Control of light polarization by acousto-optic diffraction from leaky acoustic wave in LiNbO₃

The acousto-optic control of light polarization due to diffraction by leaky acoustic waves in ZX-LiNbO₃ has been demonstrated. The randomly polarized light of 633 nm wavelength is converted by the anisotropic diffraction into two beams with mutually orthogonal polarizations, the relative intensities of which depend on the light incidence angle and acoustic frequency. Variation in acoustic frequency from 108 to 112 MHz rotates the polarization of the output optical beam by 90°. The acousto-optic control is accomplished entirely by electronic means and can be applied for implementation of fast polarization converters.