Acoustooptic snapshot PROM: a real-time optical-signal spectrum analyzer.

This paper describes a system which performs real-time optical processing of electrical signals. The signals of interest are recorded in a raster format on the Itek PROM (Pockels Readout Optical Modulator), a light addressed electrooptic imaging device. The PROM is then read out with laser light to perform optical Fourier transformation, achieving spectrum analysis in near real time. A technique called acoustooptic snapshot recording is used to generate the required low distortion raster at rf bandwidths.