Modal spot conversion device and method

By adjusting the mode spot size of the single-mode optical signal in the mode spot conversion device to match the mode spot size of the multi-mode fiber, the problem of shortening the transmission distance of the single-mode optical signal is solved, and the transmission capacity and distance in the multi-mode optical fiber are improved , meets the high-speed communication needs of data centers and campus networks.

CN119148394APending Publication Date: 2024-12-17HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202310706147.1
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-06-14
Publication Date
2024-12-17

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The prior art is difficult to effectively expand the transmission distance of single-mode optical signals and improve the transmission capacity in multimode optical fibers. Especially in data centers and campus networks, the transmission distance of optical signals is significantly shortened after the transmission rate is increased.

Method used

Through the analog speck conversion device, the mode speck size of the single-mode optical signal is adjusted to match the mode speck size of the multi-mode optical fiber, and the mode speck conversion is performed using lenses or combined lenses to improve the coupling efficiency of the optical signal and the multi-mode optical fiber and reduce coupling loss , thereby increasing transmission distance and capability.

Benefits of technology

The single-mode optical signal transmission distance and the transmission capacity are improved in multimode optical fiber, which meets the needs of short-distance high-speed data communication in data centers and campus networks, and simplifies the reuse of fiber optic connectors.

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Abstract

The invention provides a spot size conversion device and method, and the device comprises a single-mode optical transmitter which is used for transmitting a single-mode optical signal; the optical converter is used for receiving the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and performing spot size conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the spot size conversion refers to changing the size of a spot size of the single-mode optical signal, so that the size of the spot size of the converted optical signal is matched with the size of a spot size of the multimode optical fiber; and the optical fiber connector is used for transmitting the received converted optical signal to the multimode optical fiber, so that the multimode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal. According to the spot-size conversion device, spot-size conversion is carried out on the single-mode optical signal to reduce the transmission loss of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber, so that the transmission distance of the single-mode light in the multimode optical fiber is effectively increased, and the transmission capacity of the single-mode light in the multimode optical fiber is effectively improved.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical communications, and more specifically, to a mode spot conversion device and method. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the information society, a large amount of information needs to be converged, which will generate a large number of network interconnection needs. Fiber optic communication is a necessary solution to achieve network interconnection. Since optical fiber as a transmission medium transmits optical signals, general data centers or internal equipment in the park can only recognize electrical signals, so optical modules are needed to achieve photoelectric conversion.

[0003] In short-distance high-speed data communications less than 2km, optical modules are mostly used to transmit optical signals, and multimode optical fibers are used to transmit optical signals. However, there will be certain losses and dispersion when optical signals are transmitted in optical fibers. When the transmission rate of the optical module is 10Gbit / s, the transmission distance of optical signals in multimode optical fibers is usually 100 to 300m. When the transmission rate of the optical module is 25Gbit / s, the transmission distance of optical signals in multimode optical fibers will be reduced to 70 to 100m. This makes it difficult for the transmission distance of single-mode optical signals in multimode optical fibers to meet the needs of short-distance high-speed data communications in data center networks and campus networks.

[0004] Therefore, how to increase the transmission distance of single-mode light in multi-mode optical fiber and how to improve the transmission capacity of single-mode light in multi-mode optical fiber are problems that need to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a mode spot conversion device and method, which changes the size of the mode spot of a single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of a multimode optical fiber, thereby increasing the transmission distance of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber and effectively improving the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a pattern spot conversion device, the device comprising:

[0007] A single-mode optical transmitter is used to transmit a single-mode optical signal; an optical converter connected to the single-mode optical transmitter is used to receive the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, wherein the mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber; and an optical fiber connector connected to the optical converter is used to transmit the received converted optical signal to the multimode optical fiber so that the multimode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal.

[0008] The matching of the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal with the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber may mean that the sizes of the mode spots of the two are equal within an error range.

[0009] Illustratively, a fiber optic connector may connect the multimode optical fiber.

[0010] In the embodiment of the present application, the optical converter changes the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber. In this way, the coupling efficiency between the single-mode optical signal and the multi-mode optical fiber can be improved, the coupling loss can be reduced, and thus the transmission distance of the single-mode optical signal in the multi-mode optical fiber can be increased, and the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multi-mode optical fiber can be improved.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the optical fiber connector is a multimode optical fiber connector, and the optical converter includes:

[0012] At least one lens is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal.

[0013] The at least one lens may be a single lens or a combination of multiple lenses.

[0014] Exemplarily, if the at least one lens is a lens, one lens performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal; if it is a combined lens, the function of each lens in the combined lens may be slightly different, some lenses may only realize the light collimation function so that the divergent optical signal can gather energy, and some lenses need to realize both light collimation and mode spot conversion functions, so that the combined lens can act on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the above-mentioned converted optical signal, and the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, the optical converter is at least one lens, and the at least one lens realizes a mode spot conversion function, so that the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal can be changed by using only the at least one lens, thereby minimizing the dispersion and loss of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber, thereby increasing the transmission distance of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber, and improving the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the single-mode optical transmitter and the at least one lens are both components of an optical module, and the single-mode optical transmitter is a light emitting diode or a laser.

