Optical switch network chip based on Switch&Select structure with balanced loss

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the field of optical devices, and specifically relates to an optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss. The chip includes 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units and a cross transmission unit; the 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units are divided into two groups; the input port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output end of an external device; the output port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input end of an external device; the two groups of 1×N optical switch matrix units are relatively arranged on both sides of the cross transmission unit, the output port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input port of the cross transmission unit, and the input port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output port of the cross transmission unit. The present invention supports arbitrary routing of optical signals between input ports and output ports, each transmission path is independent and has no crosstalk, and has the advantages of low loss and loss balance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an optical switch network chip, in particular to an optical switch network chip based on a Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the data capacity of Internet communications has grown rapidly at a rate of 50% to 60% per year, and people's demand for bandwidth is increasing. At present, the reconfiguration in data center networks is mainly completed by high-speed electrical switching switches; the input optical signal is converted into an electrical signal, and then converted back to an optical signal output after the switching is completed in the electrical domain. Although the amplification, shaping and synchronization technology of electrical signals are mature, optical / electrical / optical (O / E / O) conversion usually requires optical transceivers, that is, receivers for optical / electrical conversion and transmitters for electrical / optical conversion, which brings great conversion power consumption to the switching system. Compared with electrical switching, optical switching technology directly eliminates the optical-electrical-optical conversion process, and the data bit rate, signal format and protocol are transparent, which greatly improves the exchange information throughput, and has lower power consumption and hardware cost advantages. It is expected to become the most promising switching technology for future data center networks. As the core component of optical switching technology, the new generation of optical network communication technology also puts forward higher technical index requirements for optical switch network chips. The overall performance of optical switch network chips depends to a large extent on the characteristics of the topology architecture. For the same number of ports, a good topology architecture has the following characteristics: 1) a small total number of switch units, that is, a small chip area; 2) a low number of switch levels, that is, low transmission loss; 3) strong crosstalk suppression capability, that is, a high signal-to-noise ratio.

[0003] Commonly used compact topologies include Benes, Cross Bar, PILOSS and Switch&Select. The Benes type has a significant advantage in the number of switch levels and is widely used, but its characteristic of two optical paths sharing one switch unit is prone to high crosstalk, which limits the application scenarios; the Cross Bar type is simple to control, but the number of switches is huge and not suitable for large-scale expansion; the PILOSS type has the same number of switches for each optical path, so it naturally has lower path-related losses, but the total number of switches is huge and not suitable for large-scale expansion; the Switch&Select type has an independent path for each optical path, and the switch units it passes through are independent and the same in number, so the first-order crosstalk is eliminated, and its performance is mainly limited by the second-order crosstalk of waveguide crossing, but each optical path passes through a different number of waveguide crossing devices, causing the technical problem of uneven loss.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to invent an optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss, so as to solve the technical problems existing in the existing Switch&Select type optical switch network chip. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the technical problem that the existing Switch&Select type optical switch network chip is limited by the second-order crosstalk of waveguide crossing, and each optical path passes through a different number of waveguide crossing devices, resulting in uneven loss, and to provide an optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and with balanced loss.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0007] An optical switch network chip based on Switch&Select structure and with balanced loss, which is special in that:

[0008] It includes 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units and one cross transmission unit; N=2 n+1 , n≥1;

[0009] The 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units are divided into two groups, namely a first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and a second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units;

[0010] The input port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output end of the external device to realize the input of the optical signal; the output port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input end of the external device to realize the output of the optical signal;

[0011] The first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units are arranged outside the cross-transmission unit, the output port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input port of the cross-transmission unit, the input port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output port of the cross-transmission unit, and the cross-transmission unit is used to realize interlayer coupling of optical signals between the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units.

[0012] Further, the 1×N optical switch matrix unit includes one 1×2 optical switch basic unit and N-2 2×2 optical switch basic units;

[0013] A port at one end of the 1×2 optical switch basic unit is used as an input port or an output port of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit and is connected to the output end or the input end of an external device;

[0014] N-2 2×2 optical switch basic units, the number of which is 2, 22 , 2 3 , …, 2 n-1 , 2 n The rules are divided into n groups, namely group 1, group 2, group 3, ..., group n-1, group n;

[0015] One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units of the first group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the 1x2 optical switch basic unit; 2 Each 2×2 optical switch basic units form a group, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in each group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in the first group; 3 Each 2×2 optical switch basic units form a group, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in each group is connected to the two 2 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit are connected correspondingly; and so on, the 2 n Each 2×2 optical switch basic units form a group. One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in each group is connected to the 2 ports of the n-1th group. n -1 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit are connected correspondingly; the 2 n The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit are used as output ports or input ports of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit, and are used to connect with the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit.

