Greetings fellow nerds
I totally did not steal this phrase from YT/NurdRage 
Maybe anyone from the RF forums may help me with this matter. I have bought a vintage acousto-optic modulator (AOM, Tpye Crystal Technology 3070-10) for experiments with lasers. AOMs are piezoelectric crystals excited by RF in the range from ~27 MHz to 200 MHz. Inside of the piezoelectric material, standing waves are generated which act as a diffraction gratings for the laser beam. Typical excitation RF power is in the range of 1-5 W.
Since I have no information about this AOM, I wanted to test its properties (transfer function) with my test gear. Unfortunately I cannot attach it to my frequency generator unless I cut the cable and solder a BNC connector. I wanted to avoid this, just to prevent experimental mistakes (impedance mismatch, standing waves)
According to the attached pictures, there is a LC-circuit in the proximity of the crystal, probably tuned to a resonance frequency which matches the properties of the AOM crystal. The RG174 cable has a mystery HUBER+SUHNER connector which is really hard to identify. It's not the standard SMA connector since its inner diameter is 4.3 mm (SMA = 6.0 mm) and I'm not sure if it's SSMA or MMCX. I've put some pictures of it, maybe you have an idea which kind of connector this might be? I'd appreciate your help!
Few hints
- The right angled connector is labeled 50 - SUHNER, the inner diameter is 4.3 mm, outer hexagon diameter is 6.0 mm
- The cable is labeled as: Suhner Switzerland RG 174/U 50 + 2 Ohm
- Different parts of the cable are labeled: Belden + <unknown> 8216 RG-174/U KF <unknown>
- The mid part is encased with a rigid heat-shrinking tube
- The AOM was probably produced in the 1990's, its origins and applications are unknown
I surely am curious and I would like to take it apart but if it is possible to test it without greater intrusion, that would be my first choice :-)
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