2-D ACOUSTO-OPTIC HIGH POWER LASER BEAM DEFLECTOR DEVELOPMENT (NO MIRRORS)

THIS PROPOSAL IS A UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO CONSTRUCTING 2-D GAAS ACOUSTO-OPTIC LIGHT DEFLECTORS FOR HIGH POWER LASER APPLICATIONS WITHOUT THE USE OF MIRRORS. ADVANTAGES OF SUCH SYSTEM OVER CONVENTIONAL LASER BEAM MIRRORS ARE THE INABILITY OF MIRRORS TO DEFLECT AT HIGH SPEEDS DUE TO THE MIRROR'S INERTIA. AS A RESULT WITH ELECTRONIC ACOUSTO-OPTIC DEVICES, THEIR PERFORMANCE AND HENCE SPEED IS THAT OF THE ORDER OF ELECTRONIC SWITCHING. ALSO MIRRORS REQUIRE LARGE POWER CONSUMPTIONS WHEREBY ACOUSTIC RF POWER GENERATIONS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS. AN ADVANTAGE OF CONSTRUCTING ACOUSTO-OPTIC LASER BEAM DEFLECTORS IS THAT DEFLECTION ANGLE IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE FREQUENCY. FOR EXAMPLE, WITH PRESENT BRIMROSE ACOUSTO-OPTIC DEVICES LASER BEAM DEFLECTION ANGLES ARE TYPICALLY 6-12 DEG GHZ. IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, BRIMROSE HAS BEEN A PIONEER IN DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING ACOUSTO-OPTIC LASER BEAM DEFLECTORS. IN 1984, WE WERE THE FIRST COMPANY TO COMMERCIALLY INTRODUCE A 1-D 40% DIFFRACTION EFFICIENCY LASER BEAM DEFLECTOR FROM GALLIUM PHOSPHIDE (GAP) THAT OPERATES AT 1 GHZ CENTER FREQUENCY WITH A DEFLECTION ANGLE OF 10 DEGREES FOR A HENE LASER. BRIMROSE WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF USING OUR PROPRIETARY FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY TO CONSTRUCT 2-D LASER BEAM DEFLECTOR FOR HIGH POWERED ND:YAG (1.06 MICROMETERS) LASER APPLICATIONS. ALSO, IT SHOUD BE NOTED THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY WITH MODIFICATIONS CAN BE USED FOR FABRICATING AN OPTICAL COMPUTER WITH SPEEDS GREATER THAN THE PRESENT STATE-OF-THE-ART CRAY COMPUTERS.