Feasibility of recording the phase structure of an optical field by an acoustooptic method

A description is given of a new method for the visualization of phase objects based on the phenomenon of light diffraction on an acoustic wave. Expressions are obtained for the main characteristics of the visualization system and an analysis is made of the dependences of these characteristics on the parameters of an acoustooptic cell. It is shown that the acoustooptic interaction can be used to create an effective system for the visualization of phase objects capable of ensuring a high resolution and a high image processing rate.