A wavelength selective optical cross-connect apparatus
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202211182899.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2022-09-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-10-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-09-27
AI Technical Summary
[0004]本申请实施例提供了一种波长选择性光交叉装置，以至少解决相关技术中MxN无阻型的WSS模块采用两级硅基液晶12，光路长且光路经过两次硅基液晶12而难于实现的问题
[0042]通过本申请实施例的波长选择性光交叉装置，包括：M个输入光纤11，N个输出光纤13，硅基液晶12，其中，所述硅基液晶12包括N个区域，一个区域对应一个输出光纤13；所述M个输入光纤11，用于将每束光广播到所述硅基液晶12的N个区域上；所述硅基液晶12，用于对所述N个区域的每个区域，选择一束光反射到对应的输出光纤13上；所述N个输出光纤13，用于输出光束，可以解决相关技术中M×N无阻型的WSS模块采用两级硅基液晶12，光路长且光路经过两次硅基液晶12而难于实现的问题，采用了一级硅基液晶12，技术难度相当于目前批量商用的1×N型WSS模块，大大降低了实现难度。
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of optical transmission, and more specifically, to a wavelength-selective optical crossing device. Background Technology
[0002] Currently, there are two types of M×N wavelength-selective optical crossover devices: The first type is the M×N resistive type, which uses a two-stage scheme of MEMS optical switch + silicon-based liquid crystal 12. Because MEMS does not have wavelength selectivity, it belongs to the resistive wavelength-selective optical crossover. The second type is the M×N resistive WSS, which uses a two-stage silicon-based liquid crystal 12 crossover scheme. Due to the use of two stages of silicon-based liquid crystal 12, the optical path is long and passes through silicon-based liquid crystal 12 twice, making it difficult to implement.
[0003] There is no solution yet to address the problem that the M×N unblocked WSS module in related technologies uses two-stage silicon-based liquid crystal 12, resulting in a long optical path that passes through two silicon-based liquid crystal 12 stages, making it difficult to implement. Summary of the Invention
[0004] This application provides a wavelength-selective optical crossing device to at least solve the problem in the related art where the MxN unblocked WSS module uses two-stage silicon liquid crystal 12, resulting in a long optical path that passes through the silicon liquid crystal 12 twice, making it difficult to implement.
[0005] According to one embodiment of this application, a wavelength-selective optical crossover device is provided, the wavelength-selective optical crossover device comprising: M input optical fibers 11, N output optical fibers 13, and a silicon-based liquid crystal 12, wherein the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 comprises N regions, and one region corresponds to one output optical fiber 13;
[0006] The M input optical fibers 11 are used to broadcast each beam of light to N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0007] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is used to select a beam of light for each of the N regions and reflect it onto the corresponding output optical fiber 13.
[0008] The N output optical fibers 13 are used to output light beams.
[0009] In one embodiment, the wavelength-selective light crossing device further includes: a first lens device 21 and a first grating device 22, wherein,
[0010] The first lens device 21 is used to amplify the light beam input from the M input optical fibers 11;
[0011] The first grating device 22 is used to refract the beam magnified by the first lens device 21 onto N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0012] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output the light beams from the N regions to the first grating device 22;
[0013] The first grating device 22 is also used to combine the N beams output by the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0014] The first lens device 21 is also used to reduce the N beams after beam combining and output the reduced N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0015] In one embodiment, the wavelength-selective optical crossing device further includes a first polarizer 31 and a second polarizer 32, wherein the first polarizer 31 is disposed between the M input optical fibers 11 and the first lens device 21, and the second polarizer 32 is disposed between the first lens device 21 and the N output optical fibers 13.
[0016] The first polarizer 31 is used to demultiplex the beams input from the M input optical fibers 11 into horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light, respectively, to obtain M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light;
[0017] The first lens device 21 is also used to amplify the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light;
[0018] The first grating device 22 is also used to refract the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light magnified by the first lens device 21 onto the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0019] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output the horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light of the N regions to the first grating device 22;
[0020] The first grating device 22 is also used to combine the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light output by the silicon-based liquid crystal 12.
[0021] The first lens device 21 is also used to reduce the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light after wave combining;
[0022] The second polarizer 32 is also used to multiplex the reduced N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light to obtain N beams, and output the N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0023] In one embodiment, the wavelength-selective light crossing device further includes: a first lens device 21, a first grating device 22, a second grating device 23, and a second lens device 24, wherein,
[0024] The first lens device 21 is used to amplify the light beam input from the M input optical fibers 11;
[0025] The first grating device 22 is used to refract the beam magnified by the first lens device 21 onto N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0026] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output the light beams from the N regions to the first grating device 22;
[0027] The second grating device 23 is also used to combine the N beams output by the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0028] The second lens device 24 is also used to reduce the combined N beams and output the reduced N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0029] In one embodiment, the wavelength-selective optical crossing device further includes a first polarizer 31 and a second polarizer 32, wherein the first polarizer 31 is disposed between the M input optical fibers 11 and the first lens device 21, and the second polarizer 32 is disposed between the second lens device 24 and the N output optical fibers 13.
