Analysis of the acoustooptic interaction in proton-exchanged lithium niobate (light deflectors)

Abstract

The calculation of the efficiency of planar acoustooptic light deflectors based on PE:LiNbO/sub 3/ waveguides is presented. Both the collinear and the noncollinear interaction geometries on Y-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ are evaluated. By use of recently determined elastic stiffness constants of PE:LiNbO/sub 3/, the acoustic and electric field distributions of the propagating Rayleigh waves are calculated rigorously. Coupling between the optical modes is treated by a coupled mode approach. The dependence of the coupling strength on the acoustic frequency, mode type, and waveguide parameter is given.<>