Optical module, optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure and optical switching system

Abstract

The invention provides an optical module, an optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure and an optical switching system. The optical module comprises: an electrical input / output interface; an optical input / output interface; the light emitting unit is used for converting an input electric signal received from the electric input / output interface into an output light signal; the optical receiving unit is used for converting an input optical signal received from the optical input / output interface into an output electric signal; and a control unit for controlling the light emitting unit to convert the input electrical signal to the output optical signal, and controlling the light receiving unit to convert the input optical signal to the output electrical signal. The input electrical signal and the output electrical signal are PCIe electrical signals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of optical communications, and in particular to an optical module, an optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure, and an optical switching system. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, cloud computing technology, virtual reality and augmented reality, the demand for computing power in data centers has also increased exponentially. However, architectural innovation and computing power improvement for a single computing node alone cannot meet the growing demand for large-scale computing power. Data centers generally need to deploy tens of thousands of computing devices, and the simple stacking and combination of multiple computing nodes often causes network congestion. In addition, the resource configuration of CPU, GPU and memory inside the data center server is relatively fixed, but different computing tasks have different requirements for resources. Therefore, once the hardware configuration of the data center is fixed, its utilization rate is relatively low most of the time because the computing power cannot be flexibly scheduled. A better approach is to integrate computing resources and allocate computing resources to computing tasks in a flexible and efficient manner through refined management. This idea is usually called resource pooling.

[0003] However, the current data center infrastructure design is difficult to support high-performance resource pooling because the physical distance between large-scale distributed computing devices is relatively large. Currently, data communication between computing devices in data centers is usually based on Ethernet protocols. For example, Figure 1 As shown, in this architecture, the PCIe electrical signal output by the computing chip of the computing device needs to be converted at the physical layer and protocol layer through the Ethernet card, so as to convert the PCIe electrical signal into an Ethernet electrical signal, and then provide the Ethernet electrical signal to the Ethernet optical module to achieve electrical-optical conversion. The Ethernet optical signal output by the Ethernet optical module can be further provided to an Ethernet optoelectronic switch or an optical switch. Vice versa, for example, the Ethernet optical signal from the Ethernet optoelectronic switch or the optical switch can be provided to the Ethernet optical module for optoelectronic conversion, and the Ethernet electrical signal obtained from the Ethernet optical module can be further converted by protocol via the Ethernet card to obtain a PCIe electrical signal. The PCIe electrical signal can be further received by the computing chip of another computing device. In the above manner, data exchange between different computing devices can be achieved.

[0004] This configuration mode between computing devices is limited by the bandwidth of Ethernet data exchange and has high communication latency, so it is difficult for data centers to achieve near-linear large-scale computing power expansion. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present disclosure aims to provide an optical data exchange solution that directly uses PCIe electrical signals without the need for Ethernet protocol conversion.

[0006] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an optical module. The optical module includes: an electrical input / output interface; an optical input / output interface; an optical emitting unit for converting an input electrical signal received from the electrical input / output interface into an output optical signal; an optical receiving unit for converting an input optical signal received from the optical input / output interface into an output electrical signal; and a control unit for controlling the optical emitting unit to convert the input electrical signal into the output optical signal, and controlling the optical receiving unit to convert the input optical signal into the output electrical signal. The input electrical signal and the output electrical signal are PCIe electrical signals.

[0007] In some embodiments, the input electrical signal and the output electrical signal are PCIe electrical signals based on the physical layer of the PCIe interface on an external electronic integrated circuit chip or PCIe / CXL electrical signals based on the physical layer of the PCIe interface and the CXL protocol layer.

[0008] In some embodiments, the input electrical signal includes a first data electrical signal. The first data electrical signal has one or more channels, and the optical transmitting unit includes one or more transmitting channels for converting the first data electrical signal into a first data optical signal having one or more channels. The input optical signal includes a second data optical signal. The second data optical signal has one or more channels, and the optical receiving unit includes one or more receiving channels for converting the second data optical signal into a second data electrical signal having one or more channels.

[0009] In some embodiments, the input electrical signal also includes a first control electrical signal, and the optical emitting unit further converts the first control electrical signal into a first control optical signal. The input optical signal also includes a second control optical signal, and the optical receiving unit further converts the second control optical signal into a second control electrical signal.

[0010] In some embodiments, the light emitting unit includes a light emitter and a driver.

[0011] In some embodiments, the light emitter is a directly modulated laser, and the control unit controls the intensity of the light signal emitted by the light emitting unit by controlling the electrical signal provided by the driver to form the output light signal.

[0012] In some embodiments, the optical transmitter is an externally modulated laser, and the optical transmission unit further comprises a modulator. The control unit modulates the light received from the optical transmitter by controlling the electrical signal input to the modulator to form the output optical signal.

[0013] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure. The optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure includes: the optical module as described above; an electronic integrated circuit chip; a packaging substrate, at least packaging the electronic integrated circuit chip; and a PCB board, which is used to arrange the packaging substrate. The electronic integrated circuit chip has a PCIe physical interface, and the PCIe physical interface of the electronic integrated circuit chip and the electrical input and output interface of the optical module are directly electrically interconnected. The PCB board is also used to install the optical module.

[0014] In some embodiments, a slot is arranged at an edge of the PCB board, and the optical module is pluggably arranged in the slot. The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through wiring in the packaging substrate and the PCB board.

[0015] In some embodiments, a slot is arranged at the edge of the PCB board, and the optical module is pluggably arranged in the slot. The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through wiring in the packaging substrate and overhead cables on the PCB board.

[0016] In some embodiments, the optical module is arranged in a first area of ​​the PCB board; the package substrate is arranged in a second area of ​​the PCB board that is different from the first area. The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through wiring in the package substrate and the PCB board.

[0017] In some embodiments, the electronic integrated circuit chip is arranged in a first area of ​​the package substrate; the optical module is arranged in a second area of ​​the package substrate that is different from the first area; the package substrate is arranged on the PCB board. The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through wiring in the package substrate.

[0018] In some embodiments, the electronic integrated circuit chip inputs an input electrical signal to the electrical input and output interface of the optical module through the PCIe physical interface, and the optical module converts the received input electrical signal into an output optical signal. The optical module converts the input optical signal received from the optical input and output interface into an output electrical signal, and provides the output electrical signal to the electronic integrated circuit chip.

[0019] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an optical switching system. The optical switching system includes: one or more optical switches; a plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips, each of which has a PCIe physical interface; and a plurality of optical modules as described above. The PCIe physical interface of each of the plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips is directly electrically connected to the electrical input and output interface of the corresponding optical module, and the corresponding optical module is connected to the optical switch via an optical fiber.

[0020] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an optical switching system. The optical switching system includes: a plurality of servers; and a plurality of optical switches. Each of the plurality of servers includes at least one optical module as described above, and each server and each optical switch are optically interconnected through a corresponding optical module.

