Abstract

The acousto-optic transducer (AOT) is a fundamental component of a number of hybrid circuits for optical computing and optical signal processing. The grating created by the surface acoustic wave (SAW) in an AOT generates Bragg diffraction of an incident optical wave, and the intensity of the diffracted wave is proportional to the product of the incident light intensity and the power of the acoustic wave. This fundamental property of AOTs is widely used for spectral analysis and correlation of wide-band signals. Therefore, the theoretical analysis of an AOT involves both the optical and acoustic modal investigation. In most applications the role of the optical mode analysis is predominant over the acoustic mode analysis because the SAW propagation speed does not depend on the acoustic frequency, as occurs in the LiNbO₃ devices.

© 1990 Optical Society of America