[0030] The first polarizer 31 is used to demultiplex the beams input from the M input optical fibers 11 into horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light, respectively, to obtain M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light;
[0031] The first lens device 21 is also used to amplify the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light;
[0032] The first grating device 22 is also used to refract the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light magnified by the first lens device 21 onto the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0033] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output the horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light of the N regions to the second grating device 23;
[0034] The second grating device 23 is also used to combine the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light output from the silicon-based liquid crystal 12.
[0035] The second lens device 24 is also used to reduce the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light after wave combining;
[0036] The second polarizer 32 is also used to multiplex the reduced N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light to obtain N beams, and output the N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0037] In one embodiment, the first lens device 21 and the second lens device 24 are convex lenses.
[0038] In one embodiment, the first lens device 21 is further configured to expand the number of pixels of the light beam input from the M input optical fibers 11 to more than 10 pixels.
[0039] In one embodiment, the pixel matrix of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is divided into the N regions.
[0040] In one embodiment, the reflected light angles of the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 are set independently.
[0041] In one embodiment, the reflected light angles of the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 may be the same or different.
[0042] The wavelength-selective optical crossover device according to the embodiments of this application includes: M input optical fibers 11, N output optical fibers 13, and a silicon-based liquid crystal 12. The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 comprises N regions, each region corresponding to one output optical fiber 13. The M input optical fibers 11 are used to broadcast each beam of light to the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12. The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is used to select a beam of light from each of the N regions and reflect it onto the corresponding output optical fiber 13. The N output optical fibers 13 are used to output the light beam. This device solves the problem in related technologies where M×N unobstructed WSS modules use two-stage silicon-based liquid crystal 12, resulting in long optical paths and difficulty in implementation due to the optical path passing through two silicon-based liquid crystal 12 stages. By using a single-stage silicon-based liquid crystal 12, the technical difficulty is equivalent to that of currently commercially available 1×N type WSS modules, greatly reducing the implementation difficulty. Attached Figure Description
[0043] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an embodiment of this application;
[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 1 ;
[0045] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 2 ;
[0046] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 3 ;
[0047] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 4;
[0048] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an 8×4 unblocked WSS module according to this embodiment;
[0049] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a long-distance or metropolitan area optical cross-connect network according to this embodiment;
[0050] Figure 8 This is a system block diagram of the WSS device according to this embodiment. Detailed Implementation
[0051] The embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.
[0052] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.
[0053] This embodiment provides a wavelength-selective optical crossing device. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the wavelength-selective optical crossover device includes: M input optical fibers 11, N output optical fibers 13, and a silicon-based liquid crystal 12, wherein the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 includes N regions, and one region corresponds to one output optical fiber 13;
[0054] M input optical fibers 11 are used to broadcast each beam of light to N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0055] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is used to select a beam of light for each of the N regions and reflect it onto the corresponding output optical fiber 13;
[0056] N output optical fibers 13 are used to output beams.
[0057] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 1 ,like Figure 2 As shown, the wavelength-selective light crossing device further includes: a first lens device 21 and a first grating device 22, wherein,
[0058] The first lens device 21 is used to amplify the light beam input from the M input optical fibers 11;
[0059] The first grating device 22 is used to refract the beam magnified by the first lens device 21 onto N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0060] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output the light beams from the N regions to the first grating device 22;
[0061] The first grating device 22 is also used to combine the N beams output by the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0062] The first lens device 21 is also used to reduce the N beams after beam combining and output the reduced N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0063] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 2 ,like Figure 3 As shown, the wavelength-selective optical crossing device further includes a first polarizer 31 and a second polarizer 32, wherein the first polarizer 31 is disposed between the M input optical fibers 11 and the first lens device 21, and the second polarizer 32 is disposed between the first lens device 21 and the N output optical fibers 13.
[0064] The first polarizer 31 is used to demultiplex the beams input from the M input optical fibers 11 into horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light, respectively, to obtain M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light.
[0065] The first lens device 21 is also used to amplify the horizontally polarized light and the vertically polarized light of the M pair;
[0066] The first grating device 22 is also used to refract the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light magnified by the first lens device 21 onto the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12.
[0067] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light from the N regions to the first grating device 22.
[0068] The first grating device 22 is also used to combine the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light output by the silicon-based liquid crystal 12.
