An optical splitter with variable output

Abstract

The application discloses a variable output optical splitter, and belongs to the technical field of optical communication. m The optical splitter comprises one 1x(2 m -m-1 optical splitters and m 2 m–1 x1 optical switches. The optical splitter can flexibly select a proper optical straight-through transmission section or optical splitter from the optical straight-through transmission sections and optical splitters satisfying all combinations of the number of optical splitters and the serial numbers of output ports by controlling the optical switches according to the transmission or splitting requirement of optical signals, so as to split the input optical signal into a plurality of output optical signals satisfying the splitting requirement; compared with the common optical splitter with unchangeable output ports, the application eliminates unnecessary loss caused by the fact that the output number of the input optical signal is less than the output number of the optical splitter; compared with the optical splitter with variable output ports, the application eliminates the extra crosstalk problem caused by the fact that the output serial number of the input optical signal is not the output serial number of the optical splitter.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of optical communication technology and relates to an optical splitter structure, mainly used in optical distribution networks with requirements on the number of optical splitters and output port numbers. Background Technology

[0002] Optical switching and optical distribution technologies are key technologies for extending optical communication to next-generation optical communication networks. Multicast applications such as multimedia, medical imaging, digital audio, and video conferencing place stringent demands on the bandwidth of data distribution. The development of optical communication technology has provided sufficient bandwidth for the deployment of these applications, but it also necessitates extending the multicast concept to optical communication technology, expanding it from traditional point-to-point communication to point-to-multipoint multicast communication. This means enabling data distribution from a single source to multiple clients. When a signal is input into the optical distribution network, the number of optical signal outputs, n, will have different integer values ​​depending on the required splitting information. When the number of optical signal outputs, n, is 1, the optical distribution network operates in transmission mode, and the multicast network becomes a point-to-point unicast network; when the number of optical signal outputs, n, equals the total number of output ports, m, the optical distribution network operates in splitting mode, and the multicast network becomes a broadcast network. However, generally, the number of optical signal outputs, n, is less than the number of output ports, m.

[0003] Currently, optical splitters are the most critical components in optical distribution networks. Typically, fixed optical splitters are used to split signals. The input optical signal passes through a fixed optical splitter with m output ports and is divided into m optical signals, with each output branch participating in subsequent signal distribution and switching. However, when the number of output optical signals n is less than the number of output ports m, the fixed optical splitter introduces unnecessary power loss. Furthermore, optical signals transmitted to invalid output ports will cause crosstalk in subsequent optical paths, affecting the overall performance of the communication system. Therefore, to overcome the shortcomings of optical splitters with a fixed number of output ports, optical splitters with a variable number of output ports have been proposed. In an optical splitter with a variable number of output ports, the input optical signal is split according to the number of output optical signals n, which can greatly improve the energy efficiency of the splitter and reduce the performance requirements of optical amplifiers and system costs. However, with the widespread application of multicast services and the dynamic changes in real-time service demands, in addition to the variable requirement for the number of output optical signals n, the sequence number of the optical output ports also needs to be flexible and freely reconfigurable. This causes optical splitters with variable output ports to encounter problems in applications requiring specific output port numbers. While meeting the required number of splitters, they may output optical signals to invalid ports, resulting in power loss and crosstalk. Consequently, they cannot fully meet the splitting requirements of next-generation optical distribution networks. Therefore, it is necessary to design an optical signal splitter with variable splitter numbers and output port numbers, better suited to the actual needs of next-generation optical distribution networks. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the problems existing in the background technology by proposing a variable output optical splitter. This variable output optical splitter can achieve dynamically variable optical signal transmission or splitting according to the different requirements of the number of optical signals split and the output port number, and can be applied to optical distribution networks with requirements on the number of optical splits and output port numbers.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A variable output optical splitter, comprising one 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch 1, m-segment optical direct transmission segment 2, 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 and m optical splitters 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch 4, m is the number of output ports, n is the number of optical signal splitters required, m and n are both positive integers, and 1≤n≤m; where 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 are respectively m! / (2!(m–2)!) 1×2 optical splitter, m! / (3!(m–3)!) 1×3 optical splitter, ..., m! / (n!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitter, ..., 1 1×m optical splitter;

[0007] Input optical signal access 1×(2 m –1) Input port of optical switch 1, 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch 1's 2 m –1 output port is connected to m optical direct transmission segments 2 and 2 respectively. m –m–1 input port of optical splitter 3, m segments of optical direct transmission segments 2 and 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 output port connected to m units 2 m–1 ×1 input port of optical switch 4;

[0008] m-segment optical direct transmission segment 2 and m-only 2 m–1 The connection relationship of the ×1 optical switch 4 is as follows: the output port of each optical direct transmission segment is connected to the input port of a different optical switch 4.

