Acoustic-optic devices alter the amplitude, frequency, or phase of light passing through them by altering sound wave strength; these are commonly found in laser printers, video recorders, and video projection systems.
Acoustic-optic devices can be constructed from various materials, including tellurium dioxide (TeO2), crystalline quartz and fused silica. Each material offers desirable properties like high diffraction efficiency, narrow resolution and high extinction ratios.
Acoustic-optic devices can be constructed from various materials, including tellurium dioxide (TeO2), crystalline quartz and fused silica. Each material offers desirable properties like high diffraction efficiency, narrow resolution and high extinction ratios.
Fused silica
Fused silica is one of the most frequently used glass materials used in manufactured components. Constructed from silicon dioxide minerals, fusing silica can be produced through several methods and offers several distinct benefits; its main advantage being cost-efficient processing with high purity levels.
Fumed silica is often employed in the production of acousto-optic devices for transmitting light in the visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared regions, making it suitable for lenses and mirrors used within such systems as well as UV transmitting optics and metrology components.
Fused silica offers another key advantage by virtue of its superior thermal shock resistance, meaning it can withstand intense heating and cooling operations without risk of damage, making it suitable for lasers, high temperature processes and semiconductor applications.
Although fused silica is generally an extremely pure material, it may still contain small impurities from natural causes. For example, trace amounts of hydroxyl may affect optical properties and should be avoided when fabricating an acousto-optic device.
Selection of fabrication method is also key as this can affect transmission characteristics of finished product, which especially applies in UV spectrum range.
Fused silica is often produced using either a flame hydrolysis process or chemical synthesis, and comes in various thicknesses and shapes with differing purity specifications. This material can also be employed in laser Q-switches which require very low insertion loss as well as high damage threshold threshold.
Fumed silica is often employed in the production of acousto-optic devices for transmitting light in the visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared regions, making it suitable for lenses and mirrors used within such systems as well as UV transmitting optics and metrology components.
Fused silica offers another key advantage by virtue of its superior thermal shock resistance, meaning it can withstand intense heating and cooling operations without risk of damage, making it suitable for lasers, high temperature processes and semiconductor applications.
Although fused silica is generally an extremely pure material, it may still contain small impurities from natural causes. For example, trace amounts of hydroxyl may affect optical properties and should be avoided when fabricating an acousto-optic device.
Selection of fabrication method is also key as this can affect transmission characteristics of finished product, which especially applies in UV spectrum range.
Fused silica is often produced using either a flame hydrolysis process or chemical synthesis, and comes in various thicknesses and shapes with differing purity specifications. This material can also be employed in laser Q-switches which require very low insertion loss as well as high damage threshold threshold.
Lithium niobate
Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) is an exceptional piezoelectric material and also serves as an acousto-optical device. With an exceptional piezoelectric coefficient and remarkable electro-optical, photoelastic, and nonlinear optical properties it makes LiNbO3 an attractive host material for integrated optics applications.
Acoustic-optic modulators are devices that use vibration from sound waves to alter light beams, altering its wavelength, amplitude, phase and frequency as well as its polarization. This makes possible devices such as birefringent filters and acousto-optic switches.
To maximize diffraction efficiency in an acousto-optical modulator, it is critical that light beam be focused to a small diameter at the location of acoustic interaction. This is because time taken by an acoustic wave to travel across light beam limits its switching speed which in turn restricts modulation bandwidth.
Acousto-optical modulators (AOMs) are typically large devices; however, fiber-pigtailed versions exist that offer reduced insertion loss for high speed communications applications. These compact modulators may also be referred to as fiber-coupled acousto-optic modulators (FCAOMs).
These types of devices are typically constructed out of glass or crystal with antireflection coatings applied to their light entrance and exit faces to minimize light reflection. Dimension and roughness tolerances typically reach within 1/10, guaranteeing that light passes uninterrupted through the modulator crystal without being reflected back out again.
Thin-film lithium niobate has recently emerged as an ideal material for creating acousto-optic devices due to its strong piezoelectricity. This makes it suitable for creating surface acoustic waves capable of disrupting guided light waves within its confines.
Surface-acoustic waves exhibit high energy overlap within their wavelength range, an advantageous feature for acousto-optic devices and capable of modulating a PIC with high efficiency.