[0021] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides an optical switching system. The optical switching system includes: a plurality of servers; and at least one optical switch. Each of the plurality of servers includes at least one optical module as described above, and each server and at least some of the at least one optical switch are optically interconnected through corresponding optical modules. In addition, some of the plurality of servers are optically interconnected point-to-point through corresponding optical modules. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a conventional optical interconnect structure based on PCIe and Ethernet protocol conversion is shown.

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 3A-3B A structural diagram showing an example of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 4 A structural diagram showing another example of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figures 5A-5D A side view of an example of an optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing an example of an optical switching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing another example of an optical switching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 8A schematic diagram showing another example of an optical switching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments described herein, but rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are only for exemplary purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0031] It should be noted that the various parts or components described in the various embodiments of the present disclosure are merely illustrative. In some cases, some of the parts or components may be omitted, or replaced with other parts or components having the same or similar functions, or additional parts or components may be added.

[0032] In addition, the various parts or components that are separated or combined with each other in various embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the convenience of description, which does not mean that they are physically separated or combined with each other, nor does it mean that such separation or combination is necessary. Those skilled in the art can arbitrarily separate or combine the various parts or components according to actual needs.

[0033] Without departing from the inventive concept of the present disclosure, any modifications or combinations described above fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0034] PCIe (also known as Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard. Its original name was "3GIO" and was proposed by Intel in 2001. PCIe is a full-duplex bus that uses high-speed serial transmission and can support higher frequencies. In addition, PCIe belongs to high-speed serial point-to-point high-bandwidth transmission. The connected devices are allocated exclusive channel bandwidth and no longer share the bus bandwidth like the PCI bus.

[0035] PCIe has multiple specifications, including PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIe x8, PCIe x16, PCIe x32, where the number after x indicates the number of lanes in the PCIe slot. PCIe slots are backward compatible, for example, a PCIe x16 slot can be plugged with x8, x4, x1 cards, and the final operating mode is determined by the PCIe card. For example, if a PCIe x16 slot is plugged with a PCIe x4 card, it will eventually run in PCIe x4 mode.

[0036] PCIe has released multiple versions, including PCIe 1.0, PCIe 2.0, PCIe 3.0, PCIe 4.0, PCIe 5.0, and PCIe 6.0. The various versions are backward compatible, and any version of PCIe cards and motherboards can work in the lowest version mode. For example, if a PCIe 3.0 card is inserted into a PCIe 2.0 slot, it will eventually run at PCIe 2.0.

[0037] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an optical module that can be directly driven by an input PCIe electrical signal and can directly output a PCIe electrical signal.

[0038] In some embodiments, the input PCIe electrical signal may be a PCIe electrical signal output from a PCIe standard physical interface, and the output PCIe electrical signal may be directly fed to the PCIe standard physical interface and may be reversely protocol converted by the PCIe standard physical interface.

[0039] For simplicity, in the following, such an optical module that is directly driven by a PCIe electrical signal and can directly output a PCIe electrical signal is referred to as a PCIe optical module.

[0040] It should be noted that, in this article, the term "PCIe electrical signal" refers to an electrical signal that complies with the PCIe bus standard. For example, the PCIe electrical signal can be an electrical signal obtained by performing protocol conversion on the physical layer of the PCIe interface on the external electronic integrated circuit chip. In addition, for example, the "PCIe electrical signal" can include a high-speed differential electrical signal and a sideband low-speed electrical signal directly output from the PCIe physical interface of the external electronic integrated circuit chip.

[0041] Depending on the data transmission rate and modulation mode adopted by the system, the "PCIe electrical signal" may include, for example, a high-speed differential electrical signal in a 32G NRZ format, or may include, for example, a high-speed differential electrical signal in a 64G PAM4 format.

[0042] Various embodiments of the PCIe optical module will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical module 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, the optical module 1000 functionally includes an electrical input / output interface EI / O, an optical input / output interface OI / O, a light emitting unit 100 , a light receiving unit 200 , and a control unit 300 .

[0045] The optical transmitting unit 100 may also be referred to as a TX unit, and is used to convert an input electrical signal 110 received from the electrical input / output interface EI / O into an output optical signal 120, that is, to perform electrical-to-optical conversion (also referred to as EO conversion).

[0046] The optical receiving unit 200 may also be referred to as an RX unit, and is used to convert an input optical signal 210 received from the optical input / output interface OI / O into an output electrical signal 220, that is, perform optical-to-electrical conversion (also referred to as OE conversion).

[0047] The control unit 300 may be any form of controller or microcontroller, and is used to control the optical emitting unit 100 to perform EO conversion from the input electrical signal 110 to the output optical signal 120. Similarly, the control unit 300 may also control the optical receiving unit 200 to perform OE conversion from the input optical signal 210 to the output electrical signal 220.

[0048] As mentioned above, the optical module proposed in the present disclosure can be directly driven by a PCIe electrical signal and can directly output a PCIe electrical signal, mainly by configuring the electrical input and output interface as described above to be directly connected to the PCIe interface in the output port of the functional electronic integrated circuit chip, and directly transmitting the received signal to the driver in the optical emitting unit 100 of the optical module. That is, the optical module receives the signal from the PCIe interface in the output port of the functional electronic integrated circuit chip and directly transmits it to the driver of the optical module without protocol conversion or other processing.

[0049] That is to say, Figure 1 The input electrical signal 110 and the output electrical signal 220 shown are both PCIe electrical signals.

[0050] In this way, compared with the Ethernet optical module, the PCIe optical module proposed in the present invention does not need to set a retimer, and does not need to set an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) or a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to perform analog-to-digital and / or digital-to-analog conversion on the high-speed electrical signal, so that the PCIe optical module is completely transparent to the digital logic protocol and reduces system latency.

[0051] In some embodiments, in the direction of EO conversion, the input electrical signal 110 may be an electrical signal from an external device, for example, an electrical signal from any external computing device, storage device, communication device, etc. In addition, the electrical signal 220 output from the optical module 1000 may be provided to the same external device.

[0052] For example, the external device may be a device having a PCIe physical interface and capable of receiving or sending PCIe electrical signals. In this case, the input electrical signal as described above may be input into the electrical input / output interface EI / O of the optical module 1000 through the PCIe physical interface of the external device, thereby performing EO conversion.

[0053] In this case, for example, if the electrical signal output by the PCIe physical interface of the external device is a PCIe electrical signal carrying "information A", when the optical module 1000 receives the PCIe electrical signal carrying "information A", the optical emitting unit 100 in the optical module 1000 will, under the control of the control unit 300, convert the PCIe electrical signal into a corresponding optical signal, which will also carry the same "information A". This carrying of information is achieved by the modulation operation of light in the optical emitting unit 100. The specific implementation of the modulation of light will be described in detail later.

[0054] Therefore, converting the received input electrical signal 110 into the output optical signal 120 as described above actually means loading the information carried by the input electrical signal 110 onto the output optical signal 120 in a modulated manner.

