Direct multiheterodyne or self-heterodyne frequency comb spectroscopy commonly relies upon the use of an acousto-optic modulator to provide a frequency shift of the resulting radiofrequency interferogram. We have shown that serrodyne modulation can provide this shift, resulting in a significant reduction of instrumental complexity and cost while also providing a simpler path to chip-scale integrated photonics.
This provides a pathway for comb generation and operation in a chip-scale package. This approach also reduces cost and complexity by reducing output signals to frequencies well below radiofrequencies (10 GHz) so that cost-effective components and data acquisition tools may be used.