Optical analog-to-digital conversion using acousto-optic theta modulation and table lookup

As an extension of an existing electron-beam deflector, an optical analog-to-digital conversion scheme is presented. As a fast theta modulator, we used a wide-band acousto-optic deflector that performs a voltage-to-optical beam-deflection-angle mapping. Using a GaP acousto-optic deflector, we experimentally demonstrate a proof-of-principle 6-bit analog-to-digital converter.