Study of characteristics of noncollinear acousto-optic tunable filters

Characteristics of noncollinear acousto-optic tunable filters are discussed theoretically and experimentally. Prototype of such a filter based on tell urium dioxide is designed and investigated as example. The effect of three parameters (direction of propagation of the optic wave, length of acoustoop tic interaction and power density of controlling RF-signal) on filter's cha racteristics is discussed and illustrated from the viewpoint of practical a pplication. Calculated filter tuning curve, bandpass width, and diffraction efficiency are compared with those measured experimentally It is shown tha t in the approximation used a satisfactory agreement can be achieved betwee n experimental and calculated dependencies of noncollinear acousto-optic tu nable filters.