[0069] The first lens device 21 is also used to reduce the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light after wave combining;
[0070] The second polarizer 32 is also used to multiplex the reduced N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light to obtain N beams, and output the N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0071] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 3 ,like Figure 4As shown, the wavelength-selective light crossing device further includes: a first lens device 21, a first grating device 22, a second grating device 23, and a second lens device 24, wherein,
[0072] The first lens device 21 is used to amplify the light beam input from the M input optical fibers 11;
[0073] The first grating device 22 is used to refract the beam magnified by the first lens device 21 onto N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0074] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output the light beams from the N regions to the first grating device 22;
[0075] The second grating device 23 is also used to combine the N beams output by the silicon-based liquid crystal 12;
[0076] The second lens device 24 is also used to reduce the combined N beams and output the reduced N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0077] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to an optional embodiment of this application. Figure 4 ,like Figure 5 As shown, the wavelength-selective optical crossing device further includes a first polarizer 31 and a second polarizer 32, wherein the first polarizer 31 is disposed between the M input optical fibers 11 and the first lens device 21, and the second polarizer 32 is disposed between the second lens device 24 and the N output optical fibers 13.
[0078] The first polarizer 31 is used to demultiplex the beams input from the M input optical fibers 11 into horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light, respectively, to obtain M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light.
[0079] The first lens device 21 is also used to amplify the horizontally polarized light and the vertically polarized light of the M pair;
[0080] The first grating device 22 is also used to refract the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light magnified by the first lens device 21 onto the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12.
[0081] The silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is also used to output horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light from N regions to the second grating device 23.
[0082] The second grating device 23 is also used to combine the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light output from the silicon liquid crystal 12.
[0083] The second lens device 24 is also used to reduce the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light after wave combining;
[0084] The second polarizer 32 is also used to multiplex the reduced N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light to obtain N beams, and output the N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers 13.
[0085] In one embodiment, the first lens device 21 is also used to expand the number of pixels of the light beam input by the M input optical fibers 11 to more than 10 pixels.
[0086] In one embodiment, the pixel matrix of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is divided into N regions.
[0087] In one embodiment, the reflected light angles of the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 are set independently.
[0088] In one embodiment, the reflected light angles of the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 are the same or different.
[0089] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the 8×4 unblocked WSS module according to this embodiment, as shown below. Figure 6 As shown in the side view, the light from the eight input optical fibers 11 is split into eight horizontally polarized beams (solid lines in the figure) or eight vertically polarized beams (dashed lines in the figure) by the first polarizer 31. After being expanded by the first lens device 21, the beams are directed onto the entire silicon-based liquid crystal plane 12, dividing the silicon-based liquid crystal plane into four regions that can be independently controlled. In the first region, the reflection angles of the 16 beams of light with different incident angles are adjusted so that a pair of horizontally polarized (solid lines in the figure) and vertically polarized (dashed lines in the figure) beams are directed onto the first output optical fiber 13-1. The reflected light from the silicon-based liquid crystal is first focused by the second lens device 24 and then combined into a single beam by the second polarizer. Similarly, the second, third, and fourth regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal are directed onto the output optical fibers 13-2, -3, and -4, respectively. In this design, the first lens device 21 and the second lens device 24 can share a single device, meaning the light path passes through this lens device twice. Similarly, the first grating device 22 and the second grating device 23 can also share a single device. The light sequentially passes through 11, the first polarizer 31, the first lens device 21, the first grating device 22, the silicon-based liquid crystal 12, the second grating device 23, the second lens device 24, the second polarizer 32, and the output optical fiber 13. The output light from the silicon-based liquid crystal 12 is reflected light, which, for clarity, is referred to as refracted light according to industry standards.
[0090] In the top view, the light output by the first lens device 21 is expanded by wavelength through the first grating device 22, that is, wavelength 1-N is divided and directed onto the silicon liquid crystal 12, expanding from short wavelength to long wavelength. The direction of the reflected light is changed by the silicon liquid crystal 12, and then the light is combined by the second grating device 23, so that light of different wavelengths can be independently switched to different optical fibers.
[0091] In this embodiment, the first lens device 21 and the second lens device 24 are convex lenses.
[0092] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a long-haul or metropolitan area optical cross-connect network according to this embodiment, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the upper part is an optical cross-connect network consisting of five points: UVWXY. Station W is composed of four subracks: ABCD. The internal principle block diagram of subracks A and B is shown in the lower part. Subracks A and B are 32-dimensional, with D1 to D24 representing 24 line dimensions and the remaining 8 dimensions being local add / drop dimensions. One add / drop dimension is used for service interconnection between the two subracks. The interconnection dimension uses a 24x3 WSS, located in the lower left corner of subrack A (within the dashed box). The 24x3 WSS connects 24 input fibers to the 24 line dimensions and 3 output fibers to subrack B, thus achieving service interconnection between subracks A and B. This embodiment uses a 24x3 M×N WSS for interconnecting subracks A and B, expanding the four 32-dimensional optical cross-connects to 128 dimensions. The three interconnection curves at station W represent the function of the device in this embodiment.