[0017] The optical conversion device can be an optical module, which includes a single-mode optical transmitter, an optical converter, and an optical fiber connector. The single-mode optical transmitter transmits a single-mode optical signal. The at least one lens performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal. The converted optical signal is transmitted through the optical fiber connector. The optical fiber connector can be directly connected to the multi-mode optical fiber. The size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0018] In the embodiment of the present application, the mode spot conversion device can be an optical module, the single-mode optical transmitter is a light emitting diode or a laser as a light source in the optical module, which is used to emit a single-mode optical signal, and the at least one lens performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal matching the size of the multi-mode optical fiber mode spot, and the converted optical signal is transmitted by the multi-mode optical fiber through the multi-mode optical fiber connector. The optical module can meet the needs of various multi-mode optical fibers and realize the scene requirements of the transmission of the single-mode optical signal in various multi-mode optical fibers, and the design of the optical module with mode spot conversion function is simple, practical, compact and portable.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or a beam-expanding optical fiber connector, and the optical converter includes: at least one lens, used to perform a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, and the first mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber; the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber connected to the at least one lens is used to receive the intermediate optical signal from the at least one lens, and perform a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, and the second mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal.

[0020] The at least one lens can be a single lens or a combined lens. When the at least one lens is a single lens, one lens performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal; when the at least one lens is a combined lens, the function of each lens in the combined lens can be slightly different, some lenses can only realize the light collimation function so that the divergent optical signal can gather energy, and some lenses need to realize both light collimation and mode spot conversion functions, so that the combined lens can obtain the converted optical signal after acting on the single-mode optical signal, and the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber.

[0021] Exemplarily, the at least one lens includes only one lens, which changes the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal to obtain the intermediate optical signal, so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam expansion fiber.

[0022] Exemplarily, the at least one lens includes two lenses, the first lens only performs light collimation to obtain a collimated light signal, and the second lens changes the size of the mode spot of the collimated light signal to obtain the intermediate light signal, so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate light signal matches the size of the few-mode fiber or the beam expanding fiber.

[0023] Exemplarily, the at least one lens includes two lenses, the first lens performs light collimation and changes the size of the pattern spot of the collimated light signal to obtain a first light signal, and the second lens performs light collimation and changes the size of the pattern spot of the first light signal to obtain the intermediate light signal.

[0024] In the embodiment of the present application, the at least one lens in the optical converter, the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber all have a mode spot conversion function; this combination method can not only aggregate the optical signal to reduce the energy loss of the optical signal, but also effectively obtain the converted optical signal that matches the mode spot size of the multimode optical fiber, effectively improve the transmission efficiency of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber, and the use of the lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber can, to a certain extent, meet the scenarios that have favorable requirements for the lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or a beam-expanded optical fiber connector, and the optical converter includes: at least one lens, used to perform optical collimation on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal; a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanded optical fiber connected to the at least one lens, used to receive the collimated optical signal from the at least one lens, and perform a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, wherein the third mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal.

[0026] The at least one lens only needs to focus the optical signal through light collimation to reduce the loss of optical energy.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present application, the optical converter is composed of the at least one lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber, wherein the at least one lens only performs light collimation for converging optical signals, and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber is used for mode spot conversion. Such a combination can concentrate the energy of the optical signal as much as possible before the mode spot conversion, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the optical signal, and the use of the lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber can, to a certain extent, meet the scenarios that have favorable requirements for the lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the single-mode optical transmitter, the at least one lens, and the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber are all components of an optical module, and the single-mode optical transmitter is a light emitting diode or a laser.

[0029] The light-emitting diode or the laser, the at least one lens, the few-mode fiber or the beam-expanding fiber, and the optical fiber connector together constitute an optical module, wherein the light-emitting diode or the laser is a light source, the at least one lens and the few-mode fiber or the beam-expanding fiber are optical converters that perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, and finally the converted optical signal is transmitted by the multi-mode optical fiber through the optical fiber connector.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present application, the method of forming an optical module by combining the light-emitting diode or the laser, the optical fiber connector, the at least one lens, and the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber is not only compact, convenient, and easy to carry, but also can effectively realize the scenario of transmitting the single-mode optical signal in the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the length of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber is greater than 10 mm.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present application, using the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber with a length greater than 10 mm can effectively ensure, to a certain extent, that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal can match the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber to the greatest extent.

[0033] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the optical converter includes: a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber, which is used to receive the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal.

[0034] In the embodiment of the present application, the optical converter only uses the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber to perform mode spot conversion to obtain the converted optical signal. This not only simplifies the mode spot conversion process but also reduces the use of components to a certain extent, while also improving the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber.

[0035] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned single-mode optical transmitter is an optical module, and the device also includes: a multi-mode optical fiber connected to the optical fiber connector, for transmitting the converted optical signal; and a multi-mode optical receiver connected to the multi-mode optical fiber, for receiving the converted optical signal transmitted from the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0036] The single-mode optical transmitter may be an optical module with a pigtail, or may be a pluggable optical module.

[0037] The multi-mode optical fiber receiver is used to receive the converted optical signal, and may be a single-mode optical module or a multi-mode optical module.

[0038] In the embodiment of the present application, the single-mode optical module transmits the single-mode optical signal, the optical converter performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, and the converted optical signal is transmitted through the multi-mode optical fiber and received by the multi-mode optical module or the single-mode optical module. In this way, the spot conversion device has more application scenarios, and can be used in communication systems, mainly in scenarios where multi-mode optical fibers transmit single-mode optical signals.

[0039] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the multimode optical fiber includes at least one section of multimode optical fiber and a multimode optical fiber connector, and the at least one section of multimode optical fiber is connected to each other through the multimode optical fiber connector.

