Abstract: The control of output power of a laser beam generated by a laser system is accomplished on a tool by tool basis, using a position setting of an optical attenuator in conjunction with a repetition rate parameter of the laser beam. Two tables of data points representative of output power of the laser beam as a function of laser frequency and attenuation are generated. A scale factor is determined based on one of the tables, and is used to scale data stored in the other. The scaled data is then used to determine settings necessary to obtain the required output power of the laser beam. The tables are configured to have increased granularity around maximum usage region of the laser frequency and attenuation working range. As a result, the process can be done with high accuracy and within a reasonable time.

Abstract: A method of correcting measurement errors of an instrument for measuring the flow of a gas, the instrument having a selected measuring range and being constructed to produce a reading indicating the value of a gas flow in the selected measuring range, by the steps of: selecting a limited number of gas flow values which are spaced apart across the measuring range; determining the readings produced by the instrument when the instrument is measuring gas flows at the selected values; measuring the flow of the gas with the instrument to produce a reading indicating the value of the gas flow; and producing a corrected reading by calculating a function of the reading produced in the measuring step and the readings produced in the determining step.