Energy measurement system and method

1. A system to measure the energy level of a radiation pulse, the system comprising:

a sample-and-hold module to measure the radiation pulse, the sample-and-hold module configured to generate a signal representative of an energy level of the radiation pulse, the sample-and-hold module comprising:

a photo detector to generate electrical current in response to at least a portion of the radiation pulse incident on the photo detector, and

an energy storage component to accumulate electrical charge from the electrical current generated by the photo detector during a period that the radiation pulse is active, the accumulated charge being representative of duration and strength of the radiation pulse, wherein the accumulated charge corresponds to a resultant voltage that is measured subsequent to completion of the period of the radiation pulse; and

a processing module to determine an energy value of the radiation pulse based on the signal generated by the sample-and-hold module in response to a determination that a detected emission resulting in the generated signal corresponds to a laser pulse.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the photo detector of the sample-and-hold module comprises:

a photodiode to generate electrical current in response to at least a portion of the radiation pulse incident on the photodiode, the level of generated electrical current being proportional to the energy level of the radiation pulse.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the level of electrical charge stored on the energy storage component during one period of the radiation pulse is representative of the energy level of the radiation pulse.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the energy storage component includes a capacitor.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a gain-and-filtering module coupled to an output of sample-and-hold module, the gain-and-filtering module configured to:

amplify the signal representative of an energy level of the radiation pulse; and

provide the amplified signal to the input of the processing module.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a pulse-detect module to determine the occurrence of the emission.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the system is implemented without an integrator circuit.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the sample-and-hold module is configured to measure a short-pulse laser beam having a pulse duration of substantially between 1 nanosecond and 1 millisecond.

9. A system to measure the energy level of a radiation pulse, the system comprising:

a sample-and-hold circuit to measure the radiation pulse, the sample-and-hold module configured to generate a signal representative of an energy level of the radiation pulse, the sample-and-hold module comprising:

a photo detector to generate electrical current in response to at least a portion of the radiation pulse incident on the photo detector, and

an energy storage component to accumulate electrical charge from the electrical current generated by the photo detector during a period that the radiation pulse is active, the accumulated charge being representative of duration and strength of the radiation pulse, wherein the accumulated charge corresponds to a resultant voltage that is measured subsequent to completion of the period of the radiation pulse; and

a processing circuit to determine an energy value of the radiation pulse based on the signal generated by the sample-and-hold module in response to a determination that a detected emission resulting in the generated signal corresponds to a laser pulse.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the photo detector of the sample-and-hold circuit comprises:

a photodiode to generate electrical current in response to at least a portion of the radiation pulse incident on the photodiode, the level of generated electrical current being proportional to the energy level of the radiation pulse.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

a gain-and-filtering circuit coupled to an output of sample-and-hold circuit, the gain-and-filtering circuit configured to:

amplify the signal representative of an energy level of the radiation pulse; and

provide the amplified signal to the input of the processing circuit.

12. A radiation system to transmit radiation, the system comprising:

a radiation source to generate a radiation pulse; and

one or more energy measurement devices, at least one of the one or more energy measurement devices comprising:

a sample-and-hold module to measure the generated radiation pulse, the sample-and-hold module configured to generate a signal representative of an energy level of the generated radiation pulse, the sample-and-hold module comprising:

a photo detector to generate electrical current in response to at least a portion of the radiation pulse incident on the photo detector, and

an energy storage component to accumulate electrical charge from the electrical current generated by the photo detector during a period that the radiation pulse is active, the accumulated charge being representative of duration and strength of the radiation pulse, wherein the accumulated charge corresponds to a resultant voltage that is measured subsequent to completion of the period of the radiation pulse; and

a processing module to determine an energy level of the radiation pulse based on the signal generated by the sample-and-hold module in response to a determination that a detected emission resulting in the generated signal corresponds to a laser pulse.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the radiation source comprises a laser device configured to generate short-pulsed laser radiation.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the photo detector of the sample-and-hold module of the at least one of the one or more energy measurement devices comprises:

a photodiode to generate electrical current in response to at least a portion of the radiation incident on the photodiode, the level of generated electrical current being proportional to the energy level of the generated radiation pulse.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the level of electrical charge stored on the energy storage component during one period of the radiation pulse is representative of the energy level of the radiation pulse.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the energy storage component includes a capacitor.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one of the one or more energy measurement devices further comprises:

a gain-and-filtering module coupled to an output of sample-and-hold module, the gain-and-filtering module configured to:

amplify the signal representative of the energy level of the radiation pulse; and

provide the amplified signal to the input of the processing module.

18. The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one of the one or more energy measurement devices further comprises:

a pulse-detect module to determine the occurrence of the emission.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein the at least one of the one or more energy measurement devices is implemented without an integrator circuit.

20. The system of claim 12 wherein the sample-and-hold module of the at least one of the one or more energy measurement devices is configured to measure a short-pulse laser beam having a pulse duration of substantially between 1 nanosecond and 1 millisecond.

21. A method to measure energy level of a radiation pulse, the method comprising:

directing at least a portion of the radiation pulse to a sensor configured to generate a signal representative of the energy level of the radiation;

maintaining the generated signal for a period of time following termination of the radiation pulse, wherein maintaining the generated signal comprises accumulating electrical charge from electrical current generated by the sensor, during a period that the radiation pulse is active, on a storage component, the accumulated charge being representative of duration and strength of the radiation pulse;

sampling the maintained signal one or more times to generate corresponding one or more resultant signals, wherein sampling the maintained signal includes measuring a resultant voltage corresponding to the accumulated charge subsequent to completion of the period of the radiation pulse; and

processing the one or more resultant signals to produce an output signal representative of the energy level of the radiation pulse in response to a determination that a detected emission resulting in the generated one or more signals corresponds to a laser pulse.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein directing the at least the portion of the radiation pulse comprises:

directing the at least a portion of the radiation pulse to a photodiode configured to generate electrical current in proportion to the directed at least the portion of the radiation pulse.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein maintaining the signal for the period of time following termination of the radiation pulse comprises:

storing the current generated by the photodiode on a storage element.

24. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

detecting the occurrence of the emission.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein directing at least a portion of the radiation pulse comprises:

directing at least a portion of a laser radiation pulse, the pulse having a duration of substantially between 1 nanosecond and 1 millisecond.