[0055] Accordingly, in the direction of OE conversion, the input optical signal 210 may also be an optical signal from an external device. In addition, the optical signal 120 output from the optical module 1000 may also be provided to the same external device.

[0056] The external device may, for example, provide the input optical signal 210 to the optical module 1000 via an optical fiber, and the input optical signal 210 may carry specific information (e.g., "information B"). In other words, the input optical signal 210 may carry "information B" via a certain modulation technology. The optical receiving unit 200 in the optical module 1000 performs OE conversion on such an optical signal carrying "information B" to obtain an electrical signal carrying the same "information B". Such an output electrical signal may then be provided to the external computing device, storage device, communication device, etc. as described above.

[0057] The PCIe interface as described above (e.g., the PCIe interface in the output port of the electronic integrated circuit chip) may include a PCIe interface that complies with various versions, including but not limited to a PCIe interface that complies with any one of the PCIe 1.0, PCIe 2.0, PCIe 3.0, PCIe 4.0, PCIe 5.0, and PCIe 6.0 as described above. Similarly, under the corresponding version, the PCIe interface of the optical module 1000 as described above may also be any one of various specifications, including but not limited to PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIe x8, PCIe x16, and PCIe x32.

[0058] Therefore, the PCIe electrical signal described above may be any one of the electrical signals conforming to the above various PCIe versions and various specifications.

[0059] By providing a PCIe optical module that is directly driven by a PCIe electrical signal and can directly output a PCIe electrical signal as described above, such a PCIe optical module can be used to interconnect computing devices more simply when building an optical network, thereby avoiding the conversion of the physical layer and protocol layer from PCIe to Ethernet.

[0060] In addition, since the PCIe optical module proposed in the present disclosure directly receives PCIe electrical signals and directly outputs PCIe electrical signals, the operation of further performing digital-to-analog conversion and analog-to-digital conversion inside the optical module before and after the conversion is omitted. In other words, the PCIe optical module proposed in the present disclosure may not include traditional DAC components and ADC components, so that the photoelectric and electro-optical conversions can be performed more quickly, which can help to further reduce the delay of data transmission.

[0061] Therefore, the PCIe optical module proposed in the present disclosure can not only solve the bandwidth limitation problem and high latency problem in Ethernet solutions, but also simplify the hardware design.

[0062] Optionally, an electrical signal based on the CXL protocol may be used in the PCIe optical module as described above to further reduce data transmission delay.

[0063] The CXL (also known as "High-Speed ​​Computing Link") protocol is an emerging technical specification developed by the open industry standards organization of the CXL Alliance, which can support data center acceleration. Since CXL is based on the PCIe protocol (PCIE 5.0) and is fully compatible with PCIe standard slots, it can enable the device's memory or cache to be quickly accessed globally by all devices that support the CXL protocol. Therefore, the CXL protocol can be used to complete fast access to the device through the PCIe standard interface, resulting in higher data access efficiency and lower local data access latency. In this article, the electrical signal based on the physical layer of the PCIe standard interface (such as PCIe 5.0) and using the CXL protocol can also be referred to as a PCIe / CXL electrical signal.

[0064] In some embodiments, the input electrical signal and the output electrical signal as described above can be PCIe / CXL electrical signals based on the physical layer of the PCIe interface and the CXL protocol layer. By transmitting electrical signals based on the CXL protocol in the PCIe standard interface, it is beneficial to further accelerate data access and data exchange.

[0065] The above describes various embodiments of the optical module in the present disclosure that directly supports PCIe electrical signals. Figures 3A to 3B Some examples of the internal configuration of the PCIe optical module proposed in the present disclosure are described.

[0066] Figure 3A FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of an example of an optical module 1100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that: Figure 3A The optical module 1100 shown can be viewed as Figure 2 A more detailed embodiment of the light module 1000 is shown.

[0067] For example, Figure 1 The light emitting unit 100 shown in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3A The optical transmitter 101A and the driver 102 are shown. The driver 102 is used to drive the optical transmitter 101A to transmit an optical signal as an output optical signal 120.

[0068] In addition, if Figure 1 The light receiving unit 200 shown in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3A The optical detector 201 and the amplifier 202 are shown. The optical detector 201 can convert the detected input optical signal 210 into an electrical signal, and the amplifier 202 can further amplify the converted electrical signal and then output the amplified electrical signal as an output electrical signal 220.

[0069] Figure 3AThe illustrated optical transmitter 101A may be a "directly modulated" optical transmitter, such as a directly modulated vertical cavity surface laser (VCSEL) or a distributed feedback (DFB) laser.

[0070] The so-called "direct modulation" means that the control unit 300 can control the electrical signal provided by the driver 102 to the optical transmitter 101A according to the input electrical signal 110, thereby controlling the intensity of the optical signal emitted by the optical transmitter 101A, without using other modulators to load or modulate the information in the electrical signal into the emitted optical signal.

[0071] For example, the control unit 300 can directly control the magnitude of the current provided by the driver 102 according to the amplitude of the logic levels "1" and "0" of the input electrical signal 110, so that the intensity of the light emitted by the light emitter 101A can be linearly or substantially linearly related to the amplitude of the input current.

[0072] Optionally, the optical transmitter in the optical module of the present disclosure may also be an "external modulation" optical transmitter. As the name implies, an "external modulation" optical transmitter means that the optical transmitter itself cannot modulate light, but needs to rely on external equipment to modulate light.

[0073] Figure 3B FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of another example of an optical module 1200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3B In the embodiment, the optical transmitter 101B is, for example, an externally modulated laser, and Figure 1 The light emitting unit 100 shown needs to additionally include a modulator 103 in addition to the driver 102 and the light emitter 101B.

[0074] In this case, the optical transmitter 101B is in a stable light-emitting state and emits light with a uniform intensity. The light emitted by the optical transmitter 101B is provided to the modulator 103, and the control unit 300 can control the electrical signal input to the modulator 103 through the driver 102, thereby modulating the amplitude, phase and other characteristics of the light received from the optical transmitter 101B, so as to modulate the information carried in the input electrical signal 110 onto the light to form the output optical signal 120.

[0075] Typical examples of the modulator 103 include integrated photonic modulators based on silicon, indium phosphide, thin-film lithium niobate or polymer, and the structure may be a micro-ring modulator, a Mach-Zehnder modulator or an electro-absorption modulator.

[0076] For example, in the case where the modulator 103 is an electro-absorption modulator, the control unit 300 can control the switch of the modulator 103 through the driver 102 to make it absorb or not absorb light, thereby absorbing the light emitted by the optical transmitter 101B (for example, corresponding to the output logic "0"), or not absorbing the light emitted by the optical transmitter 101B (for example, corresponding to the output logic "1"). In this way, the intensity and phase of the final output light can be controlled, so that information can be modulated or loaded onto the output optical signal 120.