[0016] Further, the 2×2 optical switch basic unit includes a first 2×2 connector, a first phase shift arm structure and a second 2×2 connector; the first 2×2 connector, the first phase shift arm structure and the second 2×2 connector are sequentially cascaded to form an MZI structure;

[0017] The 1×2 optical switch basic unit includes a 1×2 connector, a second phase shift arm structure and a third 2×2 connector; the 1×2 connector, the second phase shift arm structure and the third 2×2 connector are sequentially cascaded to form an MZI structure;

[0018] One end of the 1×2 connector is connected to the output or input end of an external device;

[0019] One end of the first 2×2 connector is connected to one end of the third 2×2 connector, or is connected to one end of the second 2×2 connector in other 2×2 optical switch basic units; one end of the second 2×2 connector is connected to one end of the first 2×2 connector in other 2×2 optical switch basic units, or is connected to an input port or an output port of a cross-transmission unit.

[0020] Further, the first phase shift arm structure and the second phase shift arm structure both include a first phase shift arm and a second phase shift arm arranged in parallel with each other;

[0021] Two ends of the first phase shift arm and the second phase shift arm are respectively connected to two ports of the 1×2 connector and two ports of the third 2×2 connector, or are respectively connected to two ports of the first 2×2 connector and the second 2×2 connector;

[0022] The 1×2 optical switch basic unit and the 2×2 optical switch basic unit both include three heat shields and four electrodes for accessing the modulation current;

[0023] One of the heat insulation plates is arranged between the first phase shift arm and the second phase shift arm, and the other two heat insulation plates are arranged on the side away from each other of the first phase shift arm and the second phase shift arm respectively;

[0024] The four electrodes are respectively arranged at two ends of the first phase shift arm and the second phase shift arm.

[0025] Further, the 1×2 connector is a 1×2 multimode interferometer or a directional coupler;

[0026] The first 2×2 connector, the second 2×2 connector and the third 2×2 connector are 2×2 multimode interferometers or directional couplers.

[0027] Further, the 1×N optical switch matrix unit includes N-1 2×2 optical switch basic units;

[0028] A port at one end of the first 2×2 optical switch basic unit is used as an input port or an output port of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit, and is used to connect with the output end or the input end of an external device;

[0029] The remaining 2×2 optical switch basic units are 2, 2 2 , 2 3 , …, 2 n-1 , 2 n The rules are divided into n groups, namely group 1, group 2, group 3, ..., group n-1, group n;

[0030] One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units of the first group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the first 2x2 optical switch basic unit; 2 Each 2×2 optical switch basic units form a group, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in each group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in the first group; 3Each 2×2 optical switch basic units form a group, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in each group is connected to the two 2 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit are connected correspondingly; and so on, the 2 n Each 2×2 optical switch basic units form a group. One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units in each group is connected to the 2 ports of the n-1th group. n-1 The two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units are connected correspondingly; the two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units are used as output ports or input ports of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit, and are used to connect with the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit.

[0031] Further, the cross transmission unit includes a first N×N interlayer coupling module, a second N×N interlayer coupling module, N groups of input and output interfaces, and a first dielectric waveguide layer and a second dielectric waveguide layer located in different planes and arranged parallel to each other;

[0032] The first dielectric waveguide layer includes N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels and N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels located in the same plane;

[0033] The second dielectric waveguide layer includes N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels located in another plane;

[0034] The number of input and output interfaces, first dielectric waveguide channels, second dielectric waveguide channels and third dielectric waveguide channels is N;

[0035] Two ends of the first N×N interlayer coupling module are respectively connected to one end of the N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels and one end of the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels, so as to realize uploading or downloading of optical signals from the first dielectric waveguide layer to the second dielectric waveguide layer;

[0036] The second N×N interlayer coupling module and the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels are divided into two parts, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the first N×N interlayer coupling module; the two ends of the second N×N interlayer coupling module are respectively connected to the other end of the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels and one end of the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels, so as to realize downloading or uploading of optical signals from the second dielectric waveguide layer to the first dielectric waveguide layer;

[0037] The other ends of the N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels are connected to the output ports or input ports of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units through N groups of input and output interfaces;

[0038] The other ends of the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels are connected to input ports or output ports of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units.

