Computer-aided analysis of optical diffraction by low-frequency liquid surface acoustic waves

Abstract

Optical diffraction offers an effective method of characterizing low-frequency liquid surface acoustic waves. We use a laser line generator to produce patterns that are amenable for computer-aided analysis. We present a segmented nonlinear regression approach to accurately determine the positions of the maxima and minima in the pattern. The robustness of this scheme is investigated through simulation. The approach is then used to analyze optical diffraction patterns obtained experimentally.