Fast projections of two-dimensional light patterns using acousto-optical deflectors

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Decruyenaere, Robbert, Tanghe, Clara, Van Wellen, Senne, Van Acoleyen, Karel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Decruyenaere, Robbert
Tanghe, Clara
Van Wellen, Senne
Van Acoleyen, Karel
author_facet Decruyenaere, Robbert
Tanghe, Clara
Van Wellen, Senne
Van Acoleyen, Karel
contents Precise and flexible control of structured light fields is essential for applications ranging from optical trapping and quantum simulation to microscopy and materials processing. Acousto-optical deflectors (AODs) are widely used in these settings due to their high speed, large damage threshold, and ability to generate steerable optical tweezers. Multi-tone driving offers a powerful alternative to slow sequential scanning, enabling the projection of complex patterns with high accuracy as rapid acoustic modulation averages out inter-spot interference. In two dimensions, however, intermodulation between tones in orthogonal AODs can reintroduce coherent artifacts. We present a fast, feedback-free AOD projection scheme based on an incommensurately staggered frequency lattice that intrinsically suppresses such artifacts. For separable two-dimensional target patterns, our method removes the need for scanning entirely, enabling substantially faster and highly accurate projections. We further extend the approach to non-separable images using a minimal scanning strategy that maintains rather high projection speeds. These results demonstrate that appropriately engineered multi-tone AOD driving offers an efficient and robust route to high-speed, high-fidelity generation of arbitrary intensity patterns.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_19421
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fast projections of two-dimensional light patterns using acousto-optical deflectors
Decruyenaere, Robbert
Tanghe, Clara
Van Wellen, Senne
Van Acoleyen, Karel
Optics
Materials Science
Quantum Gases
Biological Physics
Precise and flexible control of structured light fields is essential for applications ranging from optical trapping and quantum simulation to microscopy and materials processing. Acousto-optical deflectors (AODs) are widely used in these settings due to their high speed, large damage threshold, and ability to generate steerable optical tweezers. Multi-tone driving offers a powerful alternative to slow sequential scanning, enabling the projection of complex patterns with high accuracy as rapid acoustic modulation averages out inter-spot interference. In two dimensions, however, intermodulation between tones in orthogonal AODs can reintroduce coherent artifacts. We present a fast, feedback-free AOD projection scheme based on an incommensurately staggered frequency lattice that intrinsically suppresses such artifacts. For separable two-dimensional target patterns, our method removes the need for scanning entirely, enabling substantially faster and highly accurate projections. We further extend the approach to non-separable images using a minimal scanning strategy that maintains rather high projection speeds. These results demonstrate that appropriately engineered multi-tone AOD driving offers an efficient and robust route to high-speed, high-fidelity generation of arbitrary intensity patterns.
title Fast projections of two-dimensional light patterns using acousto-optical deflectors
topic Optics
Materials Science
Quantum Gases
Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19421