[0009] 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 and m optical splitters 2 m–1 The connection relationship of the ×1 optical switch 4 is as follows:

[0010] m! / (2!(m–2)!) m! / (m-2)! output ports of each 1×2 optical splitter are connected to m 2 m–1The input port of a single 1×1 optical switch 4 must be connected to the input port of the same optical switch 4. Furthermore, the two output ports of a single 1×2 optical splitter cannot be connected to the same input port of the same optical switch 4. A single optical switch 4 must be connected to (m–1)! / (m–2)! single 1×2 optical splitters; and the m! / (2! (m–3)!) output ports of a single 1×3 optical splitter must be connected to m single 1×2 optical splitters. m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch 4, and the three output ports of a single 1×3 optical splitter need to be connected to the input ports of different optical switches 4, and a single optical switch 4 needs to be connected to (m–1)! / (2!(m–3)!) 1×3 splitters; ...; m! / (n!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters, and m! / ((n-1)!(mn)!) output ports respectively connected to m 2×3 optical splitters. m–1 The input port of a 1×1 optical switch 4 is connected to the input port of a single 1×n optical splitter. Simultaneously, the n output ports of a single 1×n optical splitter need to be connected to the input ports of different optical switches 4, and a single optical switch 4 needs to be connected to (m–1)! / ((n–1)!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters; ...; the m output ports of a single 1×m optical splitter are respectively connected to m 2×n optical splitters. m–1 ×1 input port of optical switch 4;

[0011] m only 2 m–1 The output ports of the ×1 optical switch 4 are m optical signal output ports.

[0012] Furthermore, the optical switch 1, optical splitter 3, and optical switch 4 are fiber optic fused taper devices, micro-optical devices, or waveguide devices.

[0013] Furthermore, the optical direct transmission segment 2 can be any optical transmission medium such as optical fiber or optical waveguide.

[0014] The essence of this invention is as follows: This invention provides a variable output optical splitter, which, according to the transmission or splitting requirements of optical signals, can flexibly select a suitable optical direct transmission segment or optical splitter from all combinations of optical splitting quantity and output port number, by controlling an optical switch, to split the input optical signal into multiple output optical signals that meet the splitting quantity requirements. Furthermore, it controls the optical switch 4 before the output port, allowing multiple optical signals meeting the output port number requirements to be output from each output port. Compared to ordinary optical splitters with fixed output ports, this invention eliminates unnecessary losses caused by the number of output input optical signals being less than the number of outputs of the optical splitter. Compared to optical splitters with a variable number of output ports, it eliminates additional crosstalk caused by the output sequence number of the input optical signal not being the output sequence number of the optical splitter. It has the characteristic of flexibly adapting to different output requirements.

[0015] The working principle of this invention is:

[0016] The input optical signal is first connected to a 1×(2) m –1) Optical switch, based on the number of optical signal splitters n and the output port number requirements, is composed of 1×(2 m –1) The optical switch is located at segment m of the optical direct transmission segment or 2 m –m–1 optical splitter selects a specific optical direct transmission segment or an optical splitter that meets the requirements for optical signal transmission or splitting, and finally transmits the optical signal to 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch, based on the current beam splitting information, controls m units 2 m–1 The ×1 optical switch outputs optical signals from ports that meet the requirements of the number of optical signal splitters n and the output port number, thus completing the on-demand transmission or splitting of optical signals.

[0017] The optical splitter with variable output provided by this invention has the following advantages compared with ordinary optical splitters with fixed output ports and optical splitters with a variable number of output ports:

[0018] 1. When using the optical splitter with variable output port provided by the present invention for transmission or optical splitting, the unnecessary loss problem caused by the number of outputs of the input optical signal being less than the number of outputs of the optical splitter is eliminated, and the additional crosstalk problem caused by the output sequence number of the input optical signal not being the output sequence number of the optical splitter is also eliminated.

[0019] 2. A single control object, simple and convenient. It only requires output selection control of the optical switch in the proposed optical splitter according to the requirements of optical signal multicast output.

[0020] 3. All components are mature devices, which can greatly save R&D costs, greatly improve the cost-effectiveness of the assembled system, and help it become practical.

