Optical signal amplification device and method

Abstract

The present invention provides an optical signal amplifying device, comprising: n optical signal generators, each optical signal generator is used to emit an initial optical signal, and the wavelength of the optical signal emitted by each optical signal generator is different, n≥2; a selection component, used to switch between multiple n optical signal generators, connect one of the n optical signal generators, and output an optical signal, wherein the optical signal is the laser output after the selection component is connected to the laser generator; an optical amplifier, used to amplify the optical signal and output the amplified optical signal; a splitter component, used to separate the amplified optical signal to obtain multiple separated signals; wherein the n optical signal generators, the selection component, the optical amplifier and the splitter component are connected in sequence. The present invention also includes an optical signal amplifying method corresponding to the optical signal amplifying device. The present invention provides an optical signal amplifying device and method with simple structure, strong output pulse robustness and adjustable full-power pulse.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of optical processing, and in particular relates to an optical signal amplification device and method. Background Art

[0002] With the development of optical technology, optical fiber has been widely used in the field of communication due to its high efficiency and high speed transmission. It is one of the most important components in the communication transmission process. In optical fiber communication, optical amplifier is also a crucial link.

[0003] There are two modes for common optical amplifiers in the prior art to output pulsed lasers. The first is to output pulsed pump light; due to the response speed of the pump light, this method can usually only produce pulsed lasers in the low-frequency range. The second is to use an optical amplifier with pulsed seed light that is continuously pumped. Due to the cumulative limitation of the number of particles, this method can only have a pulse frequency range in the medium-high frequency region, and cannot perform low-frequency pulse amplification. If the frequency is too low, not only will the amplified signal output by the optical amplifier be distorted, it may even damage the optical amplifier, resulting in inefficient or even stagnant optical signal processing, and the frequency and pulse width of the pulsed optical signal cannot be adjusted online.

[0004] Based on the above, this application provides a technical solution to solve the above technical problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the limited processing scenarios of optical amplifiers in the prior art, the present invention provides an optical signal amplification device, which is characterized by comprising:

[0006] n optical signal generators, each of which is used to send out an initial optical signal, and the wavelength of the optical signal sent out by each optical signal generator is different, and n≥2;

[0007] A selection component is used to switch between a plurality of n optical signal generators, connect to one of the n optical signal generators, and output an optical signal, wherein the optical signal is the laser output after the selection component is connected to the laser generator;

[0008] An optical amplifier, used to amplify the optical signal and output the amplified optical signal;

[0009] A light splitting component, used for separating the amplified optical signal to obtain a plurality of separated signals;

[0010] Among them, n optical signal generators, selection components, optical amplifiers and splitter components are connected in sequence.

[0011] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical amplifier is one or more of a rare-earth doped gain amplifier, a fiber amplifier, a Raman amplifier, and a semiconductor optical amplifier.

[0012] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, if the initial optical signal is a continuous signal, the separated signal is a pulse signal; if the faulty optical signal is a pulse signal, the separated signal is a pulse train.

[0013] In a specific implementation of the present invention, the number of pulse signals is n, and the wavelength of each pulse signal corresponds to the wavelength of the optical signal emitted by each optical signal generator.

[0014] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical splitter assembly includes a plurality of optical devices capable of separating different wavelengths, each of the optical devices is used to separate the amplified optical signal into two different optical signals according to different wavelengths, and the number of the optical devices is m, where m=n-1.

[0015] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the number of optical signal amplifying devices is 2, which respectively emit initial optical signals with wavelengths of 1030 nm and 1064 nm.

[0016] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical amplifier is an ytterbium-doped amplifier, and the beam splitting component includes a dichroic mirror.

[0017] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the selection component is an optical switch capable of rapidly switching between a plurality of optical signal generators.

[0018] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the selection component is an electro-optic modulator EOM.

[0019] The present invention also provides an optical signal amplification method, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

[0020] Step S1, n optical signal generators, each optical signal generator is used to send out an initial optical signal, the wavelength of the optical signal sent out by each optical signal generator is different, n≥2;

[0021] Step S2, switching between the plurality of n optical signal generators, connecting one of the n optical signal generators, and outputting an optical signal, wherein the optical signal is the laser output after the selection component is connected to the laser generator;

[0022] Step S3, using an optical amplifier to amplify the optical signal and output an amplified optical signal;

[0023] Step S4, using a light splitting component to separate the amplified optical signal to obtain a plurality of separated signals;

[0024] Among them, n optical signal generators, selection components, optical amplifiers and splitter components are connected in sequence.