[0039] Furthermore, the first N×N interlayer coupling module and the second N×N interlayer coupling module each include N groups of interlayer couplers, and the number of interlayer couplers in each group is N;

[0040] The interlayer coupler comprises an isolation dielectric layer, and a first coupling plate and a second coupling plate which are respectively arranged in different planes in the isolation dielectric layer and are parallel to each other;

[0041] The first coupling plate and the second coupling plate are respectively arranged in the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer, and one end of the first coupling plate and the second coupling plate are respectively connected to one end of the first dielectric waveguide channel and one end of the second dielectric waveguide channel, or are respectively connected to the other end of the second dielectric waveguide channel and one end of the third dielectric waveguide channel, so as to realize uploading and downloading of optical signals between the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer.

[0042] Furthermore, the refractive index of the isolation dielectric layer is lower than the refractive index of the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer.

[0043] Furthermore, the widths of the first coupling plate and the second coupling plate gradually decrease from one end to the other end of each.

[0044] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0045] 1. The present invention can realize one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many optical signal transmission between the input port and the output port, and supports arbitrary routing of optical signals between the input port and the output port. Each transmission path is independent and has no crosstalk, and has the advantages of low loss and loss balance.

[0046] 2. In one-to-one port transmission, the present invention allows each optical signal to go through only 2N optical switch basic units and 2 interlayer couplers from input to output, so the optical loss is lower and the optical transmission balance is better. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 1×N optical switch matrix unit in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 2×2 optical switch basic unit in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a cross transmission unit in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an interlayer coupler from a first perspective in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an interlayer coupler from a second viewing angle in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 1-Figure 6 middle:

[0054] 1-1×N optical switch matrix unit, 11-1×2 optical switch basic unit, 12-2×2 optical switch basic unit, 121-second 2×2 connector, 122-third 2×2 connector;

[0055] 2-cross transmission unit, 21-first N×N interlayer coupling module, 22-second N×N interlayer coupling module, 23-interlayer coupler, 231-isolation dielectric layer, 232-first coupling plate, 233-second coupling plate, 24-first dielectric waveguide channel, 25-second dielectric waveguide channel, 26-third dielectric waveguide channel, 27-input and output interface;

[0056] 3-first phase shift arm, 4-second phase shift arm, 5-heat insulation board, 6-electrode;

[0057] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 7 middle:

[0059] I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I13, I14, I15, I16 are 16 input optical signals, 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1105, 1106, 1107, 1108, 1109, 1110, 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114, 1115, 1116 are 16 1×16 optical switch matrix units responsible for input, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208, 1209, 1210, 1211, 1212, 1213, 1214, 1215, 1216 are 16 1×16 optical switch matrix units responsible for output, and O1, O2, O3, O4, O5, O6, O7, O8, O9, O10, O11, O12, O13, O14, O15, O16 are 16 output optical signals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] In order to make the purpose, advantages and features of the present invention more clear, the following is a further detailed description of an optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and with balanced loss proposed by the present invention in combination with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. According to the following specific implementation methods, the advantages and features of the present invention will be more clear.

[0061] See also Figure 1 The present invention discloses an optical switch network chip based on a Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss, specifically comprising 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units 1 and a cross transmission unit 2; N=2 n+1 , n≥1.

[0062] The 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units 1 are divided into two groups, namely a first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and a second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units. The number of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the number of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units are both N.

[0063] The input port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output end of the external device to realize the input of optical signals; the output port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input end of the external device to realize the output of optical signals.

[0064] The first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units are arranged outside the cross transmission unit 2, the output port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input port of the cross transmission unit 2, and the input port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output port of the cross transmission unit 2, so that interlayer coupling of optical signals between the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is realized through the cross transmission unit 2.

[0065] See also Figure 2 The 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1 of this embodiment is mainly composed of a 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 and N-2 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 connected in a tree structure. In addition, the 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 and the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 in this embodiment are modulated by thermo-optical effect or electro-optical effect.

