Compensation of spatial dispersion of an acousto-optic deflector with a special Keplerian telescope

Compensation of spatial dispersion caused by the acoustooptic deflector (AOD) when using a femtosecond laser is difficult across the whole scanning range of the system, and this is a significant impediment to its use. In conventional methods, the dispersion of the AOD was compensated only when it was at a particular position, while at other positions, the quality of the light beam was reduced. We developed a novel method for compensating the spatial dispersion within the entire scanning range using a special Keplerian telescope. Our experimental results show that the residual dispersion of the AOD is compensated sufficiently, and the focal spots of the laser reach the diffraction limit within a 40-MHz ultrasound bandwidth. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America