Four-port multimode router and link switching network

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a four-port multimode router and a link switching network. The four-port multimode router includes four multimode input waveguides; four mode demultiplexers, the mode demultiplexers are suitable for converting a multimode multiplexed signal into N single-mode signals, wherein N is a positive integer; four single-mode input waveguide groups, each of which includes N single-mode input waveguides, and the input ends of the N single-mode input waveguides are connected to the N output ends of a mode demultiplexer; the same input end of N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units is connected to the N single-mode waveguide output ends of a single-mode input waveguide group; four single-mode output waveguide groups, each of which includes N single-mode output waveguides, and the input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the same output end of each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit; four mode multiplexers, each of which has an input end connected to the output end of the N single-mode output waveguides of a single-mode output waveguide group; and four multimode output waveguides.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of integrated optics and optical interconnection, and in particular to a four-port multimode router and a link switching network. Background Art

[0002] With the increase in communication capacity demand, technologies such as wavelength division multiplexing can no longer meet the requirements, and more degrees of freedom such as mode division multiplexing technology have gained attention. Mode division multiplexing technology uses a unified physical carrier to transmit multiple spatial modes carrying information in parallel, and has a good application prospect in applications that further increase communication capacity. Traditional routers usually only support a single communication channel or a wavelength division multiplexing channel, so the communication capacity is relatively limited, and further improving the communication capacity has become a research hotspot. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a four-port multi-mode router and a link switching network.

[0004] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a four-port multimode router is provided, comprising:

[0005] four multimode input waveguides;

[0006] four mode demultiplexers, each of which has an input end connected to one of the multimode input waveguides, and the mode demultiplexer is adapted to convert a received multimode multiplexed signal into N single-mode signals, wherein N is a positive integer;

[0007] Four single-mode input waveguide groups, each of which includes N single-mode input waveguides, and input ends of the N single-mode input waveguides are connected to N output ends of one mode demultiplexer;

[0008] N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units, the same input end of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units is connected to the N single-mode waveguide output ends of one single-mode input waveguide group, and the 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit receives the single-mode signal;

[0009] Four single-mode output waveguide groups, each of which includes N single-mode output waveguides, and input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the same output end of each of the 4×4 single-mode optical routing units;

[0010] Four mode multiplexers, each of which has an input end connected to an output end of the N single-mode output waveguides of the single-mode output waveguide group, and the mode multiplexer is adapted to convert the received N single-mode signals into a multi-mode multiplexed signal;

[0011] Four multimode output waveguides, the input ends of the multimode output waveguides are connected to the output ends of the mode multiplexer.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit is a ring routing structure composed of four 2×2 optical switches; the four 2×2 optical switches include:

[0013] a first 2×2 optical switch, wherein a first input end is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the second mode demultiplexer; and a second input end of the first 2×2 optical switch is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the third mode demultiplexer;

[0014] a second 2×2 optical switch, wherein the first input end is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the first mode demultiplexer; the second input end of the second 2×2 optical switch is adapted to be connected to the first output end of the first 2×2 optical switch; and the first output end of the second 2×2 optical switch is adapted to be connected to the fourth mode multiplexer;

[0015] a third 2×2 optical switch, wherein the first input end is adapted to be connected to the second output end of the first 2×2 optical switch; the second input end of the third 2×2 optical switch is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the fourth mode demultiplexer; and the second output end of the second 2×2 optical switch is adapted to be connected to the first mode multiplexer;

[0016] A fourth 2×2 optical switch, wherein the first input end is suitable for connecting to the second output end of the second 2×2 optical switch; the second input end of the fourth 2×2 optical switch is suitable for connecting to the first output end of the third 2×2 optical switch; the first output end of the fourth 2×2 optical switch is suitable for connecting to the third mode multiplexer; and the second output end of the fourth 2×2 optical switch is suitable for connecting to the second mode multiplexer.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the i-th single-mode input waveguide group includes N i-th single-mode input waveguides, the input ends of the N i-th single-mode input waveguides are respectively connected to the N output ends of the i-th mode demultiplexer, and the output ends of the N i-th single-mode input waveguides are respectively connected to the i-th input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the i-th single-mode output waveguide group includes N i-th single-mode output waveguides, the output ends of the N i-th single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the N input ends of the first mode multiplexer, and the input ends of the N i-th single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the i-th output ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units; wherein 4≤i≤1 and i is an integer.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 2×2 optical switch unit switches between a straight-through state and a cross state according to a control signal, and the 2×2 single-mode optical switch units of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are simultaneously in a straight-through state or a cross state, so that the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are simultaneously in the same routing state.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the routing state switching of the 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit is tuned by thermo-optical effect or plasma dispersion effect.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 2×2 optical switch unit is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure or a microring resonator structure.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 2×2 optical switches of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are Mach-Zehnder interferometer structures or micro-ring resonator structures.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the four multimode input waveguides, the four mode demultiplexers, the four single-mode input waveguide groups, the N single-mode routing units, the four single-mode output waveguide groups, the four mode multiplexers and the four multimode output waveguides are all fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator platform.

