An acousto-optic filter offers a new type of wavelength tunable filter in the optical region by which the tuning is performed electronically through the application of acoustic wave to the filter. This filter is advantageous because it can be constructed compactly in contrast with conventional wavelength selective apparatus such as a prism or grating monochromator. In this paper, an experimental study on the fundamental properties of a reflection type acousto-optic filter using a quartz crystal is reported. A 5.3 cm long crystal of
X cut quartz is used and a ZnO acoustic transducer is sputtered on one end of the crystal. With the variation of the acoustic frequency from 57 to 120 MHz, tuning of the transmitting wavelength from 850 to 460 nm was realized. The bandwidth of this optical filter around 500 nm was measured to be 0.7 nm. The transmission characteristics of this filter was examined quantitatively not only for coherent laser beams but also for incoherent light.
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