Gigawatt-Scale Acousto-Optic Modulation in Ambient Air

Control over the parameters of a laser beam such as intensity and phase is vital in modern photonics. The established schemes, however, limit the parameter range in which common methods can be applied. The limitations are most prominent in terms of peak-power and wavelength $\lambda$ , as current methods rely to a large extend on the interaction of light with solid media (e.g. glasses, crystals). We here propose a simple but effective alternative to solid media: gases tailored by intense ultrasound waves via refractive index change induced by density modulations. Earlier works report gas-based refractive optics [1]. However, to the best of our knowledge, more advanced gas-based control schemes such as modulators, deflectors or phase shapers have not entered the photonics field until today.