[0025] The present invention can bring at least one of the following beneficial effects:

[0026] 1. Use the selection component to switch between multiple optical signal generators, transmit the optical signal emitted by the corresponding optical signal generator to the optical amplifier when it is turned on, input the continuous signal into the optical amplifier, and then use the splitter component to separate the amplified optical signal into multiple pulses. The output of high-frequency pulse signals can be achieved using an ordinary optical amplifier. The solution of the present invention has a simple structure and low cost, and the output high-frequency pulse results are accurate and robust.

[0027] 2. There is no need to adjust the optical signal generator. The pulse width adjustment of the full-power pulse signal can be quickly achieved by adjusting the switching speed of the selected component. The parameters of the output pulse signal can be easily adjusted to improve the debugging efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The preferred implementation scheme will be described below in a clear and understandable manner with reference to the accompanying drawings to further illustrate the above-mentioned characteristics, technical features, advantages and their implementation methods.

[0029] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the optical signal amplifying device of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a method for amplifying an optical signal according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Various aspects of the present invention are described in further detail below.

[0034] Unless otherwise defined or indicated, all professional and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those familiar to those skilled in the art. In addition, any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be applied to the present invention.

[0035] The following is an explanation of the terms.

[0036] Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the "or" mentioned in the present invention includes the relationship of "and". The "and" is equivalent to the Boolean logic operator "AND", the "or" is equivalent to the Boolean logic operator "OR", and "AND" is a subset of "OR".

[0037] It is to be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe different elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. Therefore, the first element may be referred to as the second element without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

[0038] In the present invention, the terms "comprising", "including" or "comprising" indicate that various components can be applied together in the mixture or composition of the present invention. Therefore, the term "consisting mainly of..." is included in the terms "comprising", "including" or "comprising".

[0039] Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected" and "connection" in the present invention should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, or it can be connected through an intermediary medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0040] For example, if an element (or component) is referred to as being on, coupled to, or connected to another element, the element may be directly formed on, coupled to, or connected to the other element, or there may be one or more intervening elements between them. In contrast, if the expressions "directly on," "directly coupled to," and "directly connected to" are used herein, then no intervening elements are indicated. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be similarly interpreted, such as "between" and "directly between," "attached" and "directly attached," "adjacent" and "directly adjacent," and the like.

[0041] It should also be noted that the words "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper" and "lower" used in the following description refer to directions in the drawings. The words "inner" and "outer" used refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a particular component, respectively. It can be understood that these terms are used here to describe the relationship of one element, layer or region relative to another element, layer or region as shown in the drawings. In addition to the orientations described in the drawings, these terms should also include other orientations of the device.

[0042] Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the disclosure herein.

[0043] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the specific implementation methods of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0044] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present application. The drawings only show the components related to the present application and are not drawn according to the number, shape and size of the components in actual implementation. The type, quantity and proportion of each component in actual implementation may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated. For example, the thickness of the components in the drawings may be exaggerated for the sake of clarity.

[0045] Embodiment 1

[0046] Regarding the limited processing scenarios of optical amplifiers in the prior art, see the attached Figure 1 The present invention provides an optical signal amplification device, comprising:

[0047] There are n optical signal generators 1, each of which is used to send out an initial optical signal. The wavelength of the optical signal sent out by each optical signal generator is different, and n≥2.

[0048] Specifically, the initial optical signal is a laser, and the initial optical signal is a signal with a fixed wavelength. The wavelength of each initial optical signal can be determined according to actual needs.

[0049] The selection component 2 is used to switch between multiple n optical signal generators, connect to one of the n optical signal generators 1, and output an optical signal, which is the laser output after the selection component 2 is connected to the laser generator.

[0050] In a preferred embodiment, the selection component 2 is an optical switch capable of quickly switching between multiple optical signal generators 1; preferably, the selection component 2 is an electro-optical modulator EOM.

[0051] Specifically, an electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device that can be used to control the power, phase or polarization of light using an electrical control signal. When the electro-optic modulator is used as a selection component, the fastest switching speed can reach nanoseconds. Therefore, the electro-optic modulator EOM is a fast selection component with excellent performance.

[0052] It should be understood that the above-mentioned preferred methods of selecting components are only examples, including but not limited to other selected components. Any form of addition or deletion should be included in the gist of the present invention as long as it does not limit the purpose of the invention.

[0053] The optical amplifier 3 is used to amplify the optical signal and output the amplified optical signal.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the optical amplifier 3 is one or more of a rare-earth doped gain amplifier, a fiber amplifier, a Raman amplifier, and a semiconductor optical amplifier.

[0055] Preferably, the optical amplifier 3 is a rare earth doped gain amplifier, and the rare earth doped gain amplifier may be one of an ytterbium doped amplifier, an erbium doped amplifier, and a thulium doped amplifier.