[0040] The multimode optical fiber can be formed by connecting multiple sections of multimode optical fibers with different lengths and the multimode optical fiber connector, wherein the multimode optical fiber connector is used to connect between any two sections of multimode optical fibers.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present application, a plurality of multimode optical fibers of different lengths are combined to transmit optical signals, which can not only improve the reuse rate of multimode optical fibers and multimode optical fiber connectors in actual application scenarios to a certain extent, but also save costs to a certain extent.

[0042] In a second aspect, a mode spot conversion method is provided, the method comprising: a single-mode optical transmitter transmits a single-mode optical signal; an optical converter receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, wherein the mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber; and the optical fiber connector transmits the received converted optical signal to the multimode optical fiber so that the multimode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the optical fiber connector is a multimode optical fiber connector, and the optical converter is at least one lens.

[0044] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the above-mentioned optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or a beam-expanding optical fiber connector, and the above-mentioned optical converter is composed of at least one lens, and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber; the optical converter receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs a mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, which specifically includes: the at least one lens receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, and the first mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber; the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber receives the intermediate optical signal from the at least one lens, and performs a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, and the second mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the above-mentioned optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or a beam-expanded optical fiber connector, and the above-mentioned optical converter is composed of at least one lens, and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanded optical fiber; the optical converter receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs a mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal specifically including: the at least one lens receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs optical collimation on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal; the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanded optical fiber receives the collimated optical signal, and performs a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, and the third mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal.

[0046] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the optical converter is a few-mode fiber or a beam-expanding fiber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] FIG. 1( a ) and FIG. 1( b ) are schematic diagrams of the application of two single-mode optical signals in a multimode optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0048] Figure 2 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of the pattern spot conversion device provided in this embodiment.

[0049] FIG3( a ) is a schematic structural diagram of a mode spot conversion device in which the single-mode optical transmitter provided in this embodiment is a pluggable optical module.

[0050] FIG3( b ) is a schematic structural diagram of a mode spot conversion device in which the single-mode optical transmitter provided in this embodiment is a pigtail optical module.

[0051] Figure 4The optical converter provided in this embodiment is a schematic structural diagram of a mode spot conversion device for a few-mode fiber expansion or beam expansion fiber.

[0052] FIG5(a) is a schematic structural diagram of a pattern spot conversion device in which the light converter provided in this embodiment is a lens.

[0053] FIG5( b ) is a schematic structural diagram of a pattern spot conversion device in which the light converter provided in this embodiment is a plurality of lenses.

[0054] FIG5(c) is a schematic structural diagram of a mode spot conversion device in which the optical converter provided in this embodiment is a lens and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber.

[0055] FIG5(d) is a schematic structural diagram of a mode spot conversion device in which the optical converter provided in this embodiment is a plurality of lenses and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber.

[0056] Figure 6 Shown is another structural schematic diagram of the pattern spot conversion device provided in this embodiment.

[0057] Figure 7 The figure shows another structural schematic diagram of a mode spot conversion device in which the optical converter provided by this embodiment is a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber.

[0058] FIG8( a ) is another schematic structural diagram of a pattern spot conversion device in which the light converter provided in this embodiment is a lens.

[0059] FIG8( b ) is another schematic structural diagram of a pattern spot conversion device in which the light converter provided by this embodiment is a plurality of lenses.

[0060] FIG8( c ) is another schematic diagram showing the structure of a mode spot conversion device in which the optical converter provided in this embodiment is a lens and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam expander.

[0061] FIG8( d ) is another schematic diagram showing the structure of a mode spot conversion device in which the optical converter provided in this embodiment is a plurality of lenses and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber.

[0062] Fig. 9 The figure is a schematic flow chart of a method for performing pattern spot conversion provided by this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] Embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments of the present application are shown in the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application, and cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0064] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. (if any) in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, "and / or" is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, "at least one of A, B and C" means that (A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B and C) may exist.

[0066] In order to make the technical problems solved by the present application, the technical solutions adopted and the technical effects achieved more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments.

[0067] In order to increase the transmission distance of single-mode optical signals in the multi-mode optical fiber field in the existing technology, some new technologies have emerged. One of the solutions is that a refractive lens converges the divergent light signal of the light source, and the converged light signal passes through an optically transparent molded material and is incident on a diffraction surface. The diffraction surface shapes the received converged light signal and outputs it through a fiber optic connector. This solution can achieve a maximum transmission distance of 250 meters for single-mode light and supports a maximum of 4 fiber optic connectors. This solution increases the transmission distance of single-mode light to a certain extent, but it still cannot meet the transmission requirements of 300 meters of multi-mode optical fiber in the current mainstream scenario, and this solution cannot meet the reuse requirements of fiber optic connectors in campus scenarios. In addition, Source Optoelectronics has applied for a patent CN215641957U "Fiber Optic Connector with Mode Spot Conversion Function", and the disclosed solution includes: a connector body, which contains an inner core and an interface for connecting to a multimode optical fiber, and an optical transmission channel is provided inside the inner core. The mode fields at both ends of the optical transmission channel are the first mode field and the second mode field, respectively. The second mode field is larger than the first mode field, and one end where the second mode field is located is connected to the interface. The second mode field is consistent with the fundamental mode size of the multimode optical fiber. Simply put, the light beam enters the first mode field, and after passing through the connector body, the mode field becomes the second mode field, matching the optical fiber mode field at the output end. This solution is a mode spot converter, which solves the current problems to a certain extent, but the specific effect remains to be verified.

