Acousto-Optic Dispersive Devices for High-Power Pulsed Laser Optics

In the report, we discuss new and promising configurations and applications of acousto-optic devices in high-power pulsed laser technology: spatial modulators and dispersion delay lines for broadband femtosecond laser pulses and Q-switches for nanosecond lasers. The prospects for the use of new acousto-optic crystals and designs of acousto-optic devices are reviewed and analyzed. The results include a new configuration of isotropic diffraction in KYW crystals for creating spatial light modulators and a high-resolution design of a paratellurite-based acousto-optic dispersive delay line. The principle of piezoelectric damping of ultrasonic waves in high-power acousto-optic devices is demonstrated experimentally for a quartz Q-switch.