Open AccessFast spatial beam shaping by acousto-optic diffraction for 3D non-linear microscopy
Author(s) -
Walther Akemann,
Jean-François Léger,
Cathie Ventalon,
Benjamin Mathieu,
Stéphane Dieudonné,
Laurent Bourdieu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.028191
Subject(s) - optics , diffraction , phase modulation , laser , spatial frequency , chromatic scale , spatial light modulator , amplifier , dispersion (optics) , phase (matter) , modulation (music) , physics , materials science , phase noise , acoustics , optoelectronics , cmos , quantum mechanics
Acousto-optic deflection (AOD) devices offer unprecedented fast control of the entire spatial structure of light beams, most notably their phase. AOD light modulation of ultra-short laser pulses, however, is not straightforward to implement because of intrinsic chromatic dispersion and non-stationarity of acousto-optic diffraction. While schemes exist to compensate chromatic dispersion, non-stationarity remains an obstacle. In this work we demonstrate an efficient AOD light modulator for stable phase modulation using time-locked generation of frequency-modulated acoustic waves at the full repetition rate of a high power laser pulse amplifier of 80 kHz. We establish the non-local relationship between the optical phase and the generating acoustic frequency function and verify the system for temporal stability, phase accuracy and generation of non-linear two-dimensional phase functions.