Most AOTF studies have focused on IR and NIR applications. UV and VIS materials are available and warrant further study.
Ongoing research involves the initial characterization of a quartz acousto-optic tunable filter.
A deuterium lamp is used as the UV source. Experiments include calibration of the frequency vs. wavelength, bandpass at different wavelengths, efficiency characteristics based on the angle of the AOTF, and the drive power. The AOD will diffract light at a given angle. The angel can be changed by varying the acoustic frequency. Used for wavelength modulation in a spectrometer, the AOD is a solid state unit which provides advantages over mechanical background correction techniques.