High-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line

Abstract

The application discloses a high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line and relates to the field of optical information processing devices. The high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line comprises a shell, the shell is in a barrel shape, an emitting part is fixed to an end of the shell and is used for emitting light, a reflecting mirror is slidably arranged in the shell and is used for reflecting the light emitted by the emitting part, and a driving part is arranged at an end of the shell away from the emitting part and is used for driving the reflecting mirror to move. The application has the effect of improving the response speed and the adjustment precision of the optical fiber delay line.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical information processing devices, in particular to a high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line. BACKGROUND

[0002] As one of the key devices in optical information processing technology, the optical fiber delay line has various signal processing functions. Generally, optical delay lines are divided into cable delay lines, quartz delay lines, optical fiber delay lines, etc. Compared with other types, the optical fiber delay line has the advantages of high precision, large range, low loss, simple structure, anti-electromagnetic interference, and high cost performance, and has a more extensive application scenario. The principle is that the change of free optical path when the optical signal propagates in the medium causes the time delay of the optical signal, and the delay time is proportional to the length of the free optical path.

[0003] The patent with publication number CN202720386U discloses an optical adjustable optical fiber delay line, which comprises a U-shaped groove, an output optical fiber collimator, an input optical fiber collimator, a corner cube prism, and a sliding block. The sliding block is slidingly installed at the bottom of the U-shaped groove, and the side surface of the sliding block is provided with the corner cube prism. The U-shaped groove edge corresponding to the corner cube prism is provided with the output optical fiber collimator and the input optical fiber collimator. The light is emitted from the output optical fiber collimator, reflected by the corner cube prism, and then enters the input optical fiber collimator. The utility model discloses an optical adjustable optical fiber delay line, which can overcome the defects of mutual interference of light beams during optical alignment and consistent device loss in the whole optical path in the prior art, so as to realize that the light beams will not interfere with each other during optical alignment and expand the use range.

[0004] In the implementation of the above application process, the inventor found that at least the following problems exist in the technology. The above structure drives the reflecting mirror to move through the lead screw and the sliding shaft, changes the free space optical path of the reflecting mirror and the collimator, and achieves different time delays. This method increases the friction between the sliding structure and the fixed structure, which will inevitably cause wear and tear after long-term work, resulting in poor stability of the device. At the same time, the response speed and the adjustment accuracy are not high. SUMMARY

[0005] In order to improve the response speed and adjustment accuracy of the optical fiber delay line, the present application provides a high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line.

[0006] The high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line provided by the present application adopts the following technical scheme:

[0007] The utility model provides a kind of high-precision fast response adjustable optical fiber delay line, including shell, shell is barrel-shaped;Emitting part, fixed in the end of shell, and for emitting and receiving light;Reflecting mirror, slidingly arranged in shell and for reflecting the light emitted by emitting part;Driving part, arranged in the end of shell away from emitting part, and for driving reflecting mirror movement;The driving part includes support part and driving part, the driving part is arranged in the inside of support part, the magnet is fixed in the inside of support part and the magnet is arranged in the inside of driving part, and the coil is fixed outside the driving part.

[0008] By adopting the above technical scheme, the coil is energized to generate a magnetic field in the coil, and the magnetic field in the coil interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet to drive the relative movement between the support part and the driving part, which is mainly composed of the magnet and the coil. There is an air gap between the magnet and the coil, so there is no contact between them. The size of the air gap is used to guide the allowed movement range of the system, which can avoid friction or collision between the coil and the magnet, and the device has good stability.

[0009] Optionally, the end of the shell is detachably connected to an end cover, and the support part is fixed to the end cover.

[0010] By adopting the above technical scheme, since the support part is fixed to the end cover, the internal device of the shell can be removed by detaching the end cover, which facilitates the disassembly and installation process.

[0011] Optionally, a sliding block is slidingly arranged inside the shell, the reflecting mirror is fixed to the sliding block, and the sliding block is connected to the driving part.