[0021] 4. Low overall loss. Aside from the necessary splitting loss, the optical switch insertion loss in the system is generally low. The system's optical power requirements can be met through amplification and compensation by the input optical amplifier. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This invention provides a schematic diagram of a variable output optical splitter; where 1 represents 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch, 2) Optical direct transmission section, 3) 1×n optical splitter (n=2, 3, 4, …, m), 4) 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a variable output optical splitter provided in an embodiment of the present invention; wherein, 1 is a 1×15 optical switch, 2 is an optical direct transmission section, 3 is a 1×n optical splitter (n=2, 3, 4), and 4 is an 8×1 optical switch. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0025] A variable output optical splitter, such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes 1 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch 1, m-segment optical direct transmission segment 2, 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 and m optical splitters 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch 4, m is the number of output ports, n is the number of optical signal splitters required, m and n are both positive integers, and 1≤n≤m; where 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 are respectively m! / (2! (m–2)!) 1×2 optical splitters, m! / (3! (m–3)!) 1×3 optical splitters, ..., m! / (n! (m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters, ..., 1 1×m optical splitter; the output variable optical splitter is a reconfigurable optical splitter that adapts to changes in the required number of splits n and the output port sequence requirements of the optical signal, and has 1 input port and m output ports; m optical direct transmission segments 2 and 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 satisfies all possible combinations of the number of optical splitters n at port m and the output port number, totaling 2 m –1 output state; where the number of combinations of calling n output ports with different sequence numbers from m output ports is m! / (n!(m–n)!), corresponding to the number of 1×n splitter units. When n=1, the number of combinations is m, corresponding to the number of straight-through transmission segments. When n=m, the number of combinations is 1, corresponding to the number of 1×m splitters.

[0026] Input optical signal access 1×(2 m –1) Input port of optical switch 1, 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch 1's 2 m –1 output port is connected to m optical direct transmission segments 2 and 2 respectively. m –m–1 input port of optical splitter 3, m segments of optical direct transmission segments 2 and 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 output port connected to m units 2 m–1 ×1 input port of optical switch 4;

[0027] m-segment optical direct transmission segment 2 and m-only 2 m–1 The connection relationship of the ×1 optical switch 4 is as follows: the output port of each optical direct transmission segment is connected to the input port of a different optical switch 4.

[0028] 2 m –m–1 optical splitter 3 and m optical splitters 2 m–1The connection relationship of the ×1 optical switch 4 is as follows:

[0029] m! / (2!(m–2)!) m! / (m-2)! output ports of each 1×2 optical splitter are connected to m 2 m–1 The input port of a single 1×1 optical switch 4 must be connected to the input port of the same optical switch 4. Furthermore, the two output ports of a single 1×2 optical splitter cannot be connected to the same input port of the same optical switch 4. A single optical switch 4 must be connected to (m–1)! / (m–2)! single 1×2 optical splitters; and the m! / (2! (m–3)!) output ports of a single 1×3 optical splitter must be connected to m single 1×2 optical splitters. m–1 The input port of a 1×1 optical switch 4 is connected to the input port of a single 1×3 optical splitter. Simultaneously, the three output ports of a single 1×3 optical splitter need to be connected to the input ports of different optical switches 4, and a single optical switch 4 needs to be connected to (m–1)! / (2!(m–3)!) 1×3 splitters; and so on, so that m! / (n!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters have m! / ((n-1)!(mn)!) output ports connected to m 2×3 optical splitters respectively. m–1 The input port of a 1×1 optical switch 4 is connected to the input port of a single 1×n optical splitter. Simultaneously, the n output ports of a single 1×n optical splitter need to be connected to the input ports of different optical switches 4, and a single optical switch 4 needs to be connected to (m–1)! / ((n–1)!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters. When n=m, the m output ports of one 1×m optical splitter are respectively connected to m 2×n optical splitters. m –1 ×1 input port of optical switch 4;

[0030] m only 2 m–1 The output ports of the ×1 optical switch 4 are m optical signal output ports.

[0031] Example

[0032] A variable output optical splitter, such as Figure 2 As shown, it includes one 1×15 optical switch 1, four optical direct transmission segments 2, 11 optical splitters 3, and four 8×1 optical switches 4, where n is an integer, 1≤n≤4; among them, the 11 optical splitters are six 1×2 optical splitters, four 1×3 optical splitters, and one 1×4 optical splitter; the output variable optical splitter is a reconfigurable optical splitter that adapts to changes in the required number of splits and output port numbers of the optical signal, and has one input port and four output ports; each optical direct transmission segment and each splitter corresponds to one combination of the number of splits and the output port number. For an optical splitter with four output ports, there are a total of 15 combinations (output states);

[0033] The input optical signal is connected to the input port of the 1×15 optical switch 1. The 15 output ports of the 1×15 optical switch 1 are respectively connected to the input ports of the 4 optical direct transmission sections 2 and the 11 optical splitters 3. The output ports of the 4 optical direct transmission sections 2 and the 11 optical splitters 3 are connected to the input ports of the 4 8×1 optical switches 4.

