AOTFs are electronically-controlled bandpass optical filters that utilize a birefringent crystal. As changes in acoustic frequency alter its diffraction properties, rapid wavelength tuning becomes possible.
AOTFs can be utilized for many different applications, including spectral imaging and lidar sounding. Unfortunately, their dependence on RF drive power places a constraint on them that limits their usefulness.
AOTFs can be utilized for many different applications, including spectral imaging and lidar sounding. Unfortunately, their dependence on RF drive power places a constraint on them that limits their usefulness.
AOTFs are based on acoustic diffraction
AOTFs (Acoustic Optoelectronic Thin Film Filters) are optical filters based on acoustic diffraction of polarized light. They are commonly used to shift the polarization of an incident light beam within a specific bandpass of optical frequencies or switch wavelengths within one wavelength region, making them useful in laser spectroscopy and light source applications that rapidly select a wavelength from their excitation range of available excitation wavelengths.
AOTFs typically consist of birefringent crystals with piezoelectric transducers that produce an acoustic wave which interacts with an acousto-optic medium to generate light diffraction patterns that depend on interaction length (typically several nanometers or greater). Tuning the frequency of piezoelectric transducer can enable fine-tuning of this effect.
The frequency of piezoelectric acoustic waves can be controlled by several parameters, including their transit time in crystal (equivalent to their transit distance), velocity, propagation direction and drive frequency applied to piezoelectric transducer. Often these parameters are determined by optimizing an acoustic medium in order to maximize diffraction efficiency and resolution in birefringent crystal.
Acousto-optic tunable filters feature narrow passbands, low acoustic frequencies and are generally insensitive to input optical polarization, making them suitable for imaging systems with wide spectrum ranges.
Noncollinear AOTFs are typically constructed using tellurium dioxide, an excellent acousto-optic material for wavelength-agile imaging. Their operation relies on fulfilling noncritical phase matching conditions across an extensive range of incident beam angles; this allows the device to work efficiently with imaging crystals that have proven more suitable than other materials for wavelength illumination.
Tellurium dioxide noncollinear AOTFs use an acoustic transit distance that corresponds to their angular aperture to ensure maximum light collection power without resorting to polarizers. They can operate within the visible to near-infrared spectrum range and tune from several microseconds up to tens of microseconds depending on their acoustic transit distance and other configuration properties.
AOTFs typically consist of birefringent crystals with piezoelectric transducers that produce an acoustic wave which interacts with an acousto-optic medium to generate light diffraction patterns that depend on interaction length (typically several nanometers or greater). Tuning the frequency of piezoelectric transducer can enable fine-tuning of this effect.
The frequency of piezoelectric acoustic waves can be controlled by several parameters, including their transit time in crystal (equivalent to their transit distance), velocity, propagation direction and drive frequency applied to piezoelectric transducer. Often these parameters are determined by optimizing an acoustic medium in order to maximize diffraction efficiency and resolution in birefringent crystal.
Acousto-optic tunable filters feature narrow passbands, low acoustic frequencies and are generally insensitive to input optical polarization, making them suitable for imaging systems with wide spectrum ranges.
Noncollinear AOTFs are typically constructed using tellurium dioxide, an excellent acousto-optic material for wavelength-agile imaging. Their operation relies on fulfilling noncritical phase matching conditions across an extensive range of incident beam angles; this allows the device to work efficiently with imaging crystals that have proven more suitable than other materials for wavelength illumination.
Tellurium dioxide noncollinear AOTFs use an acoustic transit distance that corresponds to their angular aperture to ensure maximum light collection power without resorting to polarizers. They can operate within the visible to near-infrared spectrum range and tune from several microseconds up to tens of microseconds depending on their acoustic transit distance and other configuration properties.
They are a type of bandpass filter
AOTFs are bandpass filters that utilize acoustic diffraction to alter the wavelength of optical signals. An RF frequency is applied through a piezoelectric transducer which is connected to a crystal of tellurium oxide (TeO2).
As soon as an RF signal is applied, it vibrates the TeO2 crystal, causing its bands of compressed and expanded material to diffract light resulting in a narrow passband of wavelengths that is electrically adjustable.
Filters can be designed in different ways depending on their intended application, from telecoms to data transmission and light modulation where wavelengths must pass through it. Filters are ideal for telecoms, data transmission and light modulation applications that need control of how much light passes through them.