[0024] As another aspect of the present disclosure, a link switching network supporting multi-mode is provided, comprising any of the above-mentioned four-port multi-mode routers.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link switching network is a Mesh network, a Fat-Tree network, a Crossbar network, or a Clos network.

[0026] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, multi-mode expansion can be achieved by combining a mode multiplexer, a mode demultiplexer and N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units to meet the demand for higher communication capacity, and other optical links can be established in all routing states including a certain optical link, such as: input 1 to output 2, and the established links can remain unchanged without blocking. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a four-port multi-mode router structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present disclosure more clear, the present disclosure is further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments presented herein. On the contrary, providing these embodiments will make the disclosure thorough and complete, and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the accompanying drawings, for clarity, the sizes and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated, and the same reference numerals represent the same elements throughout.

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the following detailed description, for ease of explanation, many specific details are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In addition, in the following description, descriptions of known structures and technologies are omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0030] The terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The terms "comprise", "include", etc. used herein indicate the existence of the features, steps, operations and / or components, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations or components.

[0031] All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of this specification, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly rigid manner.

[0032] In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to understand the technical solution of the present disclosure, the following technical terms are explained.

[0033] In the case of using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, and C, etc.", it should generally be interpreted in accordance with the meaning of the expression generally understood by those skilled in the art (for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" should include but is not limited to a system having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or A, B, C, etc.). In the case of using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, or C, etc.", it should generally be interpreted in accordance with the meaning of the expression generally understood by those skilled in the art (for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" should include but is not limited to a system having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or A, B, C, etc.).

[0034] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a four-port multi-mode router structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown, one aspect of the present disclosure provides a four-port multimode router, including: four multimode input waveguides 1101~1104, four mode demultiplexers 1201~1204, four single-mode input waveguide groups (1011~101N)~(1041~104N), N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units 301~30N, four single-mode output waveguide groups (2011~201N)~(2041~204N), four mode multiplexers 2201~2204 and four multimode output waveguides 2101~2104.

[0036] The input end of each mode demultiplexer 120i (4≤i≤1 and i is an integer) in the four mode demultiplexers 1201~1204 is connected to a multimode input waveguide 110i, and the mode demultiplexer 120i is suitable for converting the received multimode multiplexed signal into N single-mode signals, where N is a positive integer. Each single-mode input waveguide group 10i1~10iN in the four single-mode input waveguide groups (1011~101N)~(1041~104N) includes N single-mode input waveguides, and the input ends of the N single-mode input waveguides are connected to the N output ends of a mode demultiplexer 120i. The same input ends of N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units 301~30N are connected to the N single-mode waveguide output ends of a single-mode input waveguide group 10i1~10iN, and the 4×4 single-mode optical routing units 301~30N receive single-mode signals. Each of the four single-mode output waveguide groups includes N single-mode output waveguides 10i1-10iN, and the input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides 10i1-10iN are respectively connected to the same output end of each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit. The input end of each mode multiplexer 220i of the four mode multiplexers 2201-2204 is connected to the output ends of the N single-mode output waveguides of a single-mode output waveguide group, and the mode multiplexer is suitable for converting the received N single-mode signals into multi-mode multiplexed signals. The input end of the multi-mode output waveguide 210i of the four multi-mode output waveguides 2101-2104 is connected to the output end of the mode multiplexer 220i.

[0037] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, multi-mode expansion can be achieved by combining a mode multiplexer 220i, a mode demultiplexer 120i and N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units 301~30N to meet the demand for higher communication capacity, and other optical links can be established in all routing states including a certain optical link, such as: input 1101 to output 2102, and the established links can remain unchanged without blocking.

[0038] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, four mode demultiplexers demultiplex four-way multimode multiplexed signals into N single-mode signals respectively, and the N single-mode signals are transmitted to the same input end of N single-mode optical routing units via corresponding single-mode input waveguide groups. The N single-mode optical routing units exchange the N single-mode signals from the same mode demultiplexer 220i via a single-mode output waveguide group to the same mode multiplexer 220j (i≠j, 4≤i, j≤1 and i and j are both integers), and the four groups of single-mode signals are converted into four-way multimode multiplexed signals via four mode multiplexers 220j respectively.

