Acousto-Optic Beam Modulators and Deflectors Control Laser Beams in Many Applications.
by John Lekavich, Director, IntraAction
Acousto-Optics, the interaction of sound waves and light in a transparent medium, has proven an effective means of amplitude-modulating, deflecting, or shifting the optical frequency of laser light. When a transparent medium is subject to a stress, the optical refractive index of the medium changes. High frequency sound waves, launched into a transparent material via a piezoelectric transducer, will produce a periodic change in the refractive index of the material. In effect, the sound waves produce a grating capable of diffracting incident light. The amount of light diffracted is a function of the power in the acoustic wave. The seminal work on acousto- optic effects dates back to the 1920s and 1930s. The field came into its own in the 1960s after the development of the laser.
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Originally published Lasers & Application, April 1986
Acousto-Optics, the interaction of sound waves and light in a transparent medium, has proven an effective means of amplitude-modulating, deflecting, or shifting the optical frequency of laser light. When a transparent medium is subject to a stress, the optical refractive index of the medium changes. High frequency sound waves, launched into a transparent material via a piezoelectric transducer, will produce a periodic change in the refractive index of the material. In effect, the sound waves produce a grating capable of diffracting incident light. The amount of light diffracted is a function of the power in the acoustic wave. The seminal work on acousto- optic effects dates back to the 1920s and 1930s. The field came into its own in the 1960s after the development of the laser.
Click here to read the complete article.
Originally published Lasers & Application, April 1986