[0077] It should be noted that the modulation formats of the logic levels "1" and "0" of the input electrical signal 110 mentioned above are merely exemplary and not limiting. In practice, the input electrical signal 110 may have any suitable modulation format.

[0078] also, Figure 3A-3B The driver 102, the photodetector 201 and the amplifier 202 shown in the figure can be implemented using any suitable components in the art.

[0079] For example, the driver 102 can be implemented by a circuit composed of various electronic components such as transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc. For example, the light detector 201 can be various types of photodiodes with various sensitivities, such as photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), avalanche photodiodes (APDs), silicon photomultiplier tubes (SiPMs), etc. In addition, the amplifier 202 can be a traditional transimpedance amplifier (TIA), or various types of amplifiers based on similar principles or other principles, which will not be elaborated in detail here.

[0080] The above mainly combines Figure 3A-3B Various embodiments of the internal structure of the PCIe optical module are described. The input signal and the output signal of the PCIe optical module will be described in detail below.

[0081] In the field of optical transmission, the signals transmitted in the system can be roughly divided into two categories according to their functions, one is data signal and the other is control signal.

[0082] Data signal refers to the signal that carries the target information data to be transmitted, which can be an electrical signal or an optical signal. For example, the data electrical signal can represent the data information through the amplitude and timing of its level, while the data optical signal can represent the data information through the intensity, phase, frequency and other characteristics of the modulated light. Since the data signal contains a huge amount of information and changes very quickly, it is generally necessary to use high-speed differential signals for transmission.

[0083] A control signal generally refers to a signal that carries control information or system information, and can also be either an electrical signal or an optical signal. Compared with a data signal, a control signal carries less information and does not change very quickly in the time domain. Some low-speed sideband signals can be used to transmit control signals.

[0084] In this disclosure, as mentioned above Figures 2 to 3B The input and output signals discussed include data signals, ie signals carrying target information data to be transmitted. Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing various signals in the optical module 1300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0085] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the input electrical signal input into the optical module 1300 may include a first data electrical signal 110 - 1 , and the first data electrical signal 110 - 1 may be an electrical signal having multiple channels.

[0086] In this case, the optical transmission unit 100 needs to include a corresponding plurality of transmission channels for converting the first data electrical signal 110 - 1 into a first data optical signal 120 - 1 , wherein the first data optical signal 120 - 1 also has a corresponding plurality of channels.

[0087] For example, when the first data electrical signal 110-1 has 8 channels, the optical transmission unit 100 also needs to include 8 transmission channels to support EO conversion of the electrical signal in each channel of the first data electrical signal 110-1. After EO conversion, the first data optical signal 120-1 also has 8 channels of optical output.

[0088] For example, when the first data electrical signal 110-1 has 32 channels, the optical transmission unit 100 also needs to include 32 transmission channels to support EO conversion of the electrical signal in each channel of the first data electrical signal 110-1. After EO conversion, the first data optical signal 120-1 also has 32 channels of optical output.

[0089] It should be noted that the optical emission unit 100 includes multiple emission channels, which means that for the electrical signal of each channel in the first data electrical signal 110 - 1 , a corresponding driver+optical emitter needs to be arranged to perform EO conversion on the electrical signal of the channel.

[0090] For example, when the first data electrical signal 110-1 has 8 channels, 8 sets of drivers + optical transmitters are required to drive the 8 electrical signals. When the first data electrical signal 110-1 has 16 channels, 16 sets of drivers + optical transmitters are required to drive the 8 electrical signals, and so on.

[0091] In some examples, the optical transmitter in each driver+optical transmitter group may be any one of the direct modulation optical transmitter and the external modulation optical transmitter as described above. In addition, in the case where the optical transmitter in each driver+optical transmitter group is an external modulation optical transmitter, each transmission channel also needs to additionally include a corresponding modulator, for example, the modulator may be as described above with respect to Figure 3B One of the various modulators described.

[0092] Preferably, when the first data electrical signal 110-1 has multiple channels, the multiple transmission channels in the optical transmission unit 100 can be configured with the same driver + optical transmitter group, or driver + optical transmitter + modulator group, thereby simplifying the design and control of the PCIe optical module.

[0093] For example, when the first data electrical signal 110-1 has 8 channels, each of the 8 transmission channels in the optical transmission unit 100 has the same configuration. For example, each transmission channel may include the same driver, the same combination of direct modulation optical transmitters, or each transmission channel may include the same driver, the same combination of external modulation optical transmitters and the same modulator.

[0094] However, any other arrangement also falls within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, when the first data electrical signal 110-1 has 8 channels, a combination of a driver + a VCSEL direct modulation laser can be configured for channel 1, a combination of a driver + a DFB direct modulation laser can be configured for channel 2, and a combination of a driver + an external modulation laser + an electro-absorption modulator can be configured for channels 3 to 8.

[0095] The same is true in the light receiving direction. Figure 4 As shown, the input optical signal input to the optical module 1300 may include a second data optical signal 210-1, the second data optical signal 210-1 may be an optical signal having multiple channels, and the optical receiving unit 200 also correspondingly includes multiple receiving channels for converting the second data optical signal 210-1 into a second data electrical signal 220-1 having multiple channels.

[0096] For example, when the second data optical signal 210-1 has 8 channels, the optical receiving unit 200 also needs to include 8 receiving channels to support OE conversion of the optical signal in each channel of the second data optical signal 210-1. After OE conversion, the second data electrical signal 220-1 also has 8 channels of electrical output.

[0097] For example, when the second data optical signal 210-1 has 32 channels, the optical receiving unit 200 also needs to include 32 receiving channels to support OE conversion of the optical signal in each channel of the second data optical signal 210-1. After OE conversion, the second data electrical signal 220-1 also has 32 channels of electrical output.

[0098] It should be noted that the optical receiving unit 200 includes a plurality of receiving channels, which means that for the optical signal of each channel in the second data optical signal 210 - 1 , a corresponding optical detector+amplifier needs to be arranged to perform OE conversion on the electrical signal of the channel.

[0099] For example, when the second data optical signal 210-1 has 8 channels, 8 sets of optical detectors + amplifiers are needed to receive 8 optical signals. When the second data optical signal 210-1 has 16 channels, 16 sets of optical detectors + amplifiers are needed to receive 16 optical signals, and so on.

[0100] In some examples, the optical receiver and amplifier in each optical detector+amplifier set may be any one of a photodiode and a transimpedance amplifier as described above.

[0101] Preferably, when the second data optical signal 210 - 1 has multiple channels, the multiple receiving channels in the optical receiving unit 200 may be configured with the same optical detector+amplifier group.

[0102] For example, when the second data optical signal 210 - 1 has 8 channels, each of the 8 receiving channels in the optical receiving unit 200 may have the same configuration, such as each receiving channel may include the same combination of a photodiode and a transimpedance amplifier.

[0103] However, different arrangements for each receiving channel also fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0104] The above about Figure 4 An example is shown in which the input and output of the PCIe optical module include multiple channels. It should be understood that in practical applications, the input and output of the PCIe optical module may also include a single channel.

