Anisotropy of Acoustooptical Properties of Lithium Niobate Crystals

Abstract

Anisotropy of acoustooptical properties of lithium niobate crystals has been studied, when the direction of the light wave vector changes in the plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the acoustic wave. The values of components of the photoelastic tensor were determined by the Dixon method. It is shown that for the main geometries of Bragg diffraction of light, when acoustic waves propagate along the crystallographic axes, the acousto-optical quality factor is approximately the same for both longitudinal and transverse acoustic waves. The results obtained on the anisotropy of acousto-optical interaction in lithium niobate crystals can be useful for their application in acousto-optical devices for measuring the frequency of acoustic waves based on the phenomenon of acoustical activity.

Keywords

• acousto-optical quality factor
• photoelastic constants
• acoustic waves
• linbo3 crystals
• dixon method