Biaxial crystal β-BaTeMo₂O₉: theoretical analysis and the feasibility as high-efficiency acousto-optic Q-switch

The high efficiency acousto-optic modulators become indispensable in photonics and optoelectronics for the pulse generation and signal modulation in optical display and telecommunications. In this paper, the validity and feasibility of the biaxial crystals as acousto-optic mediums have been theoretically analyzed and confirmed by experiments using a biaxial crystal of β-BaTeMo₂O₉. The diffraction angle and diffraction efficiency of the β-BaTeMo₂O₉ acousto-optic Q-switch are determined to be 1.420° and 78.1%, which are comparable with that of TeO₂ acousto-optic modulator at the identical operating wavelength of 1064 nm and 100 MHz, respectively. The minimum of the modulated pulse width can be achieved to be 6 ns at 5 kHz with Nd:YVO₄ as the gain medium. The results not only provide an excellent acousto-optic medium, but also explore the field of biaxial acousto-optic medium for device fabrications.