[0039] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the maximum number of modes of the multi-mode multiplexed signal supported is N.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of modes N may be expanded.

[0041] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit refers to a single-mode optical routing unit having 4 input ports and 4 output ports.

[0042] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit is composed of four 2×2 optical switches S i 0 The ring routing structure is formed.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, four 2×2 optical switches S i 0 Includes: First 2×2 optical switch S1 0 , the first input end is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the second mode demultiplexer 1202; the first 2×2 optical switch S1 0 The second input end of the optical switch S2 is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the third mode demultiplexer 1203. 0 The first input end is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the first mode demultiplexer 1201; the second 2×2 optical switch S2 0 The second input terminal is suitable for connecting the first 2×2 optical switch S1 0 The first output terminal of the second 2×2 optical switch S2 0 The first output terminal of is suitable for connecting to the fourth mode multiplexer 2204. The third 2×2 optical switch S3 0 , the first input terminal is suitable for connecting the first 2×2 optical switch S1 0 The second output terminal of the third 2×2 optical switch S3 0 The second input end of the second 2×2 optical switch S2 is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the fourth mode demultiplexer 1204; 0The second output terminal of is suitable for connecting to the first mode multiplexer 2201. The fourth 2×2 optical switch S4 0 The first input terminal is suitable for connecting the second 2×2 optical switch S2 0 The second output terminal of the fourth 2×2 optical switch S4 0 The second input terminal is suitable for connecting the third 2×2 optical switch S3 0 The first output terminal of the fourth 2×2 optical switch S4 0 The first output end of is suitable for connecting to the third mode multiplexer 2203; the fourth 2×2 optical switch S4 0 The second output terminal is suitable for connecting to the second mode multiplexer 2202.

[0044] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an optical switch is a device having one or more selectable transmission windows that can perform mutual conversion or logical operations on optical signals in an optical transmission line or an integrated optical circuit. A 2×2 optical switch has two waveguides at the input end and the output end, respectively, and can achieve two connection states, parallel connection and cross connection.

[0045] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the i-th single-mode input waveguide group includes N i-th single-mode input waveguides, the input ends of the N i-th single-mode input waveguides are respectively connected to the N output ends of the i-th mode demultiplexer, and the output ends of the N i-th single-mode input waveguides are respectively connected to the i-th input ends of N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the i-th single-mode output waveguide group includes N i-th single-mode output waveguides, the output ends of the N i-th single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the N input ends of the first mode multiplexer, and the input ends of the N i-th single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the i-th output ends of N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units; wherein 4≤i≤1 and i is an integer.

[0047] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 2×2 optical switch unit switches between a through state and a cross state according to a control signal, and the 2×2 optical switch units of N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are in a through state or a cross state at the same time, so that the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are in the same routing state at the same time.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are in the same routing state at the same time, and each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit has the following 9 routing states according to the corresponding relationship between input and output:

[0049] ① Input 1101 - output 2102, input 1102 - output 2101, input 1103 - output 2104, input 1104 - output 2103;

[0050] ②Input 1101-output 2102, input 1102-output 2104, input 1103-output 2101, input 1104-output 2103;

[0051] ③Input 1101-output 2102, input 1102-output 2103, input 1103-output 2104, input 1104-output 2101;

[0052] ④Input 1101-output 2103, input 1102-output 2104, input 1103-output 2101, input 1104-output 2102;

[0053] ⑤Input 1101-output 2103, input 1102-output 2104, input 1103-output 2102, input 1104-output 2101;

[0054] ⑥Input 1101-output 2103, input 1102-output 2101, input 1103-output 2104, input 1104-output 2102;

[0055] ⑦Input 1101-output 2104, input 1102-output 2101, input 1103-output 2102, input 1104-output 2103;

[0056] ⑧ Input 1101 - output 2104, input 1102 - output 2103, input 1103 - output 2102, input 1104 - output 2101; and

[0057] ⑨Input 1101-output 2104, input 1102-output 2103, input 1103-output 2101, input 1104-output 2102.

[0058] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the routing state switching of the 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit is tuned by thermo-optical effect or plasma dispersion effect.

[0059] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, depending on the required speed and extinction ratio, the thermo-optic effect or the plasma dispersion effect can be selected to adjust the routing state.