[0012] By adopting the above technical scheme, the sliding block is connected to the driving part, and the reflecting mirror is fixed to the sliding block. The movement of the driving part can drive the movement of the sliding block, thereby driving the movement of the reflecting mirror, which facilitates the adjustment of the distance between the reflecting mirror and the emitting part.

[0013] Optionally, a limiting part is fixed to the sliding block, and the limiting part extends to the outside of the shell, and the shell is provided with an auxiliary slot for the movement of the limiting part.

[0014] By adopting the above technical scheme, the inner side wall of the auxiliary slot limits the limiting part, which improves the problem of the sliding block rotating around its own axis during movement. When the coil is not energized, the position of the reflecting mirror can be adjusted by controlling the position of the limiting part, realizing manual and automatic control of the device.

[0015] Optionally, the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror is perpendicular to the emitting part.

[0016] By adopting the above technical scheme, the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror is perpendicular to the emitting part, which facilitates the reflection of the light emitted by the emitting part to the emitting part.

[0017] Optionally, the shell is made of brass.

[0018] By adopting the technical scheme, the brass material further prevents the misalignment of the light path incidence and emission caused by the deformation of the shell.

[0019] Optionally, a plurality of through holes are formed in the shell, and the through holes on the two sides of the shell are symmetrically arranged.

[0020] By adopting the technical scheme, the device can be fixed with other equipment through the through holes in actual use.

[0021] Optionally, a perspective window is formed in the side wall of the shell, and the perspective window is located at a position corresponding to the emission part.

[0022] By adopting the technical scheme, the position of the perspective window is fixed with the position of the emission part, which is mainly used for observing the front and back positions of the emission part when the emission part is installed.

[0023] Optionally, the emission part is a fiber collimator, and only one emission part is fixed on the shell.

[0024] By adopting the technical scheme, the input and output structures are used in cooperation with the single-port design, and are suitable for the working scenes of transmission delay and reflection delay.

[0025] In summary, the present application has at least one of the following beneficial technical effects:

[0026] 1. The driving part is mainly driven by a coil and a magnet, and an air gap is generated in the working process, so theoretically no friction is generated, the loss caused by friction is reduced, the electrical-to-mechanical conversion rate is high, and the stability and reliability of the overall device are improved.

[0027] 2. Only one fiber collimator with input and output functions is used, so that the present application can realize transmission delay and reflection delay in cooperation with different light paths, and has a wide range of applications.

[0028] 3. The coil and magnet driving has the advantages of high resolution and fast response, can make the adjustment accuracy of the fiber delay line reach the sub-fs level, the adjustment response speed reaches the sub-ms level, and there is no slot effect existing in the brushless motor, so smooth movement can be achieved.

[0029] 4. The shell adopts an integrated barrel-shaped shell structure, which ensures that the light path is aligned at any position of the delay line and the collimator, and ensures the consistency of the delay loss of the fiber delay line device; at the same time, it greatly improves the defect that the fiber delay line is easy to accumulate dust during use, resulting in large device insertion loss and even unable to work. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the main structure of an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Figure 2 is the main body structure of the embodiment of the application.

[0032] Figure 3 is the light path debugging schematic diagram of the embodiment of the application.

[0033] Figure 4 is the schematic diagram of the transmission type delay working mode.

[0034] Figure 5 is the schematic diagram of the reflection type delay working mode.

[0035] Explanation of reference signs:

[0036] 1, shell; 2, driving part; 3, supporting part; 4, driving part; 5, reflecting mirror; 6, emitting part; 7, magnet; 8, end cover; 9, sliding block; 10, limiting part; 11, auxiliary groove; 12, through hole; 13, perspective window; 14, coil; 15, fixing screw; 16, first fixing bolt; 17, second fixing bolt; 18, wiring groove. Embodiment

[0037] The following will be described in detail in combination with the accompanying drawings. Figures 1-5 The application will be further described in detail.