[0105] In addition, the number of channels of the data signal in the EO direction may be equal to the number of channels of the data signal in the OE direction. Optionally, the number of channels of the data signal in the EO direction may not be equal to the number of channels of the data signal in the OE direction.

[0106] In addition, it should be noted that the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned above in the present disclosure are only for distinguishing some terms or components, and are not intended to limit the primary and secondary relationships of these terms or components, nor are they intended to limit the time order of these terms or components when performing operations.

[0107] For example, in the above embodiments, "first" is used to distinguish each signal in the EO switching direction, and "second" is used to distinguish each signal in the OE switching direction.

[0108] For example, the first data electrical signal and the first data optical signal described above represent electrical signals and optical signals in the EO conversion direction, respectively, and the second data electrical signal and the second data optical signal represent electrical signals and optical signals in the OE conversion direction, respectively.

[0109] For clarity, each embodiment described later will also follow this rule, that is, "first" is used to define each signal in the EO conversion direction, and "second" is used to define each signal in the OE conversion direction.

[0110] Typically, the multiple channels of the first data electrical signal and the second data electrical signal (110-1 and 220-1) described above correspond to different numbers of high-speed differential channels in PCIe of different specifications. For example, they may correspond to different numbers of differential channels in the aforementioned PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIe x8, PCIe x16, PCIe x32, and other specifications.

[0111] For example, the 16-channel first data electrical signal 110 - 1 may represent an electrical signal of a high-speed differential channel in a NRZ format of 16 x 32G, or an electrical signal of a high-speed differential channel in a PAM4 format of 16 x 64G.

[0112] The first data electrical signal and the second data electrical signal (110-1 and 220-1), and the first data optical signal and the second data optical signal (120-1 and 210-1) discussed above refer to data signals carrying target data information.

[0113] In some embodiments, in addition to the data signals of multiple channels, the input and output signals of the optical module may also include additional control signals, for example, Figure 4 The control signal is shown as the black bold arrow in the figure.

[0114] like Figure 4 As shown, for example, the input electrical signal of the optical module 1300 may also include a first control electrical signal 110 - 2 input to the EI / O.

[0115] For example, the first control electrical signal 110 - 2 may carry first control information, and the optical transmission unit 100 may convert the first control electrical signal 110 - 2 into a first control optical signal 120 - 2 carrying the first control information.

[0116] In addition, similarly, the input optical signal of the optical module 1300 may also include a second control optical signal 210 - 2 .

[0117] For example, the second control optical signal 210 - 2 may carry the second control information, and the optical receiving unit 200 may convert the second control optical signal 210 - 2 into a second control electrical signal 220 - 2 carrying the second control information.

[0118] Similar to the principles described above regarding the first data electrical signal and the second data electrical signal (110-1 and 220-1), and the first data optical signal and the second data optical signal (120-1 and 210-1), for the first control electrical signal 110-2, a special driver + optical emitter combination needs to be set in the optical emission unit 100 to perform EO conversion of the first control electrical signal 110-2, thereby outputting the first control optical signal 120-2.

[0119] Similarly, for the second control optical signal 210 - 2 , a special optical detector+amplifier combination needs to be provided in the optical receiving unit 200 for performing OE conversion of the second control optical signal 210 - 2 , thereby outputting a second control electrical signal 220 - 2 .

[0120] also, Figure 4 The description of the light emitting unit 100, the light receiving unit 200 and the control unit 300 in Figure 2 Similar. And Figure 4 The transmitting unit 100 and the light receiving unit 200 in the embodiment may have the above-mentioned Figure 3A-3B The arbitrary configuration described above will not be repeated here.

[0121] It should be noted that, although the first control electrical signal 110-2, the first control optical signal 120-2, the second control optical signal 210-2 and the second control electrical signal 220-2 are described as a single channel above, this is only to simplify the description. In other embodiments, the above control signals may also have multiple channels, for example, 2, 3 or more channels, so as to achieve EO / OE conversion of more control signals.

[0122] In the case where the above control signal has multiple channels, each channel also needs to be arranged with a dedicated transmission channel or receiving channel. The configuration of the transmission channel or receiving channel discussed above for the data signal is also applicable to the control signal and will not be repeated here.

[0123] In some embodiments, the above control signal may be a PCIe sideband low speed control signal.

[0124] For example, the first control electrical signal 110-2 may be a PCIe sideband low-speed control electrical signal, and the first control optical signal 120-2 converted by EO may be a corresponding sideband low-speed control optical signal. The second control optical signal 210-2 may also be a sideband low-speed control optical signal, and the second control electrical signal 220-2 outputted by OE conversion may also be a PCIe sideband low-speed control electrical signal.

[0125] Various embodiments of the PCIe optical module are described above. As mentioned above, by providing a PCIe optical module that is directly driven by a PCIe electrical signal and can directly output a PCIe electrical signal as described above, a simpler interconnection between computing devices can be performed through such a PCIe optical module when building an optical network, thereby avoiding the conversion of the physical layer and protocol layer from PCIe to Ethernet. Optionally, the CXL protocol can also be used in the PCIe optical module as described above to reduce data transmission delay.

[0126] In addition, since the PCIe optical module proposed in the present invention directly receives PCIe electrical signals and directly outputs PCIe electrical signals, the further digital-to-analog conversion and analog-to-digital conversion operations inside the optical module before and after the conversion are eliminated, so that the optoelectronic and electro-optical conversions can be performed more quickly, which can help to further reduce the delay in data transmission.

[0127] An example of a typical optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure for interconnecting computing devices using any of the PCIe optical modules described above during an optical network design process will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0128] A typical optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure generally includes any one of the above-mentioned optical modules, an electronic integrated circuit chip, a packaging substrate and a PCB board. The packaging substrate is at least used to package the electronic integrated circuit chip, and the PCB board is used to arrange the packaging substrate. Among them, the electronic integrated circuit chip is configured with a PCIe physical interface, and the PCIe physical interface of the electronic integrated circuit chip and the electrical input and output interface of the optical module are electrically interconnected. In addition, the PCB board is also used to install the optical module.

[0129] Figures 5A-5D Further illustrated are side views of examples of various optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structures of embodiments of the present disclosure, with emphasis on examples of various different implementations of electrical interconnections between an electronic integrated circuit chip and a PCIe optical module.

[0130] In the present disclosure, the electronic integrated circuit chip is configured to have a PCIe physical interface, also known as a PCIe PHY interface. The PCIe PHY interface is used to perform protocol conversion on the input and output I / O signals of the electronic integrated circuit chip so as to make them comply with the PCIe standard.

[0131] For example, the following Figure 5A-5D The electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 shown is provided with a PCIe PHY interface, so that the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 can be interconnected with the PCIe optical module 2010 through the PCIe PHY interface.