[0066] The 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 refers to an optical switch basic unit with one port at one end and two ports at the other end; the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 refers to an optical switch basic unit with two ports at both ends.

[0067] A port at one end of the 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 is used as an input port or an output port of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1, and is used to connect with the output end or input end of an external device to realize the input or output of an optical signal.

[0068] N-2 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 are divided into n groups, namely the first group, the second group, the third group, ..., the n-1th group, the nth group, n ≥ 1; the number of 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in each group is 2, 2 2 , 23 , …, 2 n-1 , 2 n indivual.

[0069] One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 of the first group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the 1x2 optical switch basic unit 11; 2 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 is a group of 2, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in the two groups is connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in the first group; the 2 3 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 is a group of 2. One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in the four groups is connected to the two ports in the second group. 2 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 are connected correspondingly; and so on, the 2 n Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 forms a group, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in each group is connected to the 2 ports of the n-1th group. n -1 The two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 are connected correspondingly; the two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 are both used as output ports or input ports of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1, and are used to connect to the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit 2.

[0070] See also Figure 3 In this embodiment, the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 is an MZI (Mach-Zehnder Interferometer) structure formed by sequentially cascading a first 2×2 connector 121, a first phase shift arm structure, and a second 2×2 connector 122. One end of the first 2×2 connector 121 is connected to the 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11, or to one end of the second 2×2 connector 122 in other 2×2 optical switch basic units 12; one end of the second 2×2 connector 122 is connected to one end of the first 2×2 connector 121 in other 2×2 optical switch basic units 12, or to the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit 2.

[0071] The 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 in this embodiment has a similar structure to the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12. It is only necessary to replace the first 2×2 connector 121 in the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 with a 1×2 connector. Specifically, the 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 is an MZI structure formed by sequentially cascading a 1×2 connector, a second phase shift arm structure, and a third 2×2 connector.

[0072] The 1×2 connector is specifically a 1×2 multimode interferometer in this embodiment, and a directional coupler may be used instead in other embodiments of the present invention. The first 2×2 connector 121, the second 2×2 connector 122, and the third 2×2 connector are specifically 2×2 multimode interferometers in this embodiment, and similarly, a directional coupler may be used instead in other embodiments of the present invention.

[0073] The first phase shift arm structure and the second phase shift arm structure have the same structure, and both include a first phase shift arm 3 and a second phase shift arm 4 that are arranged in parallel with each other. Specifically, the above-mentioned 1×2 optical switch basic unit 11 and 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 both include three heat insulation plates 5 and four electrodes 6. One of the heat insulation plates 5 is arranged between the first phase shift arm 3 and the second phase shift arm 4, and the other two heat insulation plates 5 are respectively arranged on the side away from each other of the first phase shift arm 3 and the second phase shift arm 4; the four electrodes 6 are respectively arranged at both ends of the first phase shift arm 3 and the second phase shift arm 4. The modulation current is connected by the electrode 6, and the phase modulation is realized by using the thermo-optical effect on the first phase shift arm 3 and the second phase shift arm 4, which determines whether the optical signal is output from the upper output port or the lower output port. The single port of the 1×2 multimode interferometer is connected to the output end or the input end of the external device; the two ends of the first phase shift arm 3 and the second phase shift arm 4 are respectively connected to the dual ports of the 1×2 multimode interferometer and the two ports of the first 2×2 multimode interferometer, or are respectively connected to the two ports of the second 2×2 multimode interferometer and the third 2×2 multimode interferometer.

[0074] Of course, the above-mentioned 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1 is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In other embodiments of the present invention, the 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1 can also be formed by connecting N-1 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in a tree structure.

[0075] Specifically, a port at one end of the first 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 is used as an input port or an output port of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1 for connecting with the output end or the input end of an external device.

[0076] The remaining 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 are divided into 2, 2 2 , 2 3 , …, 2 n-1 , 2 n The rules are divided into n groups, namely group 1, group 2, group 3, …, group n-1, group n, n≥1.

[0077] One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 of the first group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the first 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12; 2Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 is a group of 2, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in the two groups is connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in the first group; the 2 3 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 is a group of 2. One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in the four groups is connected to the two ports in the second group. 2 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit 12 are connected correspondingly; and so on, the 2 n Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 forms a group, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 in each group is connected to the 2 ports of the n-1th group. n-1 The two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 are connected correspondingly; the two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units 12 are both used as output ports or input ports of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1, and are used to connect to the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit 2.

