Consideration of acoustic anisotropy in acousto-optical modulators designing

The problems of optimal acousto-optical (AO) devices designing is considered. It is shown that considering of weak effects, which are ignored in traditional design procedure, can significantly improve the characteristics of individual AO devices. As an example, the acoustic anisotropy is considered, which affects the “length” of the acoustic field created by the piezoelectric radiator, is considered. This effect regulates the spatial scale of the excited field, which can be optimized in accordance with the diameter of the laser beam to be modulated. By calculating the structure of the acoustic field in crystalline quartz it is shown that it is possible to change the spatial scale along the direction of ultrasound propagation up to 4 times.