[0060] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the thermo-optical effect is used, the response speed is slow (on the order of us), but the loss is small, compared with the case of using the plasma dispersion effect.

[0061] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the plasma dispersion effect is used, the response speed is fast (ns level) but the loss is large compared to when the thermo-optic effect is used.

[0062] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 2×2 optical switch unit is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure or a microring resonator structure.

[0063] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit uses four identical optical switches of Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure or micro-ring resonator structure.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the 2×2 optical switch unit is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure, the four-port multimode router has the characteristic of large bandwidth.

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, four multimode input waveguides, four mode demultiplexers, four single-mode input waveguide groups, N single routing units, four single-mode output waveguide groups, four mode multiplexers and four multimode output waveguides are all fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator platform.

[0066] In an illustrative embodiment, the input end of the first mode demultiplexer 1201 is connected to the first multimode input waveguide 1101, and the first mode demultiplexer 1201 converts the received multimode signal into N single-mode signals. The input end of the second mode demultiplexer 1202 is connected to the second multimode input waveguide 1102, and the second mode demultiplexer 1202 converts the received multimode signal into N single-mode signals. The input end of the third mode demultiplexer 1203 is connected to the third multimode input waveguide 1103, and the third mode demultiplexer 1203 converts the received multimode signal into N single-mode signals. The input end of the fourth mode demultiplexer 1204 is connected to the fourth multimode input waveguide 1104, and the fourth mode demultiplexer 1204 converts the received multimode signal into N single-mode signals.

[0067] The first input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are respectively connected to the output ends of the N single-mode waveguides 1011 to 101N of the first single-mode input waveguide group, so that the first input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units respectively receive the single-mode signals processed by the first mode demultiplexer 1201.

[0068] The second input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are respectively connected to the output ends of the N single-mode waveguides 1021-102N of the second single-mode input waveguide group, so that the second input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units respectively receive the single-mode signals processed by the second mode demultiplexer 1202.

[0069] The third input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are respectively connected to the output ends of the N single-mode waveguides 1031 to 103N of the third single-mode input waveguide group, so that the third input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units respectively receive the single-mode signals processed by the third mode demultiplexer 1203.

[0070] The fourth input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are respectively connected to the output ends of the N single-mode waveguides 1041-104N of the fourth single-mode input waveguide group, so that the fourth input ends of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units respectively receive the single-mode signals processed by the fourth mode demultiplexer 1204.

[0071] The input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides in the first single-mode output waveguide group are respectively connected to the first output ends of each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit, and the first mode multiplexer 2201 converts the received N single-mode signals into multi-mode multiplexed signals.

[0072] The input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides in the second single-mode output waveguide group are respectively connected to the second output ends of each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit, and the second mode multiplexer 2202 converts the received N single-mode signals into multi-mode multiplexed signals.

[0073] The input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides in the third single-mode output waveguide group are respectively connected to the third output ends of each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit, and the second mode multiplexer 2202 converts the received N single-mode signals into multi-mode multiplexed signals.

[0074] The input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides in the fourth single-mode output waveguide group are respectively connected to the fourth output ends of each 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit, and the second mode multiplexer 2202 converts the received N single-mode signals into multi-mode multiplexed signals.

[0075] The input end of the first multimode output waveguide is connected to the output end of the first mode multiplexer 2201, and transmits the first multimode multiplexed signal. The input end of the second multimode output waveguide is connected to the output end of the second mode multiplexer 2202, and transmits the second multimode multiplexed signal. The input end of the third multimode output waveguide is connected to the output end of the third mode multiplexer 2203, and transmits the third multimode multiplexed signal. The input end of the fourth multimode output waveguide is connected to the output end of the fourth mode multiplexer 2204, and transmits the fourth multimode multiplexed signal.

[0076] As another aspect of the present disclosure, a link switching network supporting multi-mode is provided, comprising any of the above-mentioned four-port multi-mode routers.

[0077] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link switching network is a Mesh network, a Fat-Tree network, a Crossbar network, or a Clos network.

[0078] It should also be noted that the directional terms mentioned in the embodiments, such as "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", etc., are only reference directions of the drawings and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, the same elements are represented by the same or similar reference numerals. Conventional structures or configurations will be omitted when they may cause confusion in the understanding of the present disclosure, and the shapes and sizes of the components in the drawings do not reflect the actual size and proportion, but only illustrate the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0079] Unless otherwise indicated, the numerical parameters in this specification and the appended claims are approximate values ​​and can vary according to the desired properties obtained through the content of the present disclosure. Specifically, all numbers used in the specification and claims to express the content of the composition, reaction conditions, etc., should be understood to be modified by the term "about" in all cases. In general, the meaning of the expression is to include a variation of ±10% in some embodiments, ±5% in some embodiments, ±1% in some embodiments, and ±0.5% in some embodiments by a specific number.