[0038] The embodiment of the application discloses a high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line comprises a shell 1, the shell 1 is barrel-shaped, and the outer section of the shell 1 is rectangular and the inner section is circular; one end surface of the shell 1 is closed, and the end surface is provided with a hole, an emitting part 6 is arranged in the hole, and the emitting part 6 is fixed to the inner side wall of the hole, that is, the emitting part 6 is fixed to the end part of the shell 1, and the emitting part 6 is mainly used for emitting and receiving light to the inside of the shell 1; the end part of the shell 1 away from the emitting part 6 is provided with a driving part 2, the driving part 2 is detachably connected with the shell 1, the driving part 2 is provided with a reflecting mirror 5, the driving part 2 is used for driving the reflecting mirror 5 to move, so that the reflecting mirror 5 is slidably arranged in the shell 1, and the reflecting mirror 5 is used for reflecting the light emitted by the emitting part 6, the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror 5 is perpendicular to the light emitted by the emitting part 6, so as to facilitate the reflection of the light emitted by the emitting part 6 back to the emitting part 6; the emitting part 6 is a fiber collimator, one end of the fiber collimator is connected with the optical fiber delay line, and the other end extends to the inside of the shell 1, in the embodiment, the barrel-shaped shell 1 structure is adopted, so that the optical fiber delay line and the fiber collimator are aligned at any position, and the consistency of the delay loss of the optical fiber delay line device is ensured; meanwhile, the barrel-shaped inner wall is not easy to accumulate dust, so that the defect that the device insertion loss is large and even cannot work due to dust accumulation in the use process is greatly improved.

[0039] Referring to Figure 1 andFigure 2 The emitting part 6 is coaxially arranged with the reflector 5 and the shell 1, only one emitting part 6 is fixed on the shell 1, and the input and output functions are realized, so that the transmission type delay and the reflection type delay can be realized by matching different light paths.

[0040] With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The end, away from the emitting part 6, of the shell 1 is provided with an opening, and the end is detachably connected with an end cover 8. The end cover 8 is provided with a fixing screw 15, and the fixing screw 15 is threadedly connected with the shell 1, so that the end cover 8 is detachably connected with the shell 1. The driving part 2 is mounted on the end face of the end cover 8. The driving part 2 comprises a supporting part 3 and a driving part 4. The driving part 4 and the supporting part 3 are both provided in a hollow cylinder shape, and the driving part 4 is arranged in the supporting part 3. The supporting part 3 is fixed with a magnet 7 in a cylindrical shape. The magnet 7 is arranged in the driving part 4. The magnet 7, the supporting part 3 and the driving part 4 are coaxially arranged. The outer wall of the driving part 4 is fixed with a coil 14. The coil 14 is electrified to generate a magnetic field, which interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet 7, so that the driving part 4 and the supporting part 3 can slide relative to each other. The supporting part 3 is fixed on the end face of the end cover 8 by a first fixing bolt 16 and is coaxially arranged with the end cover 8, so as to reduce the possibility of position deviation of the supporting part 3. The reflector 5 can move with the driving part 4. Since the supporting part 3 is fixed, the driving part 4 moves after the coil 14 is electrified, so as to drive the reflector 5 to move. In addition, when disassembled and repaired, the entire internal structure of the light delay line can be taken out only by disassembling the fixing screw 15, so that the disassembling and assembling processes are convenient.

[0041] With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The end of the driving part 4 is provided with a sliding block 9, that is, the sliding block 9 is connected with the driving part 2. The sliding block 9 is provided with a connecting hole coaxially arranged with the sliding block 9. A second fixing bolt 17 is arranged in the connecting hole and is threadedly connected with the inner wall of the connecting hole. The second fixing bolt 17 is used for connecting the sliding block 9 with the end of the driving part 4, so that the driving part 4 can drive the sliding block 9 to move in the movement process. The reflector 5 is fixed in the connecting hole in a manner of adhesion or clamping. In the embodiment, the adhesion is adopted. The driving part 4 drives the sliding block 9 to move, so as to drive the reflector 5 to move, thereby adjusting the distance between the emitting part 6 and the reflector 5, and facilitating the adjustment of the response speed.

