Laser Beam Steering

This book introduces students to the effects used to modulate or deflect light using an electrical control. The electro-optical effect and the acousto-optic effect are used to illustrate important concepts and methods for modeling the resulting components. The tensorial description of optical properties and their variations, the notions of phase agreement between two waves of the same nature (Bragg condition in a periodic medium) or between an optical wave and an electric wave (electro-optical components with traveling waves) are essential. These notions are illustrated by components which sometimes constitute advanced subsystems and which are part of the culture of the optical engineer.