Acousto-optical modulators

Acousto-optic modulators (AOM or Bragg cells) consist of a crystal that is transparent to laser light, a piezoelectric transducer and a sound absorber that prevents standing waves from forming in the crystal.
When an electric field is applied to the piezoelectric transducer, sound waves are generated in the crystal which modulate the refractive index.
This allows the power, direction and frequency of the laser beam to be controlled.

AOMs are used for the following applications, among others:

• Q-switching of solid-state lasers
• Generation of ns pulses and ultrashort pulses
• Active fashion locking
• As external modulators, e.g. for laser communication systems
• Pulse picker to increase the pulse energy while reducing the pulse repetition rate
• Continuous power modulation or switch
• Noise suppression

For AOMs, we offer crystals made of TeO2, crystalline quartz and fused silica.