Analytic and experimental investigations on influence of harmonic generation on acousto-optical modulation

In application, laser power is modulated prior to harmonic generation to a large part. Consequently modulation characteristics are influenced as a result of the non-linearity of harmonic generation. Within this paper, straight-forward approaches to calculate modulation key parameters (rise time, fall time, bandwidth and contrast ratio) of an acousto-optical modulator prior to harmonic generation stage are presented. The results will be compared to experimental data for third harmonic generation (THG) of a 1064 nm fs-laser which is power-modulated by a TeO2-AOM prior to THG. In the latter case, rise time and fall time are significantly reduced to approximately 66% after THG both in experimental and analytical study.