Patent ID: 7283290

Claim:
An acousto-optic (AO) device for generating a highly apodized acoustic wave field, comprising: a piezoelectric transducer crystal for emitting an acoustic wave having a ground electrode disposed on one side of said piezoelectric crystal; a patterned electrode layer disposed on a side of said piezoelectric crystal opposite said ground electrode, said patterned electrode layer including a continuous region proximate to its centre and a discontinuous region, a pattern in said discontinuous region comprising a plurality of spaced apart features electrically connected to said continuous region, and an AO interaction crystal receiving said acoustic wave attached to said ground electrode or said patterned electrode layer, wherein feature sizes of said features in said pattern are sufficiently small to provide a fine structure far field condition for said acoustic wave in said AO interaction crystal underlying said discontinuous region beginning <5 mm measured from an interface between said piezoelectric crystal and said AO interaction crystal.