IN-FIBER AND FIBER-COMPATIBLE ACOUSTOOPTIC COMPONENTS

Acoustooptics has been shown to provide a powerful and versatile means of controlling and modulating laser radiation in bulk optic component s. We discuss the fiber-optic and fiber-compatible versions of several components such as the phase modulator and Bragg cell, In addition, w e present general design rules for such components based on the streng ths and weaknesses of the various available materials and illustrate b y means of a consolidated account of some previously completed results obtained at the Optoelectronics Research Center at Southampton Univer sity. Acousto-optic techniques for the control of optical radiation, w ell established for hulk-optic components, are shown to be equally val uable in the: context of fiber-optic components if carefully applied.