Measurement of acoustic radiation pattern in an acousto-optic modulator

An interesting feature of the acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is the ability to deflect a coherent light beam an amount in proportion to the intensity of the radiation pattern of the transducer. Verifying this behavior experimentally, however, can prove challenging due to the extreme accuracy necessary for measuring angles of rotation. A new and effective method of capturing the radiation pattern experimentally from measurements of the first-order diffracted light intensity is described. This method has the benefit of not requiring expensive devices to determine the angle at which the coherent light beam is incident upon the AOM.