Highly efficient acoustooptic diffraction in alpha-BaB2O4 crystals: improving of geometry of acoustooptic interaction

Abstract

Abstract.In the present work we show experimentally on the example of -BaB 2 O 4 crystals that a choice of the slowest acoustic wave for acoustooptic interaction made on the basis of acoustic anisotropy of crystals can essentially increase the acoustooptic figure of merit. The latter parameter for -BaB 2 O 4 obtained by us is equal to M 2 =(211±31)10 -15 s 3 /kg. We demonstrate that the acoustooptic diffraction efficiency in -BaB 2 O 4 increases for shorter wavelengths of optical radiation and reaches almost ~ 75% at the wavelength 325 nm (at the acoustic signal power 0.04 W). This fact, along with transparency of those crystals in the ultraviolet spectral range and their high resistance against a powerful laser radiation, make them attractive materials for operating high-power ultraviolet laser radiation.