	Laser Standard

Laser Standard (IEC)

IEC60825-1 - Safety of Laser Products

IEC60825-1

The IEC60825-1 is an IEC standard which regulates safety of laser products and the class standard and class judgment standard were revised in 2001 by the IEC standards constitution committee.
According to this revision, new classes, namely class 1M, class 2M and class 3R were newly established. In addition, the JIS standard relating to the laser safety standard (JIS C6802) was also revised in January, 2005 so that the laser class standard conforms to the IEC standard.

Summary of requirements according to IEC

Classification	Outline of risk assessment
Class 1	Lasers that are safe under reasonably foreseeable conditions of operation, including the use of optical instruments for intrabeam viewing.
Class 1M	Lasers emitting in the wavelength range from 302.5 to 4,000 nm which are safe under reasonably foreseeable conditions of operation, but may be hazardous if the user employs optics within the beam.
Class 2	Lasers that emit visible radiation in the wavelength range from 400 to 700 nm where eye protection is normally afforded by aversion responses, including the blink reflex. This reaction may be expected to provide adequate protection under reasonably foreseeable conditions of operation including the use of optical instruments for intrabeam viewing
Class 2M	Lasers that emit visible radiation in the wavelength range from 400 to 700 nm where eye protection is normally afforded by aversion responses including the blink reflex. However, viewing of the output may be more hazardous if the user employs optics within the beam.
Class 3R	Lasers that emit in the wavelength rage from 302.5 to 10⁶ nm where direct intrabeam viewing is potentially hazardous but the risk is lower than for Class 3B lasers.
Class 3B	Lasers that are normally hazardous when direct intrabeam exposure occurs. Viewing diffuse reflections is normally safe.
Class 4	Lasers that are also capable of producing hazardous diffuse reflections. They may cause skin injuries and could also constitute a fire hazard. Their use requires extreme caution.

IEC Structural Requirements

Protective Housing

Protective housing generally means housing of a product. This housing is to prevent the internal laser beam from leaking out (excluding its opening), and it must be able to maintain sufficient mechanical strength.

Access Panel and Safety Interlock

An access panel is a part of the protective housing such as a cover or door and removing or moving the panel will cause the operator to be exposed to the laser beam. A safety interlock is required to be fixed on the access panel in order to protect operators from being exposed to the internal laser beam if the access panel is structured to be opened if the operator needs to operate or perform maintenance work.

Remote Interlock Connecter

The remote interlock connecter controls the laser which is irradiated when the connector terminal is opened, not to exceed class 1M or class 2M.

Key Control

The key control function enables laser irradiation only when the key is switched to the "ON" position and it prohibits the irradiation if the key is not set to "ON". Furthermore, the key can only be removed when it is switched to the "OFF" position.

Laser Irradiation Warning Light

The laser irradiation warning light visually or audibly notifies its operator that the laser may be irradiated or has already been irradiated from the laser product. In the case of the visual method, it must be recognizable even when safety goggles are used.

Beam Breaker

The beam breaker interrupts the laser beam irradiated from a laser product. This function needs to be designed independently from the main power switch or key control of a laser product.

Control Unit

"Control Unit" means that the control unit for the laser product adjustment and operation is located at a safe place so that the operator is not directly exposed to the laser during operation. This is to protect the operator from being exposed to a laser beam when operating laser products.

Scanning Safeguard

The scanning safeguard controls the laser products which come with a scanner so that the AEL of the respective class is not exceeded by interrupting laser scanning, etc. when the laser scanner breaks down.

Caution Label/Description Label/Danger Label

The caution label is a symbol mark which indicates the hazardous nature of the laser beam as shown in the figure below. The description label is required depending on the laser class, and warning message, the laser specifications, and laser class descriptions are specified. The danger label shows the opening of the protective housing from which laser beam is irradiated. Below are examples of these labels.

Structural Requirements by IEC Class

	Class1	Class1M	Class2	Class2M	Class3R	Class3B	Class4
Protective housing	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Access panel and safety interlock *1	△	△	△	△	△	△	△
Remote interlock connecter	-	-	-	-	-	X	X
Key control	-	-	-	-	-	X	X
Laser irradiation warning light	-	-	-	-	X	X	X
Beam breaker	-	-	-	-	-	X	X
Control unit	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Scanning safeguard *2	△	△	△	△	△	△	△
Caution label	-	-	X	X	X	X	X
Certification label	-	-	X	X	X	X	X
Danger label	-	-	-	-	X	X	X
Access panel label *3	△	△	△	△	△	△	△


※1	There is no need to fix a safety interlock if the protective housing is not removable or unmovable.
※2	This is required for all laser products with a scanning system regardless of the laser class.
※3	This label is required for the product with an access panel (in other words, protective housing can be opened) if the laser beam which is irradiated from inside when the panel is opened exceeds Class 1.

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