[0056] The optical splitter component 4 is used to separate the amplified optical signal to obtain a plurality of separated signals.

[0057] In a preferred embodiment, the optical splitter component 4 includes a plurality of optical devices 5 capable of separating different wavelengths, each optical device 5 is used to separate the amplified optical signal into two different optical signals according to different wavelengths, and the number of the optical devices 5 is m, where m=n-1.

[0058] In a preferred embodiment, if the initial optical signal is a continuous signal, the separated signal is a pulse signal; if the incident optical signal is a pulse signal, the separated signal is a pulse train.

[0059] Specifically, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the attached Figure 2 As shown, if the number of optical signal generators 1 is 3, the amplified continuous optical signal will include three different wavelengths. At this time, the optical splitter 4 includes two dichroic mirrors 5. The first dichroic mirror 5 is used to separate the first pulse from the continuous optical signal. The first pulse is an optical signal of the first wavelength, which corresponds to the wavelength of the initial optical signal emitted by the first optical signal generator 1. The second dichroic mirror 5 is used to separate the second pulse and the third pulse from the received optical signal. Among them, the second pulse is an optical signal of the second wavelength, which corresponds to the wavelength of the initial optical signal emitted by the second optical signal generator 1. The third pulse is an optical signal of the third wavelength, which corresponds to the wavelength of the initial optical signal emitted by the third optical signal generator 1. The optical signal input to the second dichroic mirror 5 only includes the optical signals of the second wavelength and the third wavelength.

[0060] If the number of the optical signal generators 1 is four, the amplified continuous optical signal will include four different wavelengths. In this case, the light splitting component 4 includes three dichroic mirrors 5, and so on.

[0061] Among them, n optical signal generators 1, selection components 2, optical amplifiers 3 and light splitting components 4 are connected in sequence.

[0062] In a preferred embodiment, the number of pulse signals is n, and the wavelength of each pulse signal corresponds to the wavelength of the optical signal emitted by each optical signal generator 1 .

[0063] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 As shown, the number of optical signal generators 1 is 2, the first optical signal generator emits a continuous initial optical signal with a wavelength of 1030 nm, the second optical signal generator emits a continuous initial optical signal with a wavelength of 1064 nm, and the optical amplifier 3 is an ytterbium-doped amplifier.

[0064] The selection component 2 quickly switches between the first optical signal generator and the second optical signal generator at a frequency of 1 GHz, outputs an optical signal of 1030 nm when connected to the first optical signal generator, and outputs an optical signal of 1064 nm when connected to the second optical signal generator, thereby obtaining a continuous optical signal including 1030 nm and 1064 nm. The ytterbium-doped amplifier amplifies the continuous optical signal and outputs it to the light splitting component 4.

[0065] The light splitting component 4 includes a dichroic mirror 5, which separates the amplified continuous light signal into a first pulse and a second pulse according to multiple wavelengths in the amplified continuous light signal. The wavelength of the first pulse is 1030nm, the wavelength of the second pulse is 1064nm, and the frequencies of the first pulse and the second pulse are both 1GHz.

[0066] It should be understood that the above embodiments are only examples, including but not limited to other solutions. Any addition or deletion in any form should be included in the gist of the present invention as long as it does not limit the purpose of the present invention.

[0067] The solution of the present invention uses the selection component 2 to switch between multiple optical signal generators 1 instead of directly inputting the high-frequency pulse signal into the optical amplifier 3, and then uses the light splitting component 4 to separate the amplified optical signal into multiple pulses. The output of the high-frequency pulse signal can be achieved by using the ordinary optical amplifier 3 and the selection component 2 and the light splitting component 4. The solution of the present invention has a simple structure and low cost, and the output high-frequency pulse result is accurate and robust. In addition, the solution of the present invention can quickly achieve the pulse width adjustment of the pulse signal by simply adjusting the switching speed of the selection component, and can easily adjust the parameters of the output pulse signal, thereby improving the debugging efficiency.

[0068] Embodiment 2

[0069] See also Figure 4 , is a schematic diagram of an optical signal amplification method according to another specific embodiment of the present invention. The optical signal amplification method comprises the following steps:

[0070] Step S1, n optical signal generators emit initial optical signals with different wavelengths, the initial optical signals are continuous signals, and n≥2;

[0071] Step S2, the selection component switches between the multiple n optical signal generators, connects to one of the n optical signal generators, and outputs a continuous optical signal, where the continuous optical signal is the laser emitted by the laser generator connected to the selection component;

[0072] Step S3, amplifying the continuous optical signal by using an optical amplifier and outputting the amplified optical signal, wherein the amplified optical signal is a continuous signal;

[0073] Step S4, using a light splitting component to separate the amplified continuous optical signal to obtain multiple pulse signals;

[0074] Among them, n optical signal generators, selection components, optical amplifiers and splitter components are connected in sequence.

