Optical testing of ultrasonic phase gratings using a Fresnel diffraction method

A simple optical method is proposed for studying the Raman-Nath parameter of plane, sinusoidal, ultrasonic beams. The Fresnel diffraction field of a continuous ultrasonic grating illuminated by a collimated laser beam is measured by a photodetector placed mid-way between the self-image planes of the grating. Measurement of the amplitude of the fundamental of the output signal enables the absolute determination of the depth of phase modulation. A comparison of the proposed method with the techniques discussed in the literature is presented.