Imaging of acoustic fields using optical feedback interferometry

This study introduces optical feedback interferometry as a simple and effective technique for the two-dimensional visualisation of acoustic fields. We present imaging results for several pressure distributions including those for progressive waves, standing waves, as well as the diffraction and interference patterns of the acoustic waves. The proposed solution has the distinct advantage of extreme optical simplicity and robustness thus opening the way to a low cost acoustic field imaging system based on mass produced laser diodes.