Acoustooptic snapshot PROM: a real-time optical-signal spectrum analyzer

A description is presented of a breadboard system which demonstrates the basic feasibility of building an optical signal spectrum analyzer based on the use of an acoustooptic snapshot recording technique. The considered system is potentially capable of processing signal data at rates of hundreds of MHz with a time bandwidth product greater than one million. The input transducer employed represents a combination of laser recorder and a photosensitive medium, which enables an electrical signal to be displayed on a 2-D raster. An acoustooptic recording technique is utilized to write data onto a real-time electrooptic imaging device. The signal to be recorded is used to amplitude modulate a high frequency carrier which is then employed to drive an acoustooptic Bragg cell.