For optimal performance of these devices, combining both acoustic and optical waves on one integrated chip requires innovative designs and material platforms that can simultaneously contain both light and acoustic waves within their confines. To do this, one needs a device capable of managing these aspects of performance simultaneously.
Acoustic-optic modulators are devices that use vibration from sound waves to alter light beams, altering its wavelength, amplitude, phase and frequency as well as its polarization. This makes possible devices such as birefringent filters and acousto-optic switches.
To maximize diffraction efficiency in an acousto-optical modulator, it is critical that light beam be focused to a small diameter at the location of acoustic interaction. This is because time taken by an acoustic wave to travel across light beam limits its switching speed which in turn restricts modulation bandwidth.
Acousto-optical modulators (AOMs) are typically large devices; however, fiber-pigtailed versions exist that offer reduced insertion loss for high speed communications applications. These compact modulators may also be referred to as fiber-coupled acousto-optic modulators (FCAOMs).
These types of devices are typically constructed out of glass or crystal with antireflection coatings applied to their light entrance and exit faces to minimize light reflection. Dimension and roughness tolerances typically reach within 1/10, guaranteeing that light passes uninterrupted through the modulator crystal without being reflected back out again.
Thin-film lithium niobate has recently emerged as an ideal material for creating acousto-optic devices due to its strong piezoelectricity. This makes it suitable for creating surface acoustic waves capable of disrupting guided light waves within its confines.
Surface-acoustic waves exhibit high energy overlap within their wavelength range, an advantageous feature for acousto-optic devices and capable of modulating a PIC with high efficiency.
For optimal performance of these devices, combining both acoustic and optical waves on one integrated chip requires innovative designs and material platforms that can simultaneously contain both light and acoustic waves within their confines. To do this, one needs a device capable of managing these aspects of performance simultaneously.
Tellurium dioxide
Tellurium dioxide (TeO2) is an invaluable material used in acousto-optic devices. This material is frequently found in modulators, imaging devices, splitters, deflectors, tunable polarisation filters, laser Q-switches and spectrum analyzers – just to name a few applications!
Acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), used in laser scanning confocal microscopy, allow investigators to adjust excitation wavelength and intensity on an individual pixel basis for maximum control while still maintaining a rapid scan rate and selective illumination of regions of interest. This technology makes use of an AOTF filter more cost-effective as well.
Typically, such devices consist of a piezoelectric transducer and an acousto-optic crystal that allows it to convert RF signal energy into light which is then reflected back by the crystal.
However, this process has some inherent downsides. For instance, tellurium dioxide-based devices tend to have low diffraction efficiency at shorter wavelengths and need significant power in order to function effectively. Furthermore, dispersion may occur at either extreme of their wavelength range.
As this can have a dramatic effect on the performance of an acousto-optic tunable filter, it is critical that any device designed with adequate diffraction efficiency at its highest wavelength be designed.
Lead molybdate, commonly referred to as PbMoO4, is an ideal material for creating effective acousto-optic crystals, boasting high diffraction efficiency at shorter wavelengths and being easily grown using the Czochralsky method in large diameters.
Paratellurite (a-TeO2) crystal is another widely-used acousto-optic material, and often featured in modulators and deflectors. Additionally, vacuum thermo-pressure bonding may be employed to produce larger apertures for greater functionality.
While being an excellent piezo-optical crystal, this material is also extremely thermally stable – an asset in applications where this stability is of critical importance, such as microwave ovens or solid oxide fuel cells.
Tellurium dioxide is a reluctant glass former, meaning that it only forms under certain cooling conditions or by adding small amounts of another compound like oxides or halides. Due to this property, tellurium dioxide is often combined with other materials in order to form devices which are both thermally stable and chemical resistant.
Acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), used in laser scanning confocal microscopy, allow investigators to adjust excitation wavelength and intensity on an individual pixel basis for maximum control while still maintaining a rapid scan rate and selective illumination of regions of interest. This technology makes use of an AOTF filter more cost-effective as well.
Typically, such devices consist of a piezoelectric transducer and an acousto-optic crystal that allows it to convert RF signal energy into light which is then reflected back by the crystal.
However, this process has some inherent downsides. For instance, tellurium dioxide-based devices tend to have low diffraction efficiency at shorter wavelengths and need significant power in order to function effectively. Furthermore, dispersion may occur at either extreme of their wavelength range.