Telecommunications transmitters use band pass filters to restrict their output signals so as to transmit data at their maximum speed and quality, maximizing signal to noise ratio in receivers as a result.
Acousto-optic tunable filters have many applications beyond photobleaching, including laser scanning confocal microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Both technologies enable operators to tailor illumination intensity pixel by pixel while still maintaining an efficient scan rate, which enables quick analysis.
AOTFs can be created using various materials. Gallium phosphide is often chosen due to its excellent characteristics for creating acousto-optic devices.
Glass is another common material choice, offering excellent optical transparency across a broad wavelength range. Other materials, like silicon, are also employed for creating acousto-optic acoustic tunable filters.
These filters can also be used in astronomy to filter only certain wavelengths into an instrument and help find where stars lie on their main sequences, identify redshifts and more.
AOTFs are most often found in wireless transmitters and receivers, where they serve to limit the bandwidth of output signals so as to transmit at maximum speed with optimal signal-to-noise ratio. They may also be employed in various other fields like atmospheric sciences.
As soon as an RF signal is applied, it vibrates the TeO2 crystal, causing its bands of compressed and expanded material to diffract light resulting in a narrow passband of wavelengths that is electrically adjustable.
Filters can be designed in different ways depending on their intended application, from telecoms to data transmission and light modulation where wavelengths must pass through it. Filters are ideal for telecoms, data transmission and light modulation applications that need control of how much light passes through them.
Telecommunications transmitters use band pass filters to restrict their output signals so as to transmit data at their maximum speed and quality, maximizing signal to noise ratio in receivers as a result.
Acousto-optic tunable filters have many applications beyond photobleaching, including laser scanning confocal microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Both technologies enable operators to tailor illumination intensity pixel by pixel while still maintaining an efficient scan rate, which enables quick analysis.
AOTFs can be created using various materials. Gallium phosphide is often chosen due to its excellent characteristics for creating acousto-optic devices.
Glass is another common material choice, offering excellent optical transparency across a broad wavelength range. Other materials, like silicon, are also employed for creating acousto-optic acoustic tunable filters.
These filters can also be used in astronomy to filter only certain wavelengths into an instrument and help find where stars lie on their main sequences, identify redshifts and more.
AOTFs are most often found in wireless transmitters and receivers, where they serve to limit the bandwidth of output signals so as to transmit at maximum speed with optimal signal-to-noise ratio. They may also be employed in various other fields like atmospheric sciences.
They are a type of bandstop filter
AOTFs operate using acoustic interaction in anisotropic crystals. With high spectral resolution and many uses including confocal microscopy and hyperspectral imaging – an approach which provides information about light polarization – these instruments offer high precision for use across many disciplines.
An acousto-optic tunable filter typically uses birefringent Bragg interaction in an anisotropic crystal under phase-matching conditions to filter an input stream of light. Acoustic energy causes diffraction gratings to form within its waveguide that diffracts light beams based on birefringent Bragg interaction length, filtering them according to user settings.
An AOTF typically comprises two electrodes placed on either side of a crystal waveguide and connected to a voltage source, absorbing any acoustic energy generated by birefringent Bragg interaction; then sending this acoustic signal back through to filter in order to alter optical properties of crystal.
Electronic circuitry controls the frequency and amplitude of an acoustic pulse to vary its frequency, making this type of filter quick and easy to tune compared to others that can be adjusted over time. Acoustic-optic filters offer several distinct advantages over their counterparts when it comes to tuning capabilities.
Acoustic-optic filters boast another significant advantage; they’re electronically tunable, which enables them to tune to any frequency without an external acoustic generator. This capability makes acousto-optic filters suitable for many specialized functions that cannot be achieved with other spectroscopic devices.
An Acoustic Opto-Optic Tuning Facility’s (AOTF) ability to quickly and easily tune an acousto-optic device enables it to be used for many different spectroscopic measurements, from laser wavelength tuning and wavelength division multiplexing systems, through optical communication networks and even foodborne pathogen analyses – an area of research which continues to flourish.
AOTFs can be utilized for an assortment of applications, with laser scanning confocal microscopy and hyperspectral imaging being among the most prevalent uses for them. These technologies allow an operator to rapidly scan a region with different spectral characteristics much faster than mechanically controlled spectrometers; additionally, their acousto-optic resolving power provides detailed information regarding an input beam’s polarization state.