[0080] The ordinal numbers used in the specification and claims, such as "first", "second", "third", etc., to modify the corresponding elements, do not themselves mean that the elements have any ordinal numbers, nor do they represent the order of one element and another element, or the order in the manufacturing method. The use of these ordinal numbers is only used to clearly distinguish a component with a certain name from another component with the same name.

[0081] In addition, unless the steps are specifically described or must occur in sequence, the order of the above steps is not limited to the above list, and can be changed or rearranged according to the required design. And the above embodiments can be mixed and matched with each other or with other embodiments based on design and reliability considerations, that is, the technical features in different embodiments can be freely combined to form more embodiments.

[0082] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A four-port multimode router, characterized in that: include: four multimode input waveguides; four mode demultiplexers, each of which has an input end connected to one of the multimode input waveguides, and the mode demultiplexer is adapted to convert a received multimode multiplexed signal into N single-mode signals, wherein N is a positive integer; Four single-mode input waveguide groups, each of which includes N single-mode input waveguides, and input ends of the N single-mode input waveguides are connected to N output ends of one mode demultiplexer; N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units, the same input end of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units is connected to the N single-mode input waveguide output ends of one single-mode input waveguide group, and the 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit receives the single-mode signal; Four single-mode output waveguide groups, each of which includes N single-mode output waveguides, and input ends of the N single-mode output waveguides are respectively connected to the same output end of each of the 4×4 single-mode optical routing units; Four mode multiplexers, each of which has an input end connected to an output end of the N single-mode output waveguides of the single-mode output waveguide group, and the mode multiplexer is adapted to convert the received N single-mode signals into a multi-mode multiplexed signal; four multimode output waveguides, the input ends of the multimode output waveguides being connected to the output ends of the mode multiplexer; The 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit is a ring routing structure composed of four 2×2 optical switches; the four 2×2 optical switches include: A first 2×2 optical switch, wherein the first input end is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the second mode demultiplexer; and the second input end of the first 2×2 optical switch is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the third mode demultiplexer; A second 2×2 optical switch, wherein the first input end is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the first mode demultiplexer; the second input end of the second 2×2 optical switch is adapted to be connected to the first output end of the first 2×2 optical switch; and the first output end of the second 2×2 optical switch is adapted to be connected to the fourth mode multiplexer; a third 2×2 optical switch, wherein the first input end is adapted to be connected to the second output end of the first 2×2 optical switch; the second input end of the third 2×2 optical switch is adapted to receive one of the N single-mode signals converted by the fourth mode demultiplexer; and the second output end of the second 2×2 optical switch is adapted to be connected to the first mode multiplexer; The fourth 2×2 optical switch, the first input end is suitable for connecting to the second output end of the third 2×2 optical switch; the second input end of the fourth 2×2 optical switch is suitable for connecting to the first output end of the third 2×2 optical switch; the first output end of the fourth 2×2 optical switch is suitable for connecting to the third mode multiplexer; the second output end of the fourth 2×2 optical switch is suitable for connecting to the second mode multiplexer.

2. The four-port multimode router according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 2×2 optical switch switches between the through state and the cross state according to the control signal, and the 2×2 optical switches of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are simultaneously in the through state or the cross state, so that the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are simultaneously in the same routing state.

3. The four-port multimode router according to claim 1, characterized in that: The routing state switching of the 4×4 single-mode optical routing unit is tuned by thermo-optical effect or plasma dispersion effect.

4. The four-port multimode router according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 2×2 optical switch is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure or a microring resonator structure.

5. The four-port multimode router according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 2×2 optical switches of the N 4×4 single-mode optical routing units are Mach-Zehnder interferometer structures or microring resonator structures.

6. The four-port multimode router according to claim 1, characterized in that: The four multimode input waveguides, the four mode demultiplexers, the four single-mode input waveguide groups, the N single-mode optical routing units, the four single-mode output waveguide groups, the four mode multiplexers and the four multimode output waveguides are all fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator platform.

7. A link switching network supporting multi-mode, characterized in that: A four-port multimode router comprising any one of claims 1-6.

8. The link switching network according to claim 7, characterized in that: The link switching network is a Mesh network, a Fat-Tree network, a Crossbar network, or a Clos network.

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