Optical heterodyne detection of microwave signals from acoustooptical interactions

Optical heterodyne detection at room temperature in a silicon p-i-n diode for the 7-13-GHz range is reported here. The acoustooptical Bragg interaction in sapphire was utilized to shift the frequency of an argon laser beam at 514.5 nm. A slug tuned mount for the photomixer and a microwave receiver were designed to demonstrate the application to an optical receiver front end.