Acousto-optic interaction in laser vibrometry in a liquid

It is demonstrated that, when the classical method of laser vibrometry is used for measurements in a liquid, it gives erroneous results with measurement errors reaching 100% or more. The vibration pattern observed in this case exhibits a false structure with a spatial scale identical to the wavelength of acoustic waves in the liquid. In addition, the laser vibrometer shows displacements in the regions where they are actually absent. In the transient mode of operation, the image displays nonexistent surface waves, which propagate with the velocity of sound in the liquid. The origin of these distortions lies in the acoustooptic interaction that occurs in the condensed medium on the path of the probing laser beam. An analytic expression is obtained for the Green’s function characterizing laser vibrometry in the cases of harmonic and pulsed excitation of the surface under investigation. It is shown that this function explains all the artifacts observed in laser vibrometry in a liquid and can be used to correct the measurement data.