What is the interpretation of and the difference between the
total power
and
total output power
of a pulsed laser? How are these parameters measured and which type of detectors are the most suitable for the measurement.
I used both a "Thermal Power Sensor" with wavelength ranges covering 190 nm to 20 µm, and a "Photodiode" with wavelength ranges covering 400 nm to 11 µm to measure a white-light laser. I certainly do not expect the two sensors to give similar values, however, the photodiode seem to measure the average power while the thermal power sensor measured the total output power.
I would like to know what the working principles of these detectors are, and how they measure the total power and total output power of a pulsed laser.
Your help in this clarification will be much appreciated.