[0078] See also Figure 4 The cross transmission unit 2 of this embodiment includes a first N×N interlayer coupling module 21, a second N×N interlayer coupling module 22, N groups of input and output interfaces 27, and a first dielectric waveguide layer and a second dielectric waveguide layer located in different planes and arranged parallel to each other.

[0079] The specific implementation principle is: the optical signal is located at Figure 1 After the input of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1 below, it enters the cross transmission unit 2, and the vertical optical signal is transmitted in the first dielectric waveguide layer. At the appropriate corner, it is uploaded to the second dielectric waveguide layer through the first N×N interlayer coupling module 21 to realize the horizontal optical signal transmission, and is downloaded back to the first dielectric waveguide layer through the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22 at the edge of the cross transmission unit 2, and finally from the Figure 1 The upper 1×N optical switch matrix unit 1 outputs and realizes the routing function of the optical signal.

[0080] Specifically, the first dielectric waveguide layer includes N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels 24 and N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels 25 located in the same plane; the second dielectric waveguide layer includes N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels 26 located in another plane.

[0081] The number of N groups of input and output interfaces 27 , first dielectric waveguide channels 24 , second dielectric waveguide channels 25 , and third dielectric waveguide channels 26 is N.

[0082] The two ends of the first N×N interlayer coupling module 21 are respectively connected to one end of the N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels 24 and one end of the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels 26, so as to realize uploading of optical signals from the first dielectric waveguide layer to the second dielectric waveguide layer; the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22 and the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels 25 are divided into two parts, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the first N×N interlayer coupling module 21, and the two ends of the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22 are respectively connected to the other end of the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels 26 and one end of the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels 25, so as to realize downloading of optical signals from the second dielectric waveguide layer to the first dielectric waveguide layer.

[0083] Specifically, the other ends of the N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels 24 are connected to an output port or an input port of a group of 1×N optical switch matrix units 1 through N groups of input and output interfaces 27; the other ends of the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels 25 are connected to an input port or an output port of another group of 1×N optical switch matrix units 1.

[0084] For ease of description, the following Figure 4 The position and direction in the paper are used as reference to explain the specific structure of the cross transmission unit 2 in this embodiment:

[0085] N groups of input and output interfaces 27 are evenly arranged in the horizontal direction. Figure 4 In the lower part, a part of the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22 is arranged Figure 4 The other part of the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22 is arranged at the lower left side of the middle part. Figure 4 The N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels 24 are evenly distributed along the horizontal direction, and the length direction of each first dielectric waveguide channel 24 is arranged along the vertical direction, and one end of the N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels 24 is respectively connected to the N groups of input and output interfaces 27; the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels 26 are evenly distributed along the vertical direction, and the third dielectric waveguide channels 26 include a vertical section and a horizontal section connected at one end; the other end of the vertical section in the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels 26 is respectively connected to the other end of the N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels 24 through the first N×N interlayer coupling module 21, and the other end of the horizontal section in the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels 26 is respectively connected to the second dielectric waveguide channel 25 through the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22.

[0086] The first N×N interlayer coupling module 21 and the second N×N interlayer coupling module 22 each include N interlayer couplers 23. The interlayer coupler 23 includes an isolation dielectric layer 231 and a first coupling plate 232 and a second coupling plate 233 which are respectively arranged in different planes in the isolation dielectric layer 231 and are parallel to each other. The refractive index of the isolation dielectric layer 231 is lower than the refractive index of the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer. The first coupling plate 232 and the second coupling plate 233 are respectively arranged in the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer, and one end of the first coupling plate 232 and the second coupling plate 233 are respectively connected to one end of the first dielectric waveguide channel 24 and one end of the second dielectric waveguide channel 25, or respectively to the other end of the second dielectric waveguide channel 25 and one end of the third dielectric waveguide channel 26, for realizing uploading and downloading of optical signals between the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer. Preferably, see Figure 5 and Figure 6 The widths of the first coupling plate 232 and the second coupling plate 233 gradually decrease from one end to the other end of each coupling plate. By optimizing the shapes of the first coupling plate 232 and the second coupling plate 233, efficient optical field coupling between the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer can be achieved within 30 μm.