[0093] In this embodiment, the M×N WSS device is used for a 128-dimensional optical cross-connect scheme, that is, the four 32-dimensional subframes ABCD in the figure are interconnected using this WSS device.
[0094] This WSS device is used to improve the current CD-type add / drop scheme, which can significantly reduce dimensionality usage. The improved WSS device can replace the current CDC-type add / drop scheme. Currently, CDC faces difficulties in further evolution, while the WSS device in this embodiment does not face such difficulties. Figure 8 This is a system block diagram of the WSS device according to this embodiment, such as Figure 8As shown in the diagram, the upper half represents the standard four line dimensions (A, B, C, and D), while the lower half represents a single local add / drop dimension. This dimension utilizes two 9x2 WSSs and two 2x9 WSSs in this embodiment, which is equivalent to two conventional 9x1 WSSs or one 1x9 WSS, thus improving integration. The two connection channels E and F are connected between the pair of 9x2 and 2x9 WSSs. For example, when switching the wavelength input from line A to the local add / drop channel, the 9x2 WSS can be assigned to the OTU board in the lower left corner via channel E, or via channel F.
[0095] When in use, the E channel is used as the primary channel and is configured with services under normal conditions. The other F channel is used as a backup channel and is not configured with services under normal conditions. When the primary service needs to modify the wavelength and a wavelength conflict occurs, causing a blockage, the backup channel can be switched to.
[0096] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the modules or steps of this application described above can be implemented using general-purpose computing devices. They can be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices. They can be implemented using computer-executable program code, and thus can be stored in a storage device for execution by a computing device. In some cases, the steps shown or described can be performed in a different order than those presented here, or they can be fabricated as separate integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps can be fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, this application is not limited to any particular combination of hardware and software.
[0097] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.
Claims
1. A wavelength-selective optical crossing device, characterized in that, The wavelength-selective optical crossover device includes: M input optical fibers (11), N output optical fibers (13), and a silicon-based liquid crystal (12), wherein the silicon-based liquid crystal (12) includes N regions, and one region corresponds to one output optical fiber (13); The M input optical fibers (11) are used to broadcast each beam of light to N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal (12); The silicon-based liquid crystal (12) is used to select a beam of light for each of the N regions and reflect it onto the corresponding output optical fiber (13); The N output optical fibers (13) are used to output beams; The wavelength-selective optical crossing device further includes: a first lens device (21), a first grating device (22), a second grating device (23), and a second lens device (24), wherein, The first lens device (21) is used to amplify the beam input from the M input optical fibers (11), and after beam amplification by the first lens device (21), the beam is projected onto the entire silicon-based liquid crystal plane. The first grating device (22) is used to diffract the beam amplified by the first lens device (21) onto N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal (12). In the arrangement direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the N regions, the light output by the first lens device (21) is spread out according to wavelength by the first grating device (22). The silicon-based liquid crystal (12) is also used to output the light beams of the N regions to the second grating device (23); The second grating device (23) is also used to combine the N beams output by the silicon-based liquid crystal (12); The second lens device (24) is also used to reduce the N beams after beam combining and output the reduced N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers (13).
2. The wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wavelength-selective optical crossing device further includes a first polarizer (31) and a second polarizer (32), wherein the first polarizer (31) is disposed between the M input optical fibers (11) and the first lens device (21), and the second polarizer (32) is disposed between the second lens device (24) and the N output optical fibers (13). The first polarizer (31) is used to demultiplex the input beams of the M input optical fibers (11) into horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light respectively, to obtain M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light; The first lens device (21) is also used to amplify the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light; The first grating device (22) is also used to refract the M pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light magnified by the first lens device (21) onto the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal (12); The silicon-based liquid crystal (12) is also used to output the horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light of the N regions to the second grating device (23); The second grating device (23) is also used to combine the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light output by the silicon-based liquid crystal (12); The second lens device (24) is also used to reduce the N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light after wave combination; The second polarizer (32) is also used to multiplex the reduced N pairs of horizontally polarized light and vertically polarized light to obtain N beams, and output the N beams to the corresponding N output optical fibers (13).
3. The wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first lens device (21) and the second lens device (24) are convex lenses.
4. The wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first lens device (21) is also used to expand the number of pixels of the beam input from the M input optical fibers (11) to more than 10 pixels.
5. The wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pixel matrix of the silicon-based liquid crystal (12) is divided into the N regions.
6. The wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reflected light angles of the N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal (12) are set independently.
7. The wavelength-selective optical crossing device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The N regions of the silicon-based liquid crystal (12) may have the same or different angles of reflected light.
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