Ultrafast acousto-optic mode conversion in optically birefringent ferroelectrics

Ultrafast acousto-optic mode conversion in optically birefringent ferroelectrics

The ability to generate efficient giga-terahertz coherent acoustic phonons with femtosecond laser makes acousto-optics a promising candidate for ultrafast light processing, which faces electronic device limits intrinsic to complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology. Modern acousto-optic devices, including optical mode conversion process between ordinary and extraordinary light waves (an...

Design of a double-pass shear mode acousto-optic modulator.

The design of a compact double-pass shear mode acousto-optic modulator for high power operation in the UV is presented. Using a spherical mirror retroreflector in the second pass to correct for beam deflection, changes in beam position and angle during frequency tuning can be eliminated. The use of the shear mode acousto-optic interaction offers several key advantages, but the strain-induced bi...

Acousto - Optic Isolator ( Aoi )

Ultrafast polarization switching in thin-film ferroelectrics

We present an experimental approach to study the ultrafast polarization switching dynamics in thin-film ferroelectrics. A semiconductor photoconductive switch with femtosecond laser illumination is used as a ‘‘pulse generator’’ to produce jitter-free, sub-100 ps rise time step-function-like electrical pulses. Quantitative measurements yield a polarization switching time, ts , of ;220 ps when me...

Orientation of optically trapped nonspherical birefringent particles.

While the alignment and rotation of microparticles in optical traps have received increased attention recently, one of the earliest examples has been almost totally neglected--the alignment of particles relative to the beam axis, as opposed to about the beam axis. However, since the alignment torques determine how particles align in a trap, they are directly relevant to practical applications. ...