Method and device for acousto-optic filtering with long optical and acoustic interaction length

Abstract

A method and a device for acousto-optic filtering with large optic and acoustic interaction length; includes the use of a birefringent acousto-optic crystal whereof the sound wave propagation speed is as low as possible, this acousto-optical crystal including, on one of its faces, a piezoelectric transducer intended to generate a transverse sound wave whereof the energy propagates collinearly to the energy of an incident light wave, all along the path of the incident light wave, in the aforementioned birefringent acousto-optic crystal, knowing that the transverse sound wave and the incident light wave travel a path including multiple reflections on one or the other of the reflective faces of the birefringent acousto-optic crystal perpendicular to the axes of symmetry shared by the acoustic slownesses curve and the curves of the ordinary and extraordinary optical indices of the acousto-optic crystal.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.