Image aberrations caused by light diffraction via ultrasonic waves in uniaxial crystals.

The problem of optical image deformations caused by the phenomenon of light beam diffraction in uniaxial crystals by ultrasonic waves is considered in the paper. A general analytical expression is derived describing a dependence of spatial deformations and transmission coefficients on incidence angles as well as on parameters of the crystal and the ultrasound. The most interesting wide-angle diffraction configurations are analyzed, and all types of spatial distortions and transfer functions are described.