As this can have a dramatic effect on the performance of an acousto-optic tunable filter, it is critical that any device designed with adequate diffraction efficiency at its highest wavelength be designed.
Lead molybdate, commonly referred to as PbMoO4, is an ideal material for creating effective acousto-optic crystals, boasting high diffraction efficiency at shorter wavelengths and being easily grown using the Czochralsky method in large diameters.
Paratellurite (a-TeO2) crystal is another widely-used acousto-optic material, and often featured in modulators and deflectors. Additionally, vacuum thermo-pressure bonding may be employed to produce larger apertures for greater functionality.
While being an excellent piezo-optical crystal, this material is also extremely thermally stable – an asset in applications where this stability is of critical importance, such as microwave ovens or solid oxide fuel cells.
Tellurium dioxide is a reluctant glass former, meaning that it only forms under certain cooling conditions or by adding small amounts of another compound like oxides or halides. Due to this property, tellurium dioxide is often combined with other materials in order to form devices which are both thermally stable and chemical resistant.
Quartz
Quartz is one of the world’s most ubiquitous minerals, serving a vital function in many igneous and metamorphic rocks, formed when magma cools to solidify silicon dioxide crystals into quartz grains. Quartz’s hard, durable nature means it can withstand chemical as well as mechanical weathering effects over time.
Quartz can be found in various shapes, colors and forms. Its uses range from jewelry making and gemstone production to countertops for home and office spaces.
Quartz sands are an integral component of oil and gas reservoir rocks, used in hydraulic fracturing to force slurries of quartz sand down oil and gas wells at extremely high pressures to open fractures in rock surfaces for natural gas flow into wells. Durable grains withstand this intense pressure to facilitate this process while holding open fractures within rocks, thus increasing natural gas inflow into well bores.
Quartz can also be used as a filtering agent during petroleum drilling operations and in producing transparent glass products.
Quartz mineral is a clear or white substance composed of oxygen and silicon atoms arranged in an interlocked tetrahedron lattice structure, giving it its distinctive hexagonal six-sided form (Fig 1).
Quartz is typically composed of crystalline structures, yet can also be fractured into various forms such as spheres, octahedra and tetragonal shapes. Due to this hard and resistant surface it offers strong protection from scratches, impact damage, compression bending and infiltration.
Quartz stands apart from most crystalline minerals because it is chiral; meaning that its chemical forms exist in two separate ways. Alpha quartz, the crystal form, forms when silicon and oxygen atoms combine in an ordered tetrahedron; beta quartz on the other hand forms when elements from each element occupy separate tetrahedra; both types of Quartz are crystalline, with beta Quartz being more brittle and harder than alpha Quartz.
Quartz has long been valued for its various uses since ancient times. From jewelry making and filling and polishing materials to abrasives and filters for petroleum filters, quartz has countless applications in life today – not least as piezoelectric material!
Quartz can be found in various shapes, colors and forms. Its uses range from jewelry making and gemstone production to countertops for home and office spaces.
Quartz sands are an integral component of oil and gas reservoir rocks, used in hydraulic fracturing to force slurries of quartz sand down oil and gas wells at extremely high pressures to open fractures in rock surfaces for natural gas flow into wells. Durable grains withstand this intense pressure to facilitate this process while holding open fractures within rocks, thus increasing natural gas inflow into well bores.
Quartz can also be used as a filtering agent during petroleum drilling operations and in producing transparent glass products.
Quartz mineral is a clear or white substance composed of oxygen and silicon atoms arranged in an interlocked tetrahedron lattice structure, giving it its distinctive hexagonal six-sided form (Fig 1).
Quartz is typically composed of crystalline structures, yet can also be fractured into various forms such as spheres, octahedra and tetragonal shapes. Due to this hard and resistant surface it offers strong protection from scratches, impact damage, compression bending and infiltration.
Quartz stands apart from most crystalline minerals because it is chiral; meaning that its chemical forms exist in two separate ways. Alpha quartz, the crystal form, forms when silicon and oxygen atoms combine in an ordered tetrahedron; beta quartz on the other hand forms when elements from each element occupy separate tetrahedra; both types of Quartz are crystalline, with beta Quartz being more brittle and harder than alpha Quartz.
Quartz has long been valued for its various uses since ancient times. From jewelry making and filling and polishing materials to abrasives and filters for petroleum filters, quartz has countless applications in life today – not least as piezoelectric material!
