education and Documentation: Supports educational materials, research publications, technical datasheets, and user manuals within the laser and photonics industry.
- Cross-disciplinary Communication: Reduces ambiguity and misinterpretation when collaborating across engineering, research, medical, and manufacturing domains.
Related Standards
EN ISO 11145:2026 is part of a broader framework of standards and is closely related to:
- IEC 60825-1: Safety of laser products – provides the foundational safety vocabulary for laser technology. The hierarchies and definitions in EN ISO 11145:2026 are intentionally distinct but complementary.
- ISO 11146 Series: Describes methods for measurement of laser beam widths, divergence angles, and measurement-based beam propagation ratios.
- ISO 13694: Covers measurement of laser beam power (energy) density distributions - Beam measurement methods.
- IEC Electropedia & ISO Online Browsing Platform: Centralized databases of standard terminology for ongoing reference.
By adhering to EN ISO 11145:2026, organizations ensure technical accuracy, interoperability, and alignment with the global optics and photonics community-key for innovation, safety, and international trade in laser technology.