Brimrose’s Fiber-coupled, Acousto-Optic Frequency Shifter Systems are used to shift the frequency of various optical signals. Due to a Doppler Shift, the frequency of the diffracted first order optical beam in the AO modulator or AO frequency shifter is shifted in frequency (wavelength) by the acoustic carrier frequency (wavelength). If the incident acoustic wave is introduced in the direction of the incident optical wave, the laser frequency shifts towards the higher side. If the incident acoustic wave is introduced in the opposite direction of the incident optical wave, the laser shifts toward the lower frequency side.
The typical 3 dB spectral range of an AOFS device is ~60-120 nm and the 3 dB frequency shift range is ~10% of the center frequency. For wide bandwidth applications, Brimrose developed an AOFS with an extended frequency shift range of up to 100 MHz