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arXiv · 2604.19421

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

Robbert Decruyenaere·Clara Tanghe·Senne Van Wellen·Karel Van Acoleyen
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Abstract

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.

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Robbert Decruyenaere, Clara Tanghe, Senne Van Wellen, Karel Van Acoleyen. 2026-04-21. Fast projections of two-dimensional light patterns using acousto-optical deflectors. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.607412

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