Acousto-optic device-based high-speed high-isolation photonic switching fabric for signal processing

A high-speed, switched, binary photonic switching fabric based on two acousto-optic devices arranged in a compact self-aligning (by acousto-optic device-based Bragg matching) optical geometry is introduced for photonic signal processing and control. This fabric has the unique capability to provide simultaneously both high switching speeds and high optical isolation, a critical need for advanced low-noise high-speed signal-processing applications. The proof-of-concept experimental fabric demonstrated nearly 60% light throughput, a 39-dB optical isolation level for both states of the switching fabric, and a 138-ns switching time.     

Acousto-Optics Tunable Filter Based on a Hollow Optical Fiber for Broadband Polarization Switch Application

A novel acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) using a hollow optical fiber (HOF) is proposed. Its broadband rejection over 100nm was observed and high polarization dependence as a polarization switch is discussed.     

Rapid ultrafine-tunable optical delay line at the 1.55-mum wavelength

A fast, ultrafine-tunable delay line at 1550 nm is demonstrated by use of acousto-optic pulse shaping. Delays of up to 30 ps can be achieved without any optical readjustment. The delay is linear to the rf center frequency applied to the acousto-optic modulator and is fully electronic. It takes only 3micros to switch between different time slots, irrespective of the time separation in the tuning range of 30 ps; for a smaller tuning range the tuning speed can be faster. The tuning resolution and range depend on the choice of system parameters. The pulse energy can be regulated by rf power.     

Injection locking of a diode laser locked to a Zeeman frequency stabilized laser oscillator

We describe the design and performance of an injection-locked diode laser locked to a stabilized, single frequency, unmodulated diode laser. The master oscillator is a grating-tuned, external cavity diode laser which is stabilized on a Doppler free alkali metal resonance transition frequency via Zeeman locking. The master oscillator frequency is shifted by an acousto-optic modulator, which provides optical isolation of the master oscillator laser while tuning of the acousto-optic modulation frequency can also provide frequency offset tuning. The slave laser is a free running diode which is injection-locked by a small fraction of the frequency shifted master oscillator light. Good long- and short-time frequency stability are observed for both the Zeeman-locked master oscillator and the injection-locked slave laser.     

Application of acousto-optic interaction for holographic conversion of light fields

This paper represents a survey of research on the problem of acousto-optic conversion of optical images. This method of conversion permits us to retain all information that is contained in both amplitude and phase spatial modulation of a light wave. Particular attention is given to acousto-optic visualization of phase objects and registration of optical wavefronts. Information possibilities of the acousto-optic method are illustrated by numerical calculations as well as by some experiments recently performed in this area.     

The spatial structure of acousto-optic phase matching in biaxial crystal of alpha-iodic acid

Anisotropic acousto-optic diffraction in biaxial crystal of alpha-iodic acid has been studied in the case in which the wave vector of the ultrasound is almost orthogonal to one of the optical axes and the directions of incident and diffracted light beams are close to the optical axis. It is shown that, owing to the complex form of wave surfaces in the field of optical axes of a biaxial crystal, the considered variant of acousto-optic interaction is very sensitive to changes in the direction of the wave vector of the ultrasound that imposes special requirements to accuracy of manufacturing of acousto-optic devices.     

声光偏转效应在相干光检测的应用

为使现代电子侦察技术能适应信号密集、宽频谱、大动态的电磁环境, 提出了一种基于声光偏转器实现相关光信号处理的方法, 分析了射频信号频率变化与布拉格衍射角的关系, 讨论了声光偏转效应对信号频率的空间滤波特性; 在理论分析的基础上, 构建了在可见光范围内实现声光偏转的相干光信号探测的实验系统, 并通过计算机仿真对比, 验证了这种方法的可行性。实验表明, 采用波长为630 nm的单频激光, 带宽为200 MHz的声光偏转器, 其频率分辨率优于1 MHz, 频率信号的空间分离效果明显, 接收灵敏度和信噪比得到改善。     

