Richard N. Blazey

Acoustooptic modulation and deflection

Acoustooptic apparatus for intensity modulating and angularly deflecting a beam of coherent light includes optical means for spreading the beam into a sheet having a cross-sectional shape with a major axis and a minor axis, acoustooptic cell means in the path of the sheet beam and electrical-to-mechanical transducers associated with the cell means for propagating variable amplitude acoustic waves across the beam in the direction of the beams minor axis and for propagating variable frequency acoustic waves across the beam in the direction of the beams major axis.