[0068] In order to increase the transmission distance of single-mode optical signals in multi-mode optical fiber scenarios, improve the transmission capacity of single-mode optical signals in multi-mode optical fibers, and realize the reuse of existing multi-mode optical fibers and optical fiber connectors, the present application provides a mode spot conversion device and method, which are described in detail as follows.

[0069] First, some professional terms that may be used in the following embodiments are introduced.

[0070] Optical module: Optical modules are generally composed of electronic devices, functional circuits and optical interfaces. Optoelectronic devices include transmitting and receiving parts. Simply put, the function of an optical module is to convert electrical signals into optical signals at the transmitting end. After being transmitted through optical fibers, the receiving end converts the optical signals into electrical signals. According to their functions, optical modules include optical receiving modules, optical transmitting modules, optical transceiver modules and optical forwarding modules. Single-mode optical modules are suitable for long-distance transmission; multi-mode optical modules are suitable for short-distance transmission. Optical modules are used as carriers for transmission between switches and devices, and are more efficient and secure than transceivers.

[0071] Single-mode optical module: Single-mode optical fiber uses solid laser as the light source; the single mode in the optical module actually refers only to the type of optical fiber. Single-mode optical module is an optical module used with single-mode optical fiber. It uses LD or LED with narrow spectral line as the light source. It can transmit data signals with extremely high bandwidth, so the transmission distance is very long. Single-mode optical modules are mostly used in lines with long transmission distances and relatively high transmission rates, such as long-distance trunk transmission and metropolitan area network construction.

[0072] Multimode optical module: Multimode optical fiber uses light-emitting diodes as light sources; the optical devices used and multimode optical fiber can achieve the best transmission characteristics. This optical module is called a multimode optical module, which can transmit multiple modes of light. Multimode optical modules are generally used for short-distance transmission because of the large inter-mode dispersion, which limits the frequency of digital signal transmission. Multimode optical modules are mostly used in networks with relatively low transmission rates and relatively short transmission distances, such as local area networks. Such networks usually have many nodes, many joints, many bends, a large number of connectors and couplers, and a large number of light sources per unit fiber length. Using multimode optical modules can effectively reduce network costs.

[0073] Laser: A device that can emit laser light. According to the working medium, lasers can be divided into four categories: gas lasers, solid-state lasers, semiconductor lasers and dye lasers.

[0074] Fiber pigtail: As a highly stable device, it has extremely low insertion loss and reflection loss. It is mainly used to connect fiber couplers, transmission equipment, and ODF racks. Fiber pigtails are also called pigtails. They are cables with a connector on one end and no connector on the other end. The end without a connector can be connected to the core of other cables through fusion splicing. Fiber pigtails are also often found in fiber terminal boxes to connect optical cables to fiber transceivers. Fiber pigtails are divided into multimode fiber pigtails and single-mode fiber pigtails.

[0075] Beam expansion fiber: also known as lens fiber (thermal diffusion fiber), this type of fiber is simply expanded by high-temperature burning to expand the core diameter, and is a fiber that increases coupling efficiency. TEC fiber is mainly used to reduce the optical alignment error between two different SM fiber cores, as well as the coupling loss caused by the optical calibration error when assembling laser diodes and optical parts. Thermal diffusion fiber is a beam expansion fiber. Generally speaking, lens fiber mainly forms a lens-like shape on the optoelectronic end face, such as burning into a ball, or etching (because the place containing germanium corrodes slowly), and arc discharge and other technologies to form a spherical end face.

[0076] Few-mode fiber: A single-core optical fiber that has a larger mode field area than ordinary single-mode optical fiber, allowing a small number of optical fiber modes to be transmitted together in the optical fiber.

[0077] Single-mode fiber: The central glass core is very thin (core diameter is generally 9 or 10 μm), and there is only one transmission mode of the fiber. The transmission loss and transmission dispersion of single-mode fiber are relatively small. Small transmission loss can make the signal transmit farther in the fiber, and small transmission dispersion is conducive to the transmission of high-speed and large-capacity data. Therefore, in communication devices, especially large-capacity communication devices, single-mode fiber is mostly used. Single-mode fiber is used in long-distance, large-capacity fiber-optic communication devices, fiber-optic local area networks and various fiber-optic sensors.

[0078] Multimode fiber: Fiber that transmits multiple modes at a given working wavelength. It is divided into abrupt and gradual types according to the distribution of its refractive index. The numerical aperture of ordinary multimode fiber is 0.2±0.02, the core diameter / outer diameter is 50μm / 125μm, and its transmission parameters are bandwidth and loss. Since there are hundreds of modes transmitted in multimode fiber, the propagation constant and group rate of each mode are different, the bandwidth of the fiber is narrow, the dispersion is large, and the loss is also large. It is only suitable for medium and short distance and small capacity optical fiber communication devices.

[0079] Lens: An optical element made of transparent material with a spherical surface. The lens is composed of several lenses. There are two types: plastic lens and glass lens. Glass lens is more expensive than plastic lens. The lens structures commonly used in cameras are: 1P, 2P, 1G1P, 1G2P, 2G2P, 4G, etc. The more lenses, the higher the cost.

