Abstract: Interactions of a light beam with multichannel parallel independent ultrasonic waves produced from multiple electrodes are studied. A set of coupled wave equations is set up,and its solutions arc derived.The cross talk of multichannel ultrasonic waves and its effects on diffracted light beams are analyzed.The optimum distance between each pair of adjacent electrodes is calculated.The multichannel acousto-optic modulators are made according to the distance.Experimental results indicate that the multichannel parallel acousto-optic modulations have been realized with the modulaters.