Abstract
Three figures of merit defined by Dixon for acoustooptical deflectors are reconsidered using combinations which include scattering efficiency, sound frequency bandwidth, number of resolvable spots and sound attenuation constant. A fourth figure of merit is proposed which is applicable to materials with non-negligible acoustic losses. Liquid materials were evaluated according to the proposed criteria and some were selected as good for use as acoustooptical deflectors. Experiments showed that the scattering efficiency and the fourth figure of merit of n-propyl iodide were 7.7 and 2.5 times those of water.