激光点火系统用高功率光纤光开关

 仿真和实验研究了一种控制Nd:YAG脉冲激光能量通断的光纤直接连接型光开关。建立光纤耦合模型,分析了光纤对准误差中对耦合效率的影响,其中横向偏移的影响最显著。采用微机电系统V型槽固定光纤,微小型凸轮作为制动器,步进电机驱动凸轮旋转,微小型凸轮与移动光纤相切,带动光纤移动,实现两光纤的错开和对准。制造了这种高功率直接连接型光纤光开关原理样机,并进行了主要性能测试。测试结果表明,这种光开关能够满足激光点火系统的大容量、高隔离度的要求。     

多光束傅里叶望远镜的关键技术

为了实现对远距离暗弱快速运动目标的高分辨率成像,基于多光束傅里叶望远镜的组成,对光学分系统、机械分系统、电子分系统和软件分系统涉及的关键技术进行了分析和讨论。针对光学分系统主要分析了激光光源、相位延迟器,声光移频器和光电倍增管所涉及的主要技术指标;机械分系统讨论了发射望远镜指示和跟踪精度、发射光束的快速切换和主镜的拼接支撑结构等;电子分系统介绍了同步控制、电磁屏蔽和配电等需要注意的问题;而针对软件分系统则讨论了光束快速切换、位置和角度变化的同步控制和图像恢复等。对上述关键技术的分析和讨论为多光束傅里叶望远镜系统的研制提供了参考。     

Optical phase shifting with acousto-optic devices

A novel optical phase-shifting method based on a well-known acousto-optic interaction is proposed. By using a pair of acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) and properly aligning them, we construct an optical phase shifter that can directly control the phase of a collimated beam. The proposed phase shifter is insensitive to the polarization of the incident beam when polarization-insensitive AOMs are used, and no calibration is necessary. The proposed approach is confirmed with experimental results.     

声光可调谐滤波器(AOTF)消色散设计

介绍了非共线声光可调谐滤波器的构成及基本原理,计算了非共线声光可调谐滤波器衍射出的±1级衍射偏振光的偏转角,采用在光路中添加光楔的方法补偿非共线声光可调谐滤波器晶体色散引起的图像漂移.分析结果表明使用TeO_2材料设计的光楔在楔角为7.6°的时候可以控制图像漂移在一个像元以内,并在400～900 nm的工作波段范围内满足稳定成像的要求.     

Effect of feedback loop on the resolution of acousto-optic spectrometer

An acousto-optic spectrometer based on a collinear acousto-optic cell with feedback loop has been theoretically and experimentally investigated. It is shown that the introduction of optoelectronic feedback affects to a great extent the characteristics of collinear acousto-optic interaction and makes it possible to increase significantly the accuracy of determining the wavelength of incident optical signal.     

基于一维耦合腔光子晶体的声光可调谐平顶滤波器的研究

本文利用一维耦合腔光子晶体,提出了一种声光可调谐平顶滤波器.该滤波器利用声光效应,通过改变超声波频率使一维耦合腔光子晶体透射谱的平顶滤波器的中心波长产生漂移,从而实现可调谐的滤波功能.基于传输矩阵法和声光效应理论,建立了这种平顶滤波器的理论模型;利用COMSOL软件,对平顶滤波器的矩形度、通带带宽、插入损耗、可调谐特性、加工精度进行仿真研究.研究结果表明,通过施加频率为6-11 MHz的超声波,可实现通带带宽为5-6 nm及中心波长在1514-1562 nm范围内可调谐的平顶滤波器;在可调谐范围内通带带宽内插入损耗不超过2.23 dB,最低仅为0.78 dB,矩形度最低可达1.4;加工误差在±10 nm内平顶滤波器的中心波长、矩形度、插入损耗、通带带宽出现的偏差很小.该平顶滤波器具有易于设计和集成、通带平坦、可调谐范围宽、通带带宽稳定、插入损耗低、品质因素高的特点,在光开关、可调谐光纤激光器、光纤传感等光通信领域有重要应用.     

Polarization effects at collinear acousto-optic interaction

Collinear acousto-optic diffraction of an arbitrarily polarized optical radiation is studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that in the general case the diffracted light spectrum at the acousto-optic cell output consists of four components with different frequencies and polarizations. Beatings of these components lead to intensity modulation of the light passed through an output analyzer. Dependences of output intensity components on ultrasound frequency and acoustic power are examined for different orientations of the polarizer and the analyzer. Experimental investigations are carried out with a collinear acousto-optic cell fabricated with calcium molybdate single crystal.     