[0034] The connection relationship between the 4-segment optical direct transmission section 2 and the 4 8×1 optical switches 4 is as follows: the output port of each optical direct transmission section is connected to the input port of a different 8×1 optical switch 4;

[0035] The connection relationship between the 11 optical splitters 3 and the 4 8×1 optical switches 4 is as follows:

[0036] Each 1×n optical splitter has n outputs connected to the inputs of n different 8×1 optical switches. Each 8×1 switch's input is connected to the outputs of only (m–1)! / ((n–1)!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters. Specifically: when n=2, each of the six 1×2 optical splitters has two outputs connected to the inputs of two different 8×1 optical switches; when n=3, each of the four 1×3 optical splitters has three outputs connected to the inputs of three different 8×1 optical switches; when n=4, each of the four outputs of a 1×4 optical splitter is connected to the inputs of four 8×1 optical switches. Furthermore, each 8×1 optical switch's input is connected to only one optical direct transmission segment, the outputs of three 1×2 optical splitters, the outputs of three 1×3 optical splitters, and the output of one 1×4 optical splitter.

[0037] The output ports of the four 8×1 optical switches are the four optical signal output ports.

[0038] The working principle of the optical splitter in this embodiment is as follows:

[0039] The input optical signal first enters a 1×1×15 optical switch. Based on the number of optical signal splits (n) and the output port number requirements, the 1×15 optical switch selects a suitable optical direct transmission segment or optical splitter from 4 optical direct transmission segments or 11 optical splitters for optical signal transmission or splitting. Finally, the optical signal is transmitted to an 8×1 optical switch. Based on the current splitting information, the 4 8×1 optical switches are controlled to output the optical signal from the port that meets the number of optical signal splits (n) and the output port number, thus completing the on-demand transmission or splitting of the optical signal.

[0040] It should be noted that the various optical splitters and optical switching units in the above specific implementation examples are all mature devices, which can greatly save R&D costs, are extremely beneficial to the cost-effectiveness of the assembled system, and contribute to practical application. The designed variable output optical splitter eliminates the unnecessary loss problem that occurs in optical splitters with a fixed number or sequence of output ports because the number of multicast outputs of the input optical signal is less than the number of output ports of the optical splitter. At the same time, it eliminates the additional crosstalk problem caused by the output sequence number of the input optical signal not being the output sequence number of the optical splitter.

Claims

1. A variable output optical splitter, characterized in that, Including 1 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch (1), m-segment optical direct transmission segment (2), 2 m –m–1 optical splitter (3) and m 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch (4), m is the number of output ports, n is the number of optical signal splitters required, m and n are both positive integers and 1≤n≤m; where 2 m –m–1 optical splitter (3) are respectively m! / (2!(m–2)!) 1×2 optical splitter, m! / (3!(m–3)!) 1×3 optical splitter, ..., m! / (n!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitter, ..., 1 1×m optical splitter; Input optical signal access 1×(2 m –1) Input port of optical switch (1), 1×(2 m –1) Optical switch (1) 2 m –1 output port is connected to m optical direct transmission segments (2) and 2 respectively. m –m–1 input port of optical splitter (3), m segments of optical direct transmission segment (2) and 2 m –m–1 optical splitter (3) output port connected to m 2 m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch (4); m-segment optical direct transmission segment (2) and m-only 2 m–1 The connection relationship of the ×1 optical switch (4) is as follows: the output port of each optical direct transmission segment is connected to different 2 m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch (4); 2 m –m–1 optical splitter (3) and m 2 m–1 The connection relationship of the ×1 optical switch (4) is as follows: The output ports of m! / (2!(m–2)!) individual 1×2 optical splitters are respectively connected to m individual 2 m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch (4) and the two output ports of a single 1×2 optical splitter cannot be connected to the same 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch (4) input port, and single 2 m–1 The ×1 optical switch (4) needs to be connected to (m–1)! / (m–2)! 1×2 optical splitters; the output ports of m! / (3!(m–3)!) 1×3 optical splitters are respectively connected to m 2 m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch (4) and the three output ports of a single 1×3 optical splitter need to be connected to different 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch (4) input port, and single 2 m–1 The ×1 optical switch (4) needs to be connected to (m–1)! / (2!(m–3)!) 1×3 optical splitters; ...; the output ports of m! / (n!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters are respectively connected to m 2 m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch (4) and the n output ports of a single 1×n optical splitter need to be connected to different 2 m–1 ×1 optical switch (4) input port, and single 2 m–1 The ×1 optical switch (4) needs to be connected to (m–1)! / ((n–1)!(m–n)!) 1×n optical splitters; ...; the output ports of one 1×m optical splitter are respectively connected to m 2 m–1 The input port of the ×1 optical switch (4); m only 2 m–1 The output ports of the ×1 optical switch (4) are m optical signal output ports.

2. The output variable optical splitter according to claim 1, characterized in that, The optical switch and optical splitter are fiber optic fused taper devices, micro-optical devices, or waveguide devices.

3. The output variable optical splitter according to claim 1, characterized in that, The optical direct transmission segment is an optical fiber or an optical waveguide.

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