[0080] Mode spot conversion: The mode field diameter of multimode fiber is about 50μm, while the mode field diameter of ordinary single-mode fiber is about 9μm. There is a large mismatch between the two modes, which will introduce large coupling losses. In order to improve the coupling efficiency between single-mode light and optical fiber and improve the transmission capacity of single-mode light in multimode fiber, conventional mode spot conversion mainly expands the small-sized single-mode light spot to a size that matches the mode field of the optical fiber to increase the coupling efficiency and transmission capacity.

[0081] Optical loss: Loss is the loss of light energy caused by absorption, scattering and leakage of the medium when light is transmitted in the optical fiber. This part of energy is dissipated at a certain rate as the transmission distance increases.

[0082] Optical dispersion: Dispersion occurs mainly because electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths propagate at different speeds in the same medium, causing different wavelength components of the optical signal to arrive at the receiving end at different times due to the accumulation of transmission distances, resulting in pulse broadening and the inability to distinguish signal values.

[0083] Transmission distance: The transmission distance of optical fiber modules is divided into three types: short distance, medium distance and long distance. Generally speaking, 2km and below is short distance, 10-20km is medium distance, and 30km, 40km and above is long distance.

[0084] The technical solution in this application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0085] Figures 1(a) and 1(b) are schematic diagrams of the application of two single-mode optical signals in multi-mode optical fibers provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1(a) is a data center network application scenario, and Figure 1(b) is a campus network application scenario.

[0086] With the advancement of science and technology and the development of society, data centers have become the engine of modern life. The growing network information is transmitted and stored at high speed through data centers. Today's data centers are no longer as simple as a computer room, but a huge data center group composed of multiple computer rooms. In order to use Internet services normally, data centers must work together. A large amount of information converges between data centers at the same time, which creates the need for data center interconnection. Optical fiber communication is a necessary solution for network interconnection. Unlike traditional telecommunications access network transmission equipment, data center interconnection requires a larger and more intensive transmission of information, which requires switching equipment to have higher speed, lower power consumption, and more miniaturized performance. A core factor that determines whether these performances can be achieved is the optical communication module. The transmission of information networks mainly uses optical fiber as the transmission medium, and transmits optical signals, but general equipment can only recognize electrical signals, and optical modules are the core components for realizing photoelectric conversion.

[0087] Data center communication optical modules can be divided into three categories according to the connection type:

[0088] ①Inside the data center, it is mainly used for information storage, generation and mining;

[0089] ②Data center interconnection, mainly used for data replication, software and device upgrades;

[0090] ③ From data center to users, from accessing the cloud to our daily use, such as watching videos, browsing articles, sending and receiving emails, etc.

[0091] As we all know, optical fibers can be classified into single-mode and multi-mode according to transmission modes. The main difference between the two types of optical fibers lies in the difference in nominal diameter. The nominal diameter of multi-mode optical fiber is 50-62.5 microns, while the nominal diameter of single-mode optical fiber is 9-10 microns. The transmission bandwidth of multi-mode optical fiber is narrow, while that of single-mode optical fiber is very wide, so the transmission distance of multi-mode is generally only a few kilometers, while that of single-mode can reach 70 kilometers. In this way, it is necessary to choose which optical fiber to use based on the actual situation of the data center. Generally, the internal equipment of a data center is relatively concentrated, at most in a few buildings in the same park, and multi-mode optical fiber and multi-mode optical modules are used; when a data center is connected to a metropolitan area network or operator network that is far away, or when data centers across regions are connected, single-mode optical fiber and single-mode optical modules are generally required.

[0092] Similarly, in a campus network, communications within the campus are mostly short distances, and multi-mode optical fibers and multi-mode optical modules are generally used; when the campus is connected to a more distant metropolitan area network or operator for communication, and when connecting between campuses across regions, single-mode optical fibers and single-mode optical modules are mostly used due to the long distances.

[0093] Among them, in the data center network architecture shown in Figure 1(a), the data center network architecture is also called the Spine-Leaf architecture, which is a data center network topology. It consists of two switch layers, Spine (spine) and Leaf (leaf), and an access layer TOR. The Spine switch can be regarded as the core switch in the traditional three-layer architecture, but the Spine switch here is no longer a large chassis switch in the three-layer architecture, but a switch with high port density. The Leaf switch is the access layer. The Leaf switch provides network connection to terminals and servers, and is also connected to the Spine switch. There is also a TOR switch in the access layer. TOR (Top of Rack) refers to deploying 1 to 2 switches on each server cabinet. The server is directly connected to the switch of this cabinet to realize the interconnection between the server and the switch in the cabinet. The Leaf-Spine topology network structure is mainly used to solve the rapid growth of traffic in the data center and the continuous expansion of the scale of the data center, and to meet the needs of high-speed interconnection within the data center that cannot be met by the traditional three-layer network topology. In the Spine-Leaf architecture, the Spine layer and the Leaf layer are connected by single-mode optical fiber; the Leaf layer and the TOR layer are connected by multi-mode optical fiber.

[0094] Among them, as shown in Figure 1(b), the campus network architecture is composed of a traditional three-layer network architecture, mainly consisting of a core layer, a convergence layer, an access layer, and a server. The core layer is mainly used for the high-speed switching backbone of the network; the convergence layer focuses on providing policy-based connections and is located between the access layer and the core layer; and the access layer is responsible for connecting workstations including computers and APs to the network / server. Here, the core layer and the convergence layer are connected using single-mode optical fiber; the convergence layer and the access layer are connected using multi-mode optical fiber or single-mode optical fiber. The scenario mainly described here is the scenario of using multi-mode optical fiber, and the deployment length of multi-mode optical fiber is usually 300m.