An acousto-optic tunable filter typically uses birefringent Bragg interaction in an anisotropic crystal under phase-matching conditions to filter an input stream of light. Acoustic energy causes diffraction gratings to form within its waveguide that diffracts light beams based on birefringent Bragg interaction length, filtering them according to user settings.
An AOTF typically comprises two electrodes placed on either side of a crystal waveguide and connected to a voltage source, absorbing any acoustic energy generated by birefringent Bragg interaction; then sending this acoustic signal back through to filter in order to alter optical properties of crystal.
Electronic circuitry controls the frequency and amplitude of an acoustic pulse to vary its frequency, making this type of filter quick and easy to tune compared to others that can be adjusted over time. Acoustic-optic filters offer several distinct advantages over their counterparts when it comes to tuning capabilities.
Acoustic-optic filters boast another significant advantage; they’re electronically tunable, which enables them to tune to any frequency without an external acoustic generator. This capability makes acousto-optic filters suitable for many specialized functions that cannot be achieved with other spectroscopic devices.
An Acoustic Opto-Optic Tuning Facility’s (AOTF) ability to quickly and easily tune an acousto-optic device enables it to be used for many different spectroscopic measurements, from laser wavelength tuning and wavelength division multiplexing systems, through optical communication networks and even foodborne pathogen analyses – an area of research which continues to flourish.
AOTFs can be utilized for an assortment of applications, with laser scanning confocal microscopy and hyperspectral imaging being among the most prevalent uses for them. These technologies allow an operator to rapidly scan a region with different spectral characteristics much faster than mechanically controlled spectrometers; additionally, their acousto-optic resolving power provides detailed information regarding an input beam’s polarization state.
They are a type of polarizer
Acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs) are polarizers which can be used to adjust how much light is transmitted and absorbed at specific wavelengths, providing control for laser scanning confocal microscopy and phase lock-in systems, among many other uses.
AOTFs employ acoustic diffraction and utilize a special crystal to control their wavelength of entry. As the acoustic beam passes through this crystal, it distorts light within a specific range and blocks all other wavelengths.
Sometimes an acoustic wave is introduced into a crystal perpendicular to an incoming beam and changes its wavelength; for instance, when this happens within LiNbO3 crystals it changes to ordinary and extraordinary polarized waves, which then reflect off away from it.
Acoustic Diffraction Change the Polarization of Incoming Beam Due to Acoustic Diffraction Effect The process of Acoustic Diffraction causes the polarization vectors for the incoming beam to change from linear to circular depending on its angle of incidence, creating circular polarization vectors.
Polarizers then reflect this circularly polarized light back at an incoming beam at an adjustable angle, producing circularly polarized illumination. They may be made from various materials including metals, optical materials and glass; or more simply constructed such as the Fresnel polarizer with stacks of plates reflecting it back at fixed angles.
Wire-grid polarizers use wires to polarize an incoming beam in one linear polarization direction. They may also feature fine metallic wires spaced at small intervals to vary its polarization depending on distance between wires and wavelength.
Birefringent polarizers, which split an incoming beam into two beams with opposite polarizations, can also be created from plastics or other nonmetallic materials with high dichroic activity.
AOTFs employ acoustic diffraction and utilize a special crystal to control their wavelength of entry. As the acoustic beam passes through this crystal, it distorts light within a specific range and blocks all other wavelengths.
Sometimes an acoustic wave is introduced into a crystal perpendicular to an incoming beam and changes its wavelength; for instance, when this happens within LiNbO3 crystals it changes to ordinary and extraordinary polarized waves, which then reflect off away from it.
Acoustic Diffraction Change the Polarization of Incoming Beam Due to Acoustic Diffraction Effect The process of Acoustic Diffraction causes the polarization vectors for the incoming beam to change from linear to circular depending on its angle of incidence, creating circular polarization vectors.
Polarizers then reflect this circularly polarized light back at an incoming beam at an adjustable angle, producing circularly polarized illumination. They may be made from various materials including metals, optical materials and glass; or more simply constructed such as the Fresnel polarizer with stacks of plates reflecting it back at fixed angles.
Wire-grid polarizers use wires to polarize an incoming beam in one linear polarization direction. They may also feature fine metallic wires spaced at small intervals to vary its polarization depending on distance between wires and wavelength.
Birefringent polarizers, which split an incoming beam into two beams with opposite polarizations, can also be created from plastics or other nonmetallic materials with high dichroic activity.