[0042] With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2The limiting hole is provided with a limiting part 10, the limiting part 10 can be a rod or a bolt, and the limiting part 10 is a bolt in the embodiment, the limiting part 10 is in threaded connection with the inner side wall of the limiting hole, and the limiting part 10 extends to the outside of the shell 1, the shell 1 is provided with an auxiliary groove 11, the auxiliary groove 11 is used for penetrating the limiting part 10 and facilitating movement of the limiting part 10, the length direction of the auxiliary groove 11 is parallel to the axis direction of the shell 1, the side wall of the shell 1 is provided with a wiring groove 18, the wiring groove 18 penetrates the side wall of the shell 1, and the wiring groove 18 is in communication with the auxiliary groove 11, the wire on the coil 14 can extend to the outside of the shell 1 through the auxiliary groove 11, and the problem that the wire is clamped on the inner wall of the coil 14 and the shell 1 is effectively improved; since the limiting part 10 penetrates the auxiliary groove 11, the inner side wall of the auxiliary groove 11 can limit the limiting part 10, the possibility that the sliding block 9 rotates around the axis thereof during movement is effectively improved, and when the coil 14 is not powered, manual control can be achieved by controlling the position of the limiting part 10 in the auxiliary groove 11, so that the purpose of delay adjustment is achieved.

[0043] With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the shell 1 is provided with a plurality of through holes 12, the through holes 12 penetrate the shell 1, since the shell 1 is barrel-shaped, the through holes 12 on the two sides of the shell 1 are symmetrical about the shell 1, that is, the through holes 12 on the two sides of the shell 1 are symmetrically arranged, the device can be fixed with other equipment through the through holes, since the external cross section of the shell 1 is rectangular, the device will not shake after being fixed with other equipment, and the stability is high; the side wall of the shell 1 is provided with a plurality of perspective windows 13, the number of the perspective windows 13 is four in the embodiment, and the four perspective windows 13 are uniformly distributed around the axis of the shell 1, the perspective windows 13 are arranged at the end of the shell 1 and correspond to the position of the emitting part 6, the perspective windows 13 facilitate observation of the position of the emitting part 6 from the outside of the shell 1, and the possibility of deviation of the position of the emitting part 6 is reduced; meanwhile, the materials of the shell 1 and the end cover 8 are both brass materials, which can effectively prevent the misalignment of the light path from occurring due to deformation of the shell 1.

[0044] With reference to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 1The transmitter 6 is externally connected to an optical fiber circulator, which can be used to adjust the optical path consistency of the present invention. The optical fiber circulator has the ability to transmit light in one direction from a to b and from b to c. That is, the light wave enters the optical fiber collimator from port a of the optical fiber circulator and exits from port b. After passing through the reflector 5, it forms a reflection angle of 180°. The reflected light enters the optical fiber collimator, forming a free space optical path. Then the light wave enters the circulator from port b and exits from port c to enter other optical paths. The light output from the laser enters the optical fiber delay line described in the present invention through the optical fiber circulator. The optical power meter tests whether there is insertion loss in the output light. If adjusting the position of the slider 9 does not change the insertion loss displayed by the optical power meter, then the installation of the optical fiber collimator is perpendicular to the reflecting surface of the reflector 5, and the optical path consistency is good.

[0045] Reference Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 1 The transmission delay process is as follows: the light emitted by the broadband light source is split into two paths by the fiber coupler OC. One path serves as the probe arm and enters the acousto-optic modulator. The modulated light output enters the probe fiber. The other path serves as the reference arm and enters the reference fiber. It then enters the fiber delay line through the circulator ab and is output by bc. The two beams form a Mach-Zehnder interference and beat in another coupler. After beating, the interference is detected by the photodetector. When the phase difference between the two arms exceeds the phase detection range, the fiber delay line can respond quickly to ensure that the two arms meet the interference conditions.