[0075] In summary, the present invention has achieved the following effects:

[0076] 1. Use the selection component to switch between multiple optical signal generators, transmit the optical signal emitted by the corresponding optical signal generator to the optical amplifier when it is turned on, input the continuous signal into the optical amplifier, and then use the splitter component to separate the amplified optical signal into multiple pulses. The output of high-frequency pulse signals can be achieved using an ordinary optical amplifier. The solution of the present invention has a simple structure and low cost, and the output high-frequency pulse results are accurate and robust.

[0077] 2. There is no need to adjust the optical signal generator. The pulse width adjustment of the full-power pulse signal can be quickly achieved by adjusting the switching speed of the selected component. The parameters of the output pulse signal can be easily adjusted to improve the debugging efficiency.

[0078] Based on this application, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that one aspect described herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number and aspect described herein can be used to implement the device and / or practice the method. In addition, other structures and / or functionalities other than one or more of the aspects described herein can be used to implement this device and / or practice this method.

[0079] Those skilled in the art know that, in addition to realizing the system and its various devices, modules, and units provided by the present invention in a purely computer-readable program code, it is entirely possible to realize the same functions in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers by logically programming the method steps. Therefore, the system and its various devices, modules, and units provided by the present invention can be considered as a hardware component, and the devices, modules, and units included therein for realizing various functions can also be regarded as structures within the hardware component; the devices, modules, and units for realizing various functions can also be regarded as both software modules for realizing the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0080] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered as the protection scope of the present invention.

[0081] All documents mentioned in the present invention are cited as references in this application, just as each document is cited as reference separately. In addition, it should be understood that after reading the above content of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications to the present invention, and these equivalent forms also fall within the scope defined by the claims attached to this application.

Claims

1. An optical signal amplification device, characterized in that: include: n optical signal generators, each of which is used to send out an initial optical signal, and the wavelength of the initial optical signal sent out by each optical signal generator is different, and n≥2; A selection component is used to switch between a plurality of n optical signal generators, connect to one of the n optical signal generators, and output an optical signal, wherein the optical signal is the laser output after the selection component is connected to the laser generator; An optical amplifier, used to amplify the optical signal and output the amplified optical signal; A light splitting component, used for separating the amplified optical signal to obtain a plurality of separated signals, wherein the light splitting component comprises a dichroic mirror; Among them, n optical signal generators, selection components, optical amplifiers and splitting components are connected in sequence. If the initial optical signal is a continuous signal, the separated signal is a pulse signal; if the initial optical signal is a pulse signal, the separated signal is a pulse train.

2. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical amplifier is one or more of a rare-earth doped gain amplifier, a fiber amplifier, a Raman amplifier, and a semiconductor optical amplifier.

3. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of pulse signals is n, and the wavelength of each pulse signal corresponds to the wavelength of the optical signal emitted by each optical signal generator.

4. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The optical splitter assembly includes a plurality of optical devices capable of separating different wavelengths, each of the optical devices is used to separate the amplified optical signal into two different optical signals according to different wavelengths, and the number of the optical devices is m, where m=n-1.

5. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The number of optical signal amplifying devices is 2, which respectively emit initial optical signals with wavelengths of 1030nm and 1064nm.

6. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The optical amplifier is an ytterbium-doped amplifier.

7. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The selection component is an optical switch capable of rapidly switching between a plurality of optical signal generators.

8. The optical signal amplifying device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The selection component is an electro-optic modulator EOM.

9. A method for amplifying an optical signal, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step S1, n optical signal generators, each optical signal generator is used to send out an initial optical signal, the initial optical signal sent out by each optical signal generator has a different wavelength, n≥2; Step S2, switching between the plurality of n optical signal generators, connecting one of the n optical signal generators, and outputting an optical signal, wherein the optical signal is the laser output after the selection component is connected to the laser generator; Step S3, amplifying the optical signal using an optical amplifier and outputting the amplified optical signal; Step S4, using a light splitting component to separate the amplified optical signal to obtain a plurality of separated signals, wherein the light splitting component includes a dichroic mirror; Among them, n optical signal generators, selection components, optical amplifiers and splitting components are connected in sequence. If the initial optical signal is a continuous signal, the separated signal is a pulse signal; if the initial optical signal is a pulse signal, the separated signal is a pulse train.

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