Anisotropy of acousto–optic figure of merit in lithium tetraborate crystals

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We analyse anisotropy of acousto–optic figure of merit (AOFM) for Li2B4O7 crystals in order to estimate the prospects of these crystals in acousto–optics. We find that the maximal AOFM, 3.44 × 10−15 s3/kg, is peculiar for the isotropic acousto–optic interaction of the incident ordinary optical wave with the quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave. For the case of anisotropic diffraction in Li2B4O7, the maximum 1.87 × 10−15 s3/kg can be reached using the interaction of the extraordinary optical wave with the quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave. The case of collinear diffraction is characterized by small AOFMs, with the largest value 0.26 × 10−15 s3/kg.