Proceedings of the First Army Research Laboratory Acousto-Optic Tunable FilterWorkshop

摘要

Acoustic optic tunable filter (AOTF) technology is a recent development thatoffers potential for rapid, frequency agile tuning over a large optical wavelength range. An AOTF is an electronically tunable phase grating set up in an anisotropic crystal by the propagation of an ultrasonic wave in the crystal. Such filters have many attractive features, such as small size, lightweight, computer controlled operation, large optical wavelength range of operation, and no moving parts; and their operation can be made ultrasensitive by the use of advanced signal processing algorithms. These filters are being used in many applications such as the design of new spectroscopic instruments, remote detection and monitoring of chemicals, optical communication networks, tuning of laser cavities, etc.