声光偏转效应载频测量的方法研究

针对现代载频测量对信号的实时捕获、频率带宽和分辨率的要求,提出了一种利用声光偏转效应的相干光信号处理方法。从理论上对声光效应的Bragg衍射机理和条件进行了描述,分析了随机载频信号捕获、带宽特性和频率分辨率与声光偏转的关系,给出了系统的构成原理和测试方法。通过实验测试和计算机仿真,证明了声光偏转技术能很好地解决并行随机载频信号和频率分辨率的问题,系统性能和信号的实时处理效果得到了明显的改善,带宽达到了300MHz,频率分辨率优于1MHz。这种方法对随机信号载频的跟踪和测量精度优势突出,可应用于雷达信号探测和光电对抗。     

Simultaneous cavity-enhanced and cavity ringdown absorption spectroscopy using optical feedback

We present a scheme of optical feedback cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (OF-CEAS) including a fast optical switch to produce cavity ringdown spectra (OF-CRDS) simultaneously. This also works as a dynamically adjustable variable attenuator allowing to compensate for reduced signal levels in correspondence with absorption lines. For this, an acousto-optic deflector is used in a double-pass configuration to eliminate the single-pass frequency shift, which is incompatible with optical feedback. This is probably the most effective device providing the required fast response and the high extinction ratio necessary to perform clean ringdown measurements. The resulting direct comparison of OF-CEAS and OF-CRDS shows that these produce almost equivalent spectral data, with 0.3 % maximal difference at the top of an absorption line having a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3,300. OF-CEAS is largely winning on the short-term noise level while OF-CRDS appears to be more immune from interference fringes, delivering cleaner spectra after longer averaging.     

用于侦察告警的Bragg声光接收机

针对测频器件的缺陷,提出了利用声光器件对电磁波进行实时测频的设计方案。根据现代光学理论设计了声光频谱分析系统,研制出软硬件设备。通过试验和仿真,达到了对电磁频谱进行实时检测分析的目的。与其他测频器件相比,所设计的系统体积小、耗能少、稳定性好,传递速度快,且易于计算机控制。采用声光器件制成的Bragg声光接收机能够在复杂的电磁环境中同时快速检测出多束射频电磁波,在电子战中有很高的应用价值。     

Acousto-optic filter of nonpolarized electromagnetic radiation

An acousto-optic tunable filter that is insensitive to the polarization of incident light is studied both theoretically and experimentally. The fundamental possibility of designing an acousto-optic filter of nonpolarized light is demonstrated. The filter operates in the visible range of electromagnetic waves with λ=480–750 nm and provides a high spatial and temporal resolution. The number of resolvable spots of the filtered image reaches a value of 400×400 with the spectral bandwidth of the device being Δλ=1.7 nm. The results of the processing of optical images formed by arbitrarily polarized light beams are discussed. An acousto-optic filter based on a TeO₂ crystal can be used in optics and spectroscopy in the processing of light beams with an arbitrary polarization, as well as in analyzing optical images formed by light beams whose polarization varies with time.     

Stable pulse-compressed acousto-optic Q-switched fiber laser

A novel acousto-optic switch operation by a simple laser-diode pumped acousto-optic, Q-switched, ytterbium-doped, double-clad fiber laser is reported. Stable compressed Q-switched sub-40 ns pulses with a beam quality factor (M(2)=2) are achieved at the repetition rate of 1-50 kHz. Q-switched pulses of ~20 microJ pulse energy and 35 ns pulse width are obtained at the repetition rate of 50 kHz. Finally, a reasonable explanation of the novel Q-switched operation is presented.     

Compensation for chromatic aberrations in acousto-optic systems used in spectral analysis of images

This paper considers novel optical schemes that are related to acousto-optic systems for the spectral analysis of images. The systems are characterized by a low level of transverse and longitudinal chromatic aberrations. Mathematical expressions that describe the magnitudes of the transverse aberration in various configurations of acousto-optic filters are derived. A decrease in longitudinal chromatic aberrations is examined in an optical scheme that is based on a single objective lens and an additional negative lens. A similar analysis is carried out for a confocal system that is formed of two objective lenses. The experimental investigations carried out in the visible range of the spectrum demonstrated a decrease in the longitudinal shifts of images by a factor of 2.5 and by as much as two orders of magnitude or more in the transverse image shifts.