The optoacoustic effect is almost invariably produced by intensity modulated radiation, typically from a pulsed or an amplitude modulated continuous source. Given the form of the wave equation that describes the production of sound from absorption of light, it is clear that steady sources of radiation that move in space in an absorbing medium can also generate acoustic waves. Here the properties of a point source of radiation that rotates in a plane at a constant angular frequency are discussed. The source is shown to generate a spiral wave pattern that contains both compressions and rarefactions.

Date Published: 3 March 2017
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 10064, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2017, 100644I (3 March 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2250026

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10064:
Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2017
Alexander A. Oraevsky; Lihong V. Wang, Editor(s)