[0132] It should be noted that in Figure 5A-5D In the illustrated embodiment, the PCIe PHY interface on the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 can convert the digital signal inside the chip into a PCIe electrical signal. The PCIe electrical signal can be directly fed to the electrical input interface of the PCIe optical module 2010 for EO conversion.

[0133] In addition, the PCIe electrical signal output from the electrical output interface after O-E conversion by the PCIe optical module 2010 can also be directly fed to the PCIe PHY interface on the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020, which then converts it into a digital signal for use by the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020.

[0134] Figure 5A-5B Two embodiments are shown in which the PCIe optical module is arranged at the edge of the PCB board 2040 in a pluggable manner.

[0135] For example, in Figure 5A In the illustrated electrical packaging structure 2100 , a slot (not shown) may be arranged at an edge of the PCB board 2040 , and the optical module 2010 is pluggably arranged in the slot.

[0136] The electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 is arranged on a package substrate 2030 , and the package substrate 2030 is arranged on a PCB board 2040 .

[0137] exist Figure 5A In the embodiment, the electrical interconnection between the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 is achieved through the wiring 2060 in the packaging substrate 2030 and the PCB board 2040.

[0138] For example, Figure 5A The edge of the PCB board 2040 in the server can correspond to the server device front panel. In this case, the optical module 2010 can be easily plugged in and out on the front panel of the server, so that the influence on other components caused when operating the optical module can be avoided.

[0139] In addition, in Figure 5A In the case of the package shown, the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 can be arranged as close to the optical module 2010 as possible, thereby reducing the length of the wiring 2060 between the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010, which is beneficial to improving signal integrity.

[0140] In addition, corresponding wiring 2060 can be arranged for the various data signals and control signals described above for the optical module, so that the optical module 2010 can perform EO conversion on various electrical signals from the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020, and then the optical fiber array 2050 as shown in the figure transmits the converted optical signals.

[0141] Figure 5B Another packaging embodiment is shown in which the optical module is arranged at the edge of the PCB board 2040 in a pluggable manner.

[0142] In such Figure 5B In the illustrated electrical packaging structure 2200 , a similar slot (not shown) may be arranged at the edge of the PCB board 2040 , and the optical module 2010 is pluggably arranged in the slot.

[0143] The electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 is arranged on a package substrate 2030 , and the package substrate 2030 is arranged on a PCB board 2040 .

[0144] With Figure 5A The difference is that in Figure 5B In the embodiment, the electrical interconnection between the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 is achieved through the wiring in the packaging substrate 2030 and the overhead cable 2070 above the PCB board 2040, and the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 can be arranged at any suitable position on the PCB board 2040.

[0145] Generally speaking, compared with the wiring in the PCB board 2040, the overhead cable loss and noise are relatively small. Therefore, for pluggable optical modules, it is relatively easy to use overhead cables to ensure that the optical transmission system has a good signal-to-noise ratio, thereby meeting the signal-to-noise ratio requirements of PCIe.

[0146] Apart from Figure 5A-5B In addition to the examples of pluggable optical module packages shown, Figure 5C A schematic diagram of another packaging of an onboard optical module is also shown.

[0147] In such Figure 5C In the electrical packaging structure 2300 shown in FIG. 1 , the optical module 2010 is arranged in the first area of ​​the PCB board 2040, rather than in the first area of ​​the PCB board 2040. Figure 5A-5BThe electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 is arranged in a pluggable manner in a card slot at the edge of the PCB board 2040. At the same time, the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 is arranged on the packaging substrate 2030, and the packaging substrate 2030 is arranged in a second area on the PCB board 2040 that is different from the above-mentioned first area, that is, the packaging substrate 2030 and the optical module 2010 are not arranged in an overlapping manner.

[0148] like Figure 5C As shown, Figure 5A Similarly, the electrical interconnection between the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 is achieved through the wiring 2080 in the packaging substrate 2030 and the PCB board 2040.

[0149] However, in this case, with Figure 5A The difference is that the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 can be arranged as close to the optical module 2010 as possible, thereby further reducing the length of the wiring 2080 between the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010, which is beneficial to improving signal integrity.

[0150] The above about Figures 5A-5C In the package structure described above, the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 are separated, that is, they are not packaged in the same substrate. In some cases, a co-package structure of the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 can also be considered.

[0151] Figure 5D An example of co-packaging of an electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and an optical module 2010 is shown.

[0152] In such Figure 5D In the illustrated electrical packaging structure 2400, the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 is arranged in a first region of a packaging substrate 2030, and the optical module 2010 is arranged in a second region different from the first region of the same packaging substrate 2030. Then, the packaging substrate 2030 on which both the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 are arranged is arranged on a PCB board 2040.

[0153] In this co-packaged structure, the electrical interconnection between the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 is achieved through the wiring 2090 in the packaging substrate 2030 .

[0154] Due to the co-packaged structure, the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 and the optical module 2010 can be brought closer together, so that the wiring 2090 in the package substrate 2030 can be as short as possible, thereby reducing insertion loss and noise. Therefore, the co-packaged optical module is relatively easy to ensure that the optical transmission system has a good signal-to-noise ratio, thereby meeting the signal-to-noise ratio requirements of PCIe.

[0155] In any of the above optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structures, in the EO conversion direction, such as Figures 5A-5D The electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 shown can input the input electrical signal into the optical module 2010 through its PCIe PHY interface, and the optical module 2010 can convert the received input electrical signal into an output optical signal. The output optical signal can be transmitted through the optical fiber array 2050, for example.

[0156] In the OE conversion direction, the optical module 2010 can convert the received input optical signal into an output electrical signal and provide the output electrical signal to the electronic integrated circuit chip 2020 .

[0157] The above about Figures 2 to 4 The various features and functions of the PCIe optical modules described are applicable to Figures 5A-5D The various packaging structures in will not be described in detail here.

[0158] The above about Figures 5A-5D Various optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structures between PCIe optical modules and electronic integrated circuit chips are described. Those skilled in the art can select different packaging structures according to actual needs in the process of designing packaging or building optical networks, so as to achieve different purposes.

[0159] For example, in order to facilitate maintenance, you can give priority to Figures 5A to 5B The packaging structure of the pluggable optical module shown in FIG. On the contrary, if the requirements for signal-to-noise ratio and signal integrity are relatively high, the Figure 5C The non-pluggable package structure shown or Figure 5D The co-package structure shown.

[0160] The packaging structure of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Those skilled in the art can easily combine or split the above-mentioned arrangements in various ways without departing from the design concept of the present disclosure, and the resulting modified packaging structure also falls within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0161] The present disclosure also provides an optical switching system based on the PCIe optical module based on the PCIe optical module as described above. Figure 6-8 Schematic diagrams showing various examples of optical switching systems according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that: Figure 6 The optical switching system shown is actually equivalent to the functional topology of the optical switching system proposed in the present disclosure. Figure 7-8 The optical switching system shown is implemented Figure 6 The functional topology shown in Figure 2 is two different specific implementation forms. Figure 6 The various operations and functions described are also applicable to Figures 7 and 8 The optical switching system shown.