[0095] As the distance of optical signal transmission in the optical fiber increases, optical loss and optical dispersion will occur. When the distance is longer, the loss and dispersion of the optical signal will be more serious. And as the transmission rate of the optical module increases, the transmission distance of the optical signal in the multimode optical fiber will also be reduced. When the transmission rate of the optical module is 10Gbit / s, the transmission distance of the optical signal in the multimode optical fiber can usually be 100-300m, but when the transmission rate of the optical module is 25Gbit / s, the transmission distance of the optical signal in the multimode optical fiber will be reduced to 70-100m. This is far from meeting the needs of short-distance high-speed data communication of multimode optical fiber in data center networks and campus networks.

[0096] Figure 1(a) is used to represent the data center network architecture, in which multi-mode optical fiber is used to transmit optical signals between Leaf switches and TOR switches. Therefore, in order to increase the propagation distance of optical signals in multi-mode optical fibers and improve the transmission capacity of single-mode optical signals in multi-mode optical fibers, the present application proposes the use of a mode spot conversion device in the Leaf switch, and the mode spot conversion device is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an optical signal that matches the mode field size of the multi-mode optical fiber. The specific implementation method of the mode spot conversion device can refer to the relevant embodiments below.

[0097] Figure 1(b) is used to represent the campus network architecture, in which multi-mode optical fiber is used to connect the aggregation layer switch and the access layer switch. The present application proposes the use of a mode spot conversion device at the aggregation layer switch layer. The mode spot conversion device is applied at the aggregation layer to realize mode spot conversion so that the size of the mode spot of the output converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber. The specific implementation method of the mode spot conversion device can refer to the relevant embodiments below.

[0098] It should be noted that the above-mentioned use of the pattern spot conversion device in the Leaf switch and the aggregation layer switch is only an example, and the present application does not limit the use of the pattern spot conversion device in other layer switches.

[0099] Figure 2 The structure of the mode spot conversion device provided by the present application is shown. Specifically, the mode spot conversion device includes a single-mode optical transmitter 201, an optical converter 202 and an optical fiber connector 203. The single-mode optical transmitter 201 is used to transmit a single-mode optical signal, which can usually include a laser or a light-emitting diode, and the specific product form can be a pluggable optical module or an optical module with a pigtail; the optical converter 202 is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the multi-mode optical fiber; the optical fiber connector 203 connected to the optical converter 202 is used to transmit the received converted optical signal to the multi-mode optical fiber, so that the multi-mode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal.

[0100] Since the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber, the coupling loss between the single-mode optical signal and the multimode optical fiber is reduced, thereby increasing the transmission distance of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber and improving the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multimode optical fiber. The optical fiber connector 203 is usually a multimode optical fiber connector for connecting multimode optical fibers. In short, the mode spot conversion device is simple, easy to use, efficient and fast.

[0101] FIG3( a ) is a structure of a single-mode optical transmitter 201 provided in the present application. Specifically, the single-mode optical transmitter 201 is a pluggable optical module, which is used to transmit a single-mode optical signal and directly transmit the single-mode optical signal to the optical converter 202 ;

[0102] Figure 3(b) shows the structure of another single-mode optical transmitter 201 provided in the present application. Specifically, the single-mode optical transmitter 201 is an optical module with a pigtail, which is used to transmit a single-mode optical signal, and the single-mode optical signal is transmitted to the optical converter 202 via the "pigtail", i.e., the single-mode optical fiber.

[0103] Figure 4 The structure of the optical converter 202 in the mode spot conversion device of the embodiment of the present application, the optical converter is specifically a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber. In the case where the above optical converter 202 is a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber, the single-mode optical transmitter 201 is used to transmit a single-mode optical signal, which can usually include a laser or a light-emitting diode, and the specific product form can be a pluggable single module or an optical module with a pigtail; the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the multimode optical fiber; the optical fiber connector 203 connected to the optical converter 202 is used to transmit the received converted optical signal to the multimode optical fiber, so that the multimode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal.

[0104] Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show the structure of the optical converter 202 in the pattern spot conversion device provided in the present application. The optical converter 202 is specifically at least one lens. Specifically, Figure 5(a) shows a case of one lens, and Figure 5(b) shows a case of multiple lenses.

[0105] For the above two situations of at least one lens, the at least one lens is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the multimode optical fiber; each lens of the at least one lens may have different functions, wherein some lenses may only have the function of light collimation to collimate the input optical signal, some lenses may only realize the function of mode spot conversion, and some lenses may realize both the function of light collimation and the function of mode spot conversion, and the combination of the at least one lens can realize the change of the size of the mode spot of the input single-mode optical signal to match the size of the mode spot in the multimode optical fiber; the first mode spot conversion is realized by at least one lens, wherein the first mode spot conversion refers to enlarging the size of the fundamental mode spot of the single-mode optical signal to match the size of the mode field in the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber, in other words, at least one lens is used to change the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber;

[0106] Figures 5(c) and 5(d) show the structure of the optical converter 202 in the mode spot conversion device provided in the present application. The optical converter 202 includes at least one lens and an implementation method of a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber, wherein at least one lens can still be a lens or a combination of multiple lenses (two or more).

