Acousto-Optic Device (AO)

basic information

■Acousto-Optic Deflector -AO Deflector (AOD)- - Supports a wide wavelength range from ultraviolet (300nm) to far infrared (11μm) - Angle modulation (arbitrary angle) / intensity modulation - High-speed linear scanning, XY scanner ■Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter -AO Tunable Filter (AOTF)- - Supports a wide wavelength range from blue (400nm) to mid-infrared (4μm) - Active aperture: 2.5 to 10mm - High-speed continuous tuning - Broadband spectroscopy, remote sensing ■RF Driver for AOM - RF drive frequency: 10 to 350MHz - RF output: up to 180W - Analog intensity modulation, digital On-Off modulation - Single / multi RF frequency ■RF Driver for AOD - Wide RF drive frequency tuning range - Acousto-optic driver compatible with both analog and digital modulation - Single / multi RF frequency - High-power RF driver up to 180W

Price range

P3

Delivery Time

Applications/Examples of results

■High-speed modulation of laser light ■Wavelength selection of high-bandwidth lasers ■Wavelength frequency shift ■Image projection from video signals ■Q-switched laser

Detailed information

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  【Acoustic Optical Modulator - AOM】 ■ Used to control the intensity of a laser beam ■ Modulation methods: 1. Simple ON/OFF digital modulation for high-speed switching 2. Analog modulation that can variably modulate the intensity of diffracted light ■ The above modes are determined by the type of RF driver, which can be digital driver/analog driver (a combination of both is also available) ■ The RF frequency of the driver is usually constant and is modulated according to the amplitude (intensity) of the RF ■ The optical rise/fall time depends on the beam diameter and the speed of sound in the crystal ■ To achieve high-speed modulation, it is necessary to reduce the beam diameter in the crystal

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  【Acousto-Optic Q-Switch -AOQ Switch-】 ■ Positioned inside the laser resonator, it is capable of generating laser light with short pulses and high peak power at repetition frequencies exceeding 100 kHz. ■ Generally, laser oscillation using an AOQ switch employs the zeroth order light (transmitted light). ■ The purpose of the AOQ switch is to diffract as much power as possible from the zeroth order light outside the resonator through Bragg diffraction/Raman-Nath diffraction (increasing cavity loss) to suppress laser oscillation. ■ When the supplied RF power to the AOQ switch is turned off in that state, the induced emission of energy accumulated in the medium accelerates rapidly and is emitted as short pulse high peak power laser light.

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  【Acousto-Optic Frequency Modulator - AO Frequency Shifter (AOFS) -】 ■ All AO modulators involve a frequency shift of diffracted light. ■ The AOFS from Isomet is a compact device specially designed for frequency shifting. ■ The frequency of the emitted laser light is the value obtained by adding (upshift) or subtracting (downshift) the frequency of the RF signal applied to the frequency of the incident laser light. ■ By using a variable frequency RF driver or combining multiple AOFS, arbitrary frequency shifts can be achieved.

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  【Acoustic Optical Deflector - AOD - ■ By changing the RF frequency, it is possible to alter the angle of the incident laser beam in any direction. ■ Compared to galvanoscanners with mechanical drive components, it enables linear scanning at a very fast scan rate (>250kHz: depending on wavelength and beam diameter) and 2D scanning using an XY deflector. ■ In general AO modulators, angle modulation can also be achieved by changing the RF frequency, but due to the mismatch of the Bragg angle, a decrease in diffraction efficiency is observed depending on the scanning range. ■ Isomet's AOD includes an off-axis "OAD" type that minimizes Bragg angle-frequency sensitivity by utilizing the nonlinear properties of birefringent crystals, and a beam steering "BS" type equipped with two or four RF input terminals that electrically manipulate the acoustic columns within the crystal according to the RF drive frequency using phased array electrodes of the transducer.

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  Acoustic Optical Tunable Filter - AO Tunable Filter (AOTF) - ■ By inputting an RF frequency corresponding to a specific wavelength, it is possible to selectively extract light of a specific wavelength from a broadband light source, etc. ■ Ideal for high-speed and continuous wavelength filtering.

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  【RF Driver for AO Modulator】 - There are analog modulation for arbitrarily adjusting the diffraction intensity of laser light and digital modulation for simple On-Off control. - RF drive frequency: fixed in the range of 10 to 350 MHz. - In addition to the typical single RF drive frequency type RF drivers, there are also models equipped with multiple RF drive frequencies.

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  【RF Driver for AO Deflector】 - It is possible to arbitrarily change the RF drive frequency within the RF tuning range according to the input signal. - It can simultaneously perform analog modulation to adjust the diffraction intensity of the laser light and digital modulation for simple On-Off control. - There are drivers with a two-terminal RF output compatible with beam steering type AODs, as well as drivers that can input multiple RF drive frequencies.