[0087] Exemplarily, a 16×16 optical switch network chip (ie, N=16) is taken as an example to illustrate the optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss of the present invention.

[0088] See also Figure 7 (The direction indicated by the arrow in the figure is the transmission direction of the optical signal). For the 16×16 optical switch network chip, 16 optical signals (I1, I2, ..., I16) are input and enter the 16 1×16 optical switch matrix units (1101, 1102, ..., 1116) responsible for input. Each optical switch matrix unit transmits the optical signal into one of the 16 channels as needed, and then enters the cross transmission unit. The optical signal goes through the sequence of 16 groups of first dielectric waveguide channels → first 16×16 interlayer couplers → 16 groups of second dielectric waveguide channels → second 16×16 interlayer couplers, and then is connected to the 16 1×16 optical switch matrix units (1201, 1202, ..., 1216) responsible for output, and finally outputs 16 optical signals (O1, O2, ..., O16).

Claims

1. An optical switch network chip based on Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss, characterized in that: It comprises 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units (1) and a cross transmission unit (2); N=2 n+1 , n≥1; The 2N 1×N optical switch matrix units (1) are divided into two groups, namely a first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and a second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units; The input ports of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units are connected to the output ends of external devices to realize the input of optical signals; The output ports of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units are connected to the input ends of external devices to realize the output of optical signals; The first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units are arranged outside the cross transmission unit (2), the output port of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the input port of the cross transmission unit (2), the input port of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units is connected to the output port of the cross transmission unit (2), and the cross transmission unit (2) is used to realize interlayer coupling of optical signals between the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units and the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units; The cross transmission unit (2) comprises a first N×N interlayer coupling module (21), a second N×N interlayer coupling module (22), N groups of input and output interfaces (27), and a first dielectric waveguide layer and a second dielectric waveguide layer located in different planes and arranged parallel to each other; The first dielectric waveguide layer comprises N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels (24) and N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels (25) located in the same plane; The second dielectric waveguide layer comprises N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels (26) located in another plane; The number of the input and output interfaces (27), the first dielectric waveguide channels (24), the second dielectric waveguide channels (25) and the third dielectric waveguide channels (26) are all N; Two ends of the first N×N interlayer coupling module (21) are respectively connected to one end of N groups of first dielectric waveguide channels (24) and one end of N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels (26), so as to realize uploading or downloading of optical signals from the first dielectric waveguide layer to the second dielectric waveguide layer; The second N×N interlayer coupling module (22) and the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels (25) are both divided into two parts, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the first N×N interlayer coupling module (21); the two ends of the second N×N interlayer coupling module (22) are respectively connected to the other end of the N groups of third dielectric waveguide channels (26) and one end of the N groups of second dielectric waveguide channels (25), so as to realize downloading or uploading of optical signals from the second dielectric waveguide layer to the first dielectric waveguide layer; The other ends of the N groups of the first dielectric waveguide channels (24) are connected to the output ports or input ports of the first group of 1×N optical switch matrix units through N groups of input and output interfaces (27); The other ends of the N groups of the second dielectric waveguide channels (25) are connected to input ports or output ports of the second group of 1×N optical switch matrix units.

2. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 1×N optical switch matrix unit (1) comprises one 1×2 optical switch basic unit (11) and N-2 2×2 optical switch basic units (12); A port at one end of the 1×2 optical switch basic unit (11) is used as an input port or an output port of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit (1) and is connected to an output end or an input end of an external device; N-2 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) are sequentially 2, 2 2 , 2 3 , …, 2 n-1 , 2 n The rules are divided into n groups, namely group 1, group 2, group 3, ..., group n-1, group n; One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) of the first group is respectively connected to the two ports at the other end of the 1×2 optical switch basic unit (11); the two 2 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) is a group of two, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in each group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in the first group; the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in the third group are connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in the first group; 3 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) is a group of two, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in each group is connected to the two 2 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12) are connected correspondingly; and so on, the 2 n Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) is a group of two, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in each group is connected to the 2 optical switch basic units (12) of the n-1th group. n-1 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) are connected correspondingly; the 2 n The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12) are used as output ports or input ports of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit (1) for connecting with the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit (2).

3. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 2, characterized in that: The 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12) comprises a first 2×2 connector (121), a first phase shift arm structure and a second 2×2 connector (122); the first 2×2 connector (121), the first phase shift arm structure and the second 2×2 connector (122) are cascaded in sequence to form an MZI structure; The 1×2 optical switch basic unit (11) comprises a 1×2 connector, a second phase shift arm structure and a third 2×2 connector; the 1×2 connector, the second phase shift arm structure and the third 2×2 connector are cascaded in sequence to form an MZI structure; One end of the 1×2 connector is connected to an output end or an input end of an external device; One end of the first 2×2 connector (121) is connected to one end of the third 2×2 connector, or is connected to one end of the second 2×2 connector (122) in another 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12); one end of the second 2×2 connector (122) is connected to one end of the first 2×2 connector (121) in another 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12), or is connected to an input port or an output port of a cross transmission unit (2).

4. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first phase shift arm structure and the second phase shift arm structure both comprise a first phase shift arm (3) and a second phase shift arm (4) which are arranged in parallel with each other; Two ends of the first phase shift arm (3) and the second phase shift arm (4) are respectively connected to two ports of the 1×2 connector and two ports of the third 2×2 connector, or are respectively connected to two ports of the first 2×2 connector (121) and the second 2×2 connector (122); The 1×2 optical switch basic unit (11) and the 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12) both include three heat insulation plates (5) and four electrodes (6) for connecting a modulation current; One of the heat insulation plates (5) is arranged between the first phase shift arm (3) and the second phase shift arm (4), and the other two heat insulation plates (5) are respectively arranged on the side away from each other of the first phase shift arm (3) and the second phase shift arm (4); The four electrodes (6) are respectively arranged at two ends of the first phase shift arm (3) and the second phase shift arm (4).

5. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 4, characterized in that: The 1×2 connector is a 1×2 multimode interferometer or a directional coupler; The first 2×2 connector (121), the second 2×2 connector (122) and the third 2×2 connector are 2×2 multimode interferometers or directional couplers.

6. The optical switch network chip based on Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 1×N optical switch matrix unit (1) comprises N-1 2×2 optical switch basic units (12); A port at one end of the first 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12) is used as an input port or an output port of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit (1) for connecting to an output end or an input end of an external device; The remaining 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) are 2, 2 2 , 2 3 , …, 2 n-1 , 2 n The rules are divided into n groups, namely group 1, group 2, group 3, ..., group n-1, group n; One of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) of the first group is respectively connected to the two ports at the other end of the first 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12); the two 2 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) is a group of two, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in each group is connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in the first group; the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in the third group are connected to the two ports at the other end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in the first group; 3 Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) is a group of two, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in each group is connected to the two 2 The two ports at the other end of the 2×2 optical switch basic unit (12) are connected correspondingly; and so on, the 2 n Each of the 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) is a group of two, and one of the ports at one end of the two 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) in each group is connected to the 2 optical switch basic units (12) of the n-1th group. n-1 The two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) are connected correspondingly; the two ports at the other end of the nth group of 2×2 optical switch basic units (12) are both used as output ports or input ports of the 1×N optical switch matrix unit (1) for connecting with the input port or output port of the cross transmission unit (2).

7. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first N×N interlayer coupling module (21) and the second N×N interlayer coupling module (22) both include N groups of interlayer couplers (23), and the number of interlayer couplers (23) in each group is N; The interlayer coupler (23) comprises an isolation dielectric layer (231), and a first coupling plate (232) and a second coupling plate (233) which are respectively arranged in different planes in the isolation dielectric layer (231) and are parallel to each other; The first coupling plate (232) and the second coupling plate (233) are respectively arranged in the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer, and one end of the first coupling plate (232) and the second coupling plate (233) are respectively connected to one end of the first dielectric waveguide channel (24) and one end of the second dielectric waveguide channel (25), or respectively connected to the other end of the second dielectric waveguide channel (25) and one end of the third dielectric waveguide channel (26), so as to realize uploading and downloading of optical signals between the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer.

8. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 7, characterized in that: The refractive index of the isolation dielectric layer (231) is lower than the refractive indexes of the first dielectric waveguide layer and the second dielectric waveguide layer.

9. The optical switch network chip based on the Switch&Select structure and having balanced loss according to claim 8, characterized in that: The widths of the first coupling plate (232) and the second coupling plate (233) gradually decrease from one end to the other end of each.

Images