[0107] In this implementation, at least one lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber may also have two functional combinations; the first functional combination is: at least one lens is used to perform optical collimation on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal; the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber performs a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal, that is, changes the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal to match the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber; the second functional combination is: at least one lens is used to perform a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber; the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber performs a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to change the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal to match the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0108] The converted optical signal is transmitted by the multimode optical fiber through the optical fiber connector 203;

[0109] This device can effectively increase the transmission distance of single-mode light in multi-mode optical fiber, and effectively improve the transmission capacity of single-mode optical signals in multi-mode optical fiber.

[0110] Figure 6 The structure of a mode spot conversion device provided in the present application includes a single-mode optical transmitter 201 , an optical converter 202 , an optical fiber connector 203 , a multi-mode optical fiber 204 and a multi-mode optical receiver 205 .

[0111] The single-mode optical transmitter 201 is used to transmit a single-mode optical signal. The single-mode optical transmitter 201 is an optical module, which can be a hot-swappable single-mode optical module or a single-mode optical module with a pigtail. The optical converter 202 is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the multi-mode optical fiber. The optical fiber connector 203 connected to the optical converter 202 is used to transmit the received converted optical signal to the multi-mode optical fiber, so that the multi-mode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal. The multi-mode optical fiber 204 receives the converted optical signal through the multi-mode optical fiber connector 203 and transmits the converted optical signal. The multi-mode optical receiver 205 receives the converted optical signal from the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0112] The optical converter 202 and the multimode optical fiber 204 are connected using an optical fiber connector 203. The multimode optical fiber 204 can be composed of multiple sections of multimode optical fibers of different lengths and multimode optical fiber connectors. The multimode optical receiver 205 can be a single-mode optical module or a multimode optical module for receiving the converted optical signal.

[0113] As described above, the optical converter 202 realizes mode spot conversion for single-mode light, and by enlarging the size of the fundamental mode spot of the single-mode optical signal to match the size of the mode field in the multi-mode optical fiber, the transmission distance of the single-mode light in the multi-mode optical fiber is effectively increased, and the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multi-mode optical fiber is effectively improved.

[0114] Combination Figure 6 The structure of the mode spot conversion device shown in FIG. 1 is as follows. In one implementation of the present application, the optical converter 202 may be a few-mode fiber or a beam-expanding fiber. In this case, the structure of the mode spot conversion device is as follows. Figure 7 shown.

[0115] The single-mode optical transmitter 201 transmits a single-mode optical signal, and the single-mode optical transmitter 201 is an optical module, which can be a hot-swappable single-mode optical module or a single-mode optical module with a pigtail; the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the multi-mode optical fiber; the optical fiber connector 203 connected to the optical converter 202 is used to transmit the received converted optical signal to the multi-mode optical fiber, so that the multi-mode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal; the multi-mode optical fiber receives the converted optical signal through the multi-mode optical fiber connector and transmits the converted optical signal; the multi-mode optical receiver receives the converted optical signal from the multi-mode optical fiber;

[0116] The optical converter 202 is connected to the multimode optical fiber using an optical fiber connector 203. The multimode optical fiber can be composed of multiple sections of multimode optical fiber with different lengths and a multimode optical fiber connector. The multimode optical receiver can be a single-mode optical module or a multimode optical module for receiving the converted optical signal.

[0117] Combination Figure 6 The structure of the pattern spot conversion device shown in FIG. 8 , in another implementation of the present application, the optical converter 202 may include at least one lens, wherein the at least one lens may be a lens or a combination of multiple lenses (two or more). In this case, the structure of the pattern spot conversion device is as shown in FIG. 8 (a) or FIG. 8 (b).

[0118] For the above two situations of at least one lens, the at least one lens is used to perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, and the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot in the multimode optical fiber; each lens in the at least one lens may have different functions, wherein some lenses may only have the function of light collimation and collimate the input optical signal for output, some lenses may only realize the function of mode spot conversion, and some lenses may realize both the function of light collimation and the function of mode spot conversion, and the combination of the at least one lens can realize the change of the size of the mode spot of the input single-mode optical signal to match the size of the mode spot in the multimode optical fiber;

[0119] Combination Figure 6 The structure of the mode spot conversion device shown in FIG. 8 is a structure of a mode spot conversion device. In one implementation of the present application, the optical converter 202 includes at least one lens and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber, wherein at least one lens can be a lens or a combination of multiple lenses (two or more). In this case, the structure of the mode spot conversion device is as shown in FIG. 8(c) or FIG. 8(d).

[0120] In this implementation, at least one lens and the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber may also have two functional combinations; the first functional combination is: at least one lens is used to perform optical collimation on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal; the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber performs a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal, that is, changes the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal to match the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber; the second functional combination is: at least one lens is used to perform a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber; the few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber performs a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to change the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal to match the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0121] The multimode optical fiber receives the converted optical signal through a multimode optical fiber connector and transmits the converted optical signal. The optical converter 202 and the multimode optical fiber are connected using an optical fiber connector 203. The multimode optical fiber can be composed of multiple sections of multimode optical fiber with different lengths and multimode optical fiber connectors. The multimode optical receiver can be a single-mode optical module or a multimode optical module, which is used to receive the converted optical signal.

[0122] In summary, the role of the lens is to expand the size of the fundamental mode spot of the single-mode optical signal to match the size of the mode field in the few-mode fiber or the expanded beam fiber. The role of the few-mode fiber or the expanded beam fiber is to further expand the size of the fundamental mode spot of the optical signal to match the size of the mode field of the multi-mode fiber, thereby effectively increasing the transmission distance of the single-mode light in the multi-mode fiber and effectively improving the transmission capacity of the single-mode optical signal in the multi-mode fiber.