[0162] In one example, if Figure 6 As shown, the optical switching system 3000 includes one or more optical switches 3100, a plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips EIC (3200-1, 3200-2, ... 3200-N) and a plurality of optical modules (3300-1, 3300-2, ... 3300-N).

[0163] Each of the plurality of optical modules (3300-1, 3300-2, ... 3300-N) may be as described above with respect to Figures 2 to 4 Any of the PCIe optical modules described above. Each electronic integrated circuit chip EIC (3200-1, 3200-2, ... 3200-N) has a PCIe PHY interface, and the PCIe PHY interface of each electronic integrated circuit chip EIC (3200-1, 3200-2, ... 3200-N) is directly connected to the electrical input and output interface of the corresponding optical module (3300-1, 3300-2, ... 3300-N).

[0164] In addition, each optical module (3300-1, 3300-2, ... 3300-N) is connected to the optical switch 3100 via an optical fiber.

[0165] The optical switch 3100 can control the optical path based on different physical principles, including piezoelectric, micro-electromechanical, electro-optical, etc. For example, the optical switch 3100 can be composed of a series of free-space optical components or a series of integrated optical components.

[0166] Under such a configuration, a first electronic integrated circuit chip among the plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips can exchange data with a second electronic integrated circuit chip among the plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips through the optical switch 3100. For example, the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-K (K=1, 2, ...N) can send data in the form of a PCIe data signal to the optical module 3300-K through the PCIe PHY interface, and the optical module 3300-K can perform EO conversion on the PCIe data signal, and then transmit the obtained optical signal to the optical switch 3100 through the optical fiber; the optical switch 3100 can then transmit the optical signal to the optical module 3300-M (M=1, 2, ...N, and M≠K), and the optical module 3300-M can perform OE conversion on the optical signal, and then directly transmit the obtained PCIe data signal to the electronic integrated circuit chip 3200-M, for example, through the PCIe PHY interface of the electronic integrated circuit chip 3200-M. The above method can realize all-optical data exchange between any two electronic integrated circuit chips, and reconstruct the connection relationship of the interconnected link through the optical switch. The link reconstruction process does not require protocol conversion or electrical switching, which greatly reduces the delay and simplifies the line connection.

[0167] In addition, for example, before transmitting the above-mentioned PCIe data signal, the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-K may first send a PCIe control signal to the optical module 3300-K through the PCIe PHY interface. For example, the PCIe control signal may include information such as the destination (for example, the index of the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-M), time, etc. Then the optical module 3300-K may perform EO conversion on the PCIe control electrical signal, and then transmit the obtained optical control signal to the optical switch 3100 through the optical fiber. After knowing the control information contained in the optical control signal, the optical switch 3100 may switch the optical path to the corresponding position, for example, reconstruct and connect the optical paths of the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-K and the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-M, so as to send the data sent by the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-K to the electronic integrated circuit chip 3300-M at the specified time.

[0168] The above example method can realize data exchange between different electronic integrated circuit chips. Because there is no protocol conversion to Ethernet and electrical exchange, the PCIe signal on the electronic integrated circuit chip can reach other electronic integrated circuit chips with the lowest delay, thereby realizing high-speed and delay-free data exchange.

[0169] In another example, Figure 7 As shown, a fully reconfigurable fully interconnected optical switching system 4000 is provided. The optical switching system 4000 includes a plurality of servers 4100 and at least a plurality of optical switches 4200.

[0170] Each server 4100 includes at least one Figures 2 to 4 The optical module 4120. In addition, each server 4100 also includes a computing device 4110. As shown in the figure, each server 4100 and each optical switch 4200 are optically interconnected through the corresponding optical module 4120 (for example, using an optical fiber 4300).

[0171] It is called a fully reconfigurable, fully interconnected optical switching system because Figure 7 As shown in the figure, all the servers 4100 can rearrange the bandwidth transmission paths between each other through the optical path switching in the corresponding optical switch 4200, thereby realizing fully reconfigurable all-optical interconnection between each server 4100, and the computing device attached to the server performs electro-optical / photoelectric conversion through the corresponding optical module 4120, and then connects to the optical switch 4200 through the optical fiber / optical fiber array, and the connection line is simple.

[0172] It should be noted that the optical interconnection mentioned above can be realized by, for example, optical fibers or optical fiber arrays.

[0173] The computing device 4110 attached to the server 4100 may include a graphics card, an artificial intelligence acceleration card, memory, storage, etc., and the computing device 4110 is directly electrically connected to the PCIe optical module through its PCIe PHY interface, thereby achieving a direct electrical connection without the need for physical layer and protocol layer conversion to Ethernet.

[0174] For example, the computing device 4110 may include Figure 6 The electronic integrated circuit chip EIC is provided with a PCIe PHY interface. In this case, the computing device 4110 can be directly electrically connected to the PCIe optical module through the PCIe PHY interface of the EIC.

[0175] In addition, as mentioned above, the optical switch 4200 can control the optical path based on different physical principles, including piezoelectric, micro-electromechanical, electro-optical, etc. For example, the optical switch 4200 can be composed of a series of free space optical components or a series of integrated optical components.

[0176] In another example, Figure 8 As shown, an optical switching system 5000 with hybrid connection of point-to-point and all-optical switching is provided. The optical switching system 5000 includes a plurality of servers 5100 and at least one optical switch 5200.

[0177] Each server 5100 includes at least one Figures 2 to 4The optical module 5120. In addition, each server 4100 also includes a computing device 5110. As shown in the figure, each server 5100 is optically interconnected with at least part of at least one optical switch 5200 through the corresponding optical module 5120 (for example, using optical fiber 5300).

[0178] In addition, some servers 5100 are also optically interconnected point-to-point through corresponding optical modules (for example, using optical fiber 5400). Optionally, data exchange between adjacent servers can be achieved through point-to-point optical interconnection, and data exchange between other servers can be achieved through optical switch optical path reconstruction. This implementation can reduce the number of optical switches in the server cluster and save costs.

[0179] The reason why it is called a hybrid optical switching system of point-to-point and all-optical switching is that, as shown in the figure, not only are there optical interconnections between all servers and some optical switches, but some servers also have point-to-point optical interconnections between each other. In such a hybrid structure, part of the bandwidth transmission path can be rearranged through optical path switching in the optical switch to achieve partially reconfigurable all-optical interconnection between each other.

[0180] It should be noted that the optical interconnection mentioned above can be realized by, for example, optical fibers or optical fiber arrays.

[0181] The computing device 5110 attached to the server 5100 may include a graphics card, an artificial intelligence acceleration card, memory, storage, etc., and the computing device 5110 can be directly electrically connected to the PCIe optical module through its PCIe PHY interface, thereby achieving a direct electrical connection without the need for physical layer and protocol layer conversion to Ethernet.

