Acousto-optic frequency modulator

Frequency modulation of a continuous wave laser source enables generation of photons at multiple frequencies from a single pump laser. Such multiple closely spaced laser lines are important for high data rate QAM in dense-WDM networks. In this paper we present a monolithic silicon acousto-optic frequency modulator (AOFM) operating at 1.09GHz. We demonstrate frequency modulation of a 1564nm wavelength pump laser, resulting in generation of sideband laser lines spaced by 0.009nm.