[0123] Fig. 9 A schematic flow chart of a pattern spot conversion method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0124] Exemplarily, the method 200 of the embodiment of the present application may be performed by Figure 2 The device shown is implemented.

[0125] Exemplarily, the method 200 of the embodiment of the present application may be performed by Figure 6 The device shown is implemented.

[0126] like Fig. 9 As shown, method 200 includes the following steps:

[0127] 210, obtaining a single-mode optical signal from a single-mode optical transmitter.

[0128] Exemplarily, the single-mode optical transmitter may be a pluggable optical module or an optical module with a pigtail.

[0129] 220. The optical converter performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal and obtains a converted optical signal. The mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber.

[0130] Exemplarily, the optical converter may be a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber, which performs mode-spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal.

[0131] Exemplarily, the optical converter may be at least one lens, which performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, wherein the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multi-mode optical fiber.

[0132] Exemplarily, the optical converter can be at least one lens and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber. The at least one lens receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and performs optical collimation on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal. The few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber receives the collimated optical signal and performs a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal. The third mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal.

[0133] Exemplarily, the optical converter may be at least one lens and a few-mode fiber or a beam-expanding fiber. The at least one lens receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and performs a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal. The first mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode fiber or the beam-expanding fiber. The few-mode fiber or the beam-expanding fiber receives the intermediate optical signal from the at least one lens and performs a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal. The second mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal. 230. The optical fiber connector transmits the converted optical signal, and the converted optical signal is transmitted through the optical fiber connector.

[0134] Exemplarily, the converted optical signal can be transmitted through an optical fiber connector, transmitted by a multi-mode optical fiber, and finally received by a multi-mode optical receiver.

[0135] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0136] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0137] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0138] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0139] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0140] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0141] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A pattern spot conversion device, characterized in that: include: A single-mode optical transmitter, used for transmitting a single-mode optical signal; an optical converter connected to the single-mode optical transmitter, configured to receive the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and perform mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, wherein the mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber; and, The optical fiber connector connected to the optical converter is used to transmit the received converted optical signal to the multi-mode optical fiber, so that the multi-mode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The optical fiber connector is a multimode optical fiber connector, and the optical converter comprises: At least one lens is used to perform the mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The single-mode optical transmitter and the at least one lens are both components of an optical module, and the single-mode optical transmitter is a light emitting diode or a laser.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or an expanded beam optical fiber connector, and the optical converter comprises: at least one lens, configured to perform a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, wherein the first mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam expansion optical fiber; The few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber connected to the at least one lens is used to receive the intermediate optical signal from the at least one lens, and perform a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, wherein the second mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or an expanded beam optical fiber connector, and the optical converter comprises: at least one lens, used to perform optical collimation on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal; The few-mode optical fiber or the expanded beam optical fiber connected to the at least one lens is used to receive the collimated optical signal from the at least one lens, and perform a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, wherein the third mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal.

6. The device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that The single-mode optical transmitter, the at least one lens, and the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber are all components of an optical module, and the single-mode optical transmitter is a light emitting diode or a laser.

7. The device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The length of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber is greater than 10 mm.

8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The optical converter comprises: The few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber is used to receive the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and perform the mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal.

9. The device according to claim 2, 4, 5 or 8, characterized in that The single-mode optical transmitter is an optical module, and the device further includes: The multimode optical fiber connected to the optical fiber connector is used to transmit the converted optical signal; The multimode optical receiver connected to the multimode optical fiber is used to receive the converted optical signal transmitted from the multimode optical fiber.

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that The multimode optical fiber includes at least one section of multimode optical fiber and a multimode optical fiber connector, and the at least one section of multimode optical fiber is connected to each other through the multimode optical fiber connector.

11. A method for converting a pattern spot, characterized in that: include: The single-mode optical transmitter transmits a single-mode optical signal; The optical converter receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, wherein the mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the converted optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the multimode optical fiber; The optical fiber connector transmits the received converted optical signal to the multi-mode optical fiber, so that the multi-mode optical fiber transmits the converted optical signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The optical fiber connector is a multimode optical fiber connector, and the optical converter is at least one lens.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or a beam-expanding optical fiber connector, and the optical converter is composed of at least one lens and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber. The optical converter receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, specifically comprising: The at least one lens receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs a first mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain an intermediate optical signal, wherein the first mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the single-mode optical signal so that the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal matches the size of the mode spot of the few-mode optical fiber or the beam expansion optical fiber; The few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber receives the intermediate optical signal from the at least one lens, and performs a second mode spot conversion on the intermediate optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, wherein the second mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the intermediate optical signal.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The optical fiber connector is a few-mode optical fiber connector or a beam-expanding optical fiber connector, and the optical converter is composed of at least one lens and a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber. The optical converter receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter, and performs mode spot conversion on the single-mode optical signal to obtain a converted optical signal, specifically comprising: The at least one lens receives the single-mode optical signal from the single-mode optical transmitter and optically collimates the single-mode optical signal to obtain a collimated optical signal; The few-mode optical fiber or the beam-expanding optical fiber receives the collimated optical signal and performs a third mode spot conversion on the collimated optical signal to obtain the converted optical signal, wherein the third mode spot conversion refers to changing the size of the mode spot of the collimated optical signal.

15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The optical converter is a few-mode optical fiber or a beam-expanding optical fiber.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Optical fiber connector with spot size conversion function

    CN215641957U