Bragg cell diffraction patterns

The 2-D diffraction patterns produced by fully illuminated Bragg cells can be characterized by curved singularity functions. The degree of curvature is related to the optical wavelength, the acoustic wavelength, and the degree of anisotropy of the interaction material. Analytical expressions are derived for the singularity functions, and the impact of the nonideal diffraction pattern in certain signal processing problems is calculated. The most notable effect is an increase in the sidelobe levels and a slight loss in resolution when Bragg cells are used in spectrum analyzers. Truncation of the diffraction pattern or the use of the line illumination, when possible, reduces the degradation of the diffraction pattern.