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FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES
- Minimum insertion loss
- Withstands high laser power
- 99% optical transmission
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The Acousto-Optic Q-switch is a special fused silica modulator which introduces high repetition rate losses (typicaly 1 to 100kHz), and is designed for use inside a laser cavity. The AO Q-switch benefits from minimum insertion loss and it can withstand very high laser power. To operate, an RF signal is applied to diffract a portion of the laser cavity flux out of the cavity. This increases the cavity losses and prevents oscillation. When the RF signal is switched off, the cavity losses decrease rapidly and an intense laser pulse results. Standard wavelength is 1064nm, and for a 5×5mm aperture the wavelength is 760nm. Laser incident polarization is linear.