We present an experimental equipment for studying the charge carrier distribution in the interior of bipolar 4H-SiC high power devices by means of laser absorption measurements. Since the light absorption coefficient in a semiconductor depends on the electron and hole concentration, the attenuation of a laser beam transmitted through a sample is an integral function of the local charge carrier density. In order to detect the tiny changes in the light intensity caused by the plasma-optical effect, a highly sensitive measurement set-up has been developed. Its crucial components are a low-noise blue laser and a high-speed and broad-band photo-diode amplifier circuit. Sample preparation is sophisticated and requires special care. We investigated charge carrier profiles in 4H-SiC pin-diodes in the high-injection regime at current densities between 175 A/cm² and 350 A/cm². The measured charge carrier profiles are in good agreement with computer simulations.