[0046] Reference Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 5 The reflective delay mechanism operates as follows: Light emitted from a broadband light source is split into two paths by an optical fiber coupler OC. One path serves as a probe arm and enters the acousto-optic modulator. The modulated light output enters the probe fiber, is reflected by mirror 5, and then passes through the probe fiber and the acousto-optic modulator again. The other path serves as a reference arm and enters the reference fiber. After being reflected by the fiber delay line, it passes through the reference fiber again. By adjusting the fiber delay line, the light returning from both arms satisfies the interference conditions, completing the Sagnac interference. After frequency beat, the light is detected by a photodetector. When the phase difference between the two arms exceeds the phase detection range, the fiber delay line can respond quickly to ensure that the two arms meet the interference conditions.

[0047] The implementation principle of the high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line according to an embodiment of the present application is as follows: the driving part 2 is operated by applying a voltage to the coil 14; the voltage applied to the coil 14 by the wire generates an electric current in the coil 14, and further generates a force proportional to the electric current on the coil 14; since the support part 3 is fixed in position, the coil 14 can drive the driving part 4 to move, thereby driving the slider 9 to move, and driving the mirror 5 on the slider 9 to move; the direction of movement of the coil 14 is determined by changing the direction of the electric current of the coil 14, the speed of movement is determined by changing the size of the electric current of the coil 14, and the stop position of the mirror 5, i.e., the delay amount of the optical fiber delay line, is determined by changing whether the electric current exists; the maximum stroke of the driving part 2 is 30 mm, the control accuracy is 0.01 pm, and the response time is fastest at 1 ms. Therefore, the optical fiber delay line has an adjustable range of 0~200 ps, an adjustment accuracy of 0.067 fs, i.e., continuous adjustment, the moving speed of different two delay positions is controllable, and the highest is 1 ms; in addition, if a larger adjustable range of stroke and higher adjustment accuracy are required, a support part 3 with higher specifications can be selected to cooperate with the driving part 4, and the corresponding driving voltage can be modified.

[0048] The above are preferred embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the protection scope of the present application; therefore, equivalent changes made according to the structure, shape, principle, etc. of the present application should be covered within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A high-precision fast-response adjustable optical fiber delay line, characterized in that: it comprises a shell (1) in the shape of a barrel; an emitting part (6) fixed to the end of the shell (1) and used for emitting and receiving light; a mirror (5) slidingly arranged in the shell (1) and used for reflecting the light emitted by the emitting part (6); a driving part (2) arranged at the end of the shell (1) away from the emitting part (6) and used for driving the mirror (5) to move; the driving part (2) comprises a supporting part (3) and a driving part (4), the driving part (4) is arranged inside the supporting part (3), the supporting part (3) is fixed with a magnet (7) and the magnet (7) is arranged inside the driving part (4), and the driving part (4) is fixed with a coil (14) outside; a sliding block (9) is slidingly arranged in the shell (1), the mirror (5) is fixed to the sliding block (9), and the sliding block (9) is connected with the driving part (2); a limiting part (10) is fixed to the sliding block (9) and extends to the outside of the shell (1), and an auxiliary slot (11) is formed in the shell (1) to facilitate the movement of the limiting part (10). The end of the shell (1) is detachably connected with an end cover (8), and the supporting part (3) is fixed to the end cover (8). The emitting part (6) is perpendicular to the reflecting surface of the mirror (5). The shell (1) is made of brass. A plurality of through holes (12) are formed in the shell (1), and the through holes (12) on both sides of the shell (1) are symmetrically arranged. A perspective window (13) is formed in the side wall of the shell (1) and corresponds to the position of the emitting part (6). The emitting part (6) is an optical fiber collimator, and only one emitting part (6) is fixed to the shell (1). ​ 2. The high precision fast response tunable optical delay line according to claim 1, characterized in that: ​ 3. The high precision fast response tunable optical delay line according to claim 1, wherein: ​ 4. The high precision fast response tunable optical delay line of claim 1, wherein: ​ 5. The high precision fast response tunable optical delay line of claim 1, wherein: ​ 6. The high precision fast response tunable optical delay line of claim 1, wherein: ​ 7. The high precision fast response tunable optical delay line of claim 1, wherein: ​

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