Influence of the polarization of injection laser radiation on the efficiency of the acoustooptic interaction in anisotropic crystals

A study was made of the polarization characteristics of the radiation emitted by double-heterostructure AlGaAs injection lasers and of the influence of these characteristics on the efficiency of scattering of laser radiation by volume acoustic waves in a crystal of paratellurite. The efficiency of the acoustooptic interaction increased linearly on increase in the degree of linear polarization of the incident radiation. When the plane of polarization of this radiation was rotated relative to the scattering plane by 90° from the optimal position, the efficiency of this interaction was more than halved. The central frequency of an ultrasonic cell for the interaction with radiation of wavelength λ = 0.9 μ was 50 MHz and the efficiency of the interaction was ~50%.