Diode laser beams are hard to measure. They are almost never round, collimated or homogeneous. At best they can be described as being elliptical and having a Gaussian distribution. How do we measure and calculate the area of the ellipse and have the same method used throughout LLLT academia and industry?
Answer: ask The National Physics Laboratory (NPL) to review the problem and propose a solution.
NPL is a world renowned measurements and standards organisation. They play a significant role in the writing of global measurement standards e.g. how to define time (the second) and mass (the kilogram). Now they will be working with THOR to define LLLT beam standards and measurement methods for academia and industry.