[0182] For example, the computing device 5110 may include Figure 6 The electronic integrated circuit chip EIC is provided with a PCIe PHY interface. In this case, the computing device 5110 can be directly electrically connected to the PCIe optical module through the PCIe PHY interface of the EIC.

[0183] In addition, as mentioned above, the optical switch 5200 can control the optical path based on different physical principles, including piezoelectric, micro-electromechanical, electro-optical, etc. For example, the optical switch 5200 can be composed of a series of free space optical components or a series of integrated optical components.

[0184] The above about Figures 6 to 8 The optical module mentioned in the previous Figures 2 to 4 Any PCIe optical module described in Figures 6 to 8The packaging structure between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip or the electronic integrated circuit chip of the computing device mentioned in the figure can be as shown in Figures 5A-5D The details of any of the above-mentioned optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structures will not be repeated here.

[0185] In summary, in the various optical switching systems proposed in the present disclosure, the PCIe optical module proposed in the present disclosure can be used to realize all-optical data exchange between different chips or devices. Since the PCIe optical module is directly driven by the PCIe electrical signal and can directly output the PCIe electrical signal, the chip or device with the PCIe PHY interface can be directly electrically connected to such a PCIe optical module, thereby eliminating the protocol conversion operation, digital-to-analog / analog-to-digital conversion operation and retiming operation and corresponding components in the existing design, which is conducive to realizing faster data exchange, thereby solving the bandwidth limitation problem and high latency problem in the traditional Ethernet solution.

[0186] In addition, by using the optical switching system as shown in FIG. Figures 5A-5D The corresponding optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure can further reduce the insertion loss and noise on the line, thereby ensuring the integrity of the signal and facilitating the implementation of the PCIe protocol or the CXL protocol.

[0187] In addition, by using the optical switching system as shown in FIG. Figures 5A-5D The corresponding optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure can also arrange the optical module in a pluggable form on the front panel of the server or other equipment, thereby facilitating system maintenance and component replacement.

[0188] In the above description, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art should understand that the combination of the constituent elements and processes of the present embodiments can be modified in various ways, and such modifications also fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An optical module, comprising: Electrical input and output interface; Optical input and output interface; an optical emitting unit, for converting an input electrical signal received from the electrical input / output interface into an output optical signal; An optical receiving unit, used to convert an input optical signal received from the optical input and output interface into an output electrical signal; as well as a control unit, configured to control the light emitting unit to convert the input electrical signal into the output optical signal, and control the light receiving unit to convert the input optical signal into the output electrical signal, Wherein, the input electrical signal and the output electrical signal are PCIe electrical signals.

2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein: The input electrical signal and the output electrical signal are PCIe electrical signals based on the physical layer of the PCIe interface on an external electronic integrated circuit chip or PCIe / CXL electrical signals based on the physical layer of the PCIe interface and the CXL protocol layer.

3. The optical module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The input electrical signal comprises a first data electrical signal, The first data electrical signal has one or more channels, and the optical transmission unit includes one or more transmission channels for converting the first data electrical signal into a first data optical signal having one or more channels; and The input optical signal comprises a second data optical signal, The second data optical signal has one or more channels, and the optical receiving unit includes one or more receiving channels for converting the second data optical signal into a second data electrical signal having one or more channels.

4. The optical module according to claim 3, wherein: The input electrical signal further includes a first control electrical signal, and the optical emitting unit further converts the first control electrical signal into a first control optical signal, and The input optical signal also includes a second control optical signal, and the optical receiving unit further converts the second control optical signal into a second control electrical signal.

5. The optical module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The light emitting unit includes a light emitter and a driver.

6. The optical module according to claim 5, wherein: The optical transmitter is a directly modulated laser, and the control unit controls the intensity of the optical signal emitted by the optical transmitter by controlling the electrical signal provided by the driver to form the output optical signal.

7. The optical module according to claim 5, wherein: The optical transmitter is an externally modulated laser, and the optical transmission unit further comprises a modulator, The control unit modulates the light received from the optical transmitter by controlling the electrical signal input to the modulator to form the output optical signal.

8. An optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure, comprising: The optical module according to any one of claims 1 to 7; Electronic integrated circuit chips; A packaging substrate, at least packaging the electronic integrated circuit chip; as well as A PCB board, used for arranging the packaging substrate; The electronic integrated circuit chip has a PCIe physical interface, the PCIe physical interface of the electronic integrated circuit chip and the electrical input and output interface of the optical module are electrically interconnected, and Wherein, the PCB board is also used to install the optical module.

9. The optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure according to claim 8, wherein: A card slot is arranged at the edge of the PCB board, and the optical module is pluggably arranged in the card slot; and The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through the wiring in the packaging substrate and the PCB board.

10. The optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure according to claim 8, wherein: A card slot is arranged at the edge of the PCB board, and the optical module is pluggably arranged in the card slot; and The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through wiring in the packaging substrate and overhead cables on the PCB board.

11. The optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure according to claim 8, wherein: The optical module is arranged in the first area of ​​the PCB board; The package substrate is arranged in a second area on the PCB board that is different from the first area; and The electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through the wiring in the packaging substrate and the PCB board.

12. The optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure according to claim 8, wherein: The electronic integrated circuit chip is arranged in a first region of the packaging substrate; The optical module is arranged in a second area of ​​the packaging substrate that is different from the first area; The packaging substrate is arranged on the PCB board; and Wherein, the electrical interconnection between the optical module and the electronic integrated circuit chip is achieved through wiring in the packaging substrate.

13. The optoelectronic integrated semiconductor structure according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein: The electronic integrated circuit chip inputs the input electrical signal to the electrical input and output interface of the optical module through the PCIe physical interface, and the optical module converts the received input electrical signal into an output optical signal, and The optical module converts an input optical signal received from the optical input-output interface into an output electrical signal, and provides the output electrical signal to the electronic integrated circuit chip.

14. An optical switching system, comprising: one or more optical switches; A plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips, each of the plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips having a PCIe physical interface; as well as A plurality of optical modules according to any one of claims 1 to 7; The PCIe physical interface of each of the plurality of electronic integrated circuit chips is directly electrically connected to the electrical input and output interface of the corresponding optical module, and the corresponding optical module is connected to the optical switch via an optical fiber.

15. An optical switching system, comprising: Multiple servers; as well as A plurality of optical switches, wherein: Each of the plurality of servers comprises at least one optical module according to any one of claims 1 to 7; and Each server and each optical switch are optically interconnected through corresponding optical modules.

16. An optical switching system, comprising: Multiple servers; as well as At least one optical switch, wherein: Each of the plurality of servers comprises at least one optical module according to any one of claims 1 to 7; Each server is optically interconnected with at least part of the at least one optical switch through a corresponding optical module; and At least some of the multiple servers are optically interconnected point-to-point via corresponding optical modules.

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