Resonance regulation and control device, optical switch and wavelength selection switch

Abstract

The invention discloses a resonance regulation and control device, an optical switch and a wavelength selective switch, and relates to the technical field of optics, the resonance regulation and control device comprises a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a liquid crystal material; a liquid crystal material is arranged between two electrodes, and an alignment layer and a metasurface layer composed of a plurality of metamaterial units are arranged between the liquid crystal material and the two electrodes respectively. When the electric field between the two electrodes is changed, the refractive index of the liquid crystal material can quickly change along with the electric field, and meanwhile, each metamaterial unit can quickly change the phase of an input light field of an external optical fiber for ingestion of the liquid crystal material based on the refractive index of the surrounding liquid crystal material. Since the input light field phase can be quickly changed by controlling the electric field between the two electrodes, the light field regulation speed is improved, and the efficiency and speed of optical communication can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical technology, and in particular to a resonance control device, an optical switch, and a wavelength selective switch. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, optical communication networks usually use wavelength division multiplexing technology to configure light of any wavelength at any port, so as to achieve information transmission and information exchange with ultra-large transmission capacity. As an important component of optical communication networks, wavelength control switches usually use silicon-based liquid crystal as switching units, but the response time of the liquid crystal itself requires 300ms to function. The response time of wavelength selection switches composed only of silicon-based liquid crystal is often in the order of seconds, which is too slow to improve the speed of light field regulation. Summary of the invention

[0003] The main purpose of the present application is to provide a resonance control device, an optical switch and a wavelength selective switch, aiming to solve the technical problem of how to improve the light field control speed in an optical communication system.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the present application provides a resonance control device, which includes: a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a liquid crystal material;

[0005] A liquid crystal material is disposed between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure;

[0006] An alignment layer is provided between the liquid crystal material and one of the electrode structures, a metasurface layer consisting of a plurality of metamaterial units is provided between the liquid crystal material and the other electrode structure, and the liquid crystal material immerses each of the metamaterial units;

[0007] Each of the metamaterial units is used to change the input light field phase of the light passing through the liquid crystal material when the electric field generated by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal material;

[0008] The first electrode structure is light-transmissive, and the second electrode structure is light-impermeable.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first electrode structure includes: an anti-reflection layer and a conductive glass layer;

[0010] The conductive glass layer is disposed between the anti-reflection layer and the liquid crystal material;

[0011] The anti-reflection layer is used to receive light in a preset wavelength range and transmit the light to the liquid crystal material through the conductive glass layer;

[0012] The conductive glass layer is used to generate a corresponding electric field with the second electrode structure based on a voltage received from the outside.

[0013] In one embodiment, the second electrode structure includes: a reflective layer and an electrode layer;

[0014] The reflective layer is disposed between the electrode layer and the liquid crystal material;

[0015] The reflective layer is used to reflect the received light back to the liquid crystal material;

[0016] The electrode layer is used to generate a corresponding electric field with the first electrode structure based on a voltage received from the outside.

[0017] In one embodiment, the reflective layer includes any one of a multilayer dielectric reflective film and an aluminum film.

[0018] In one embodiment, the resonance control device further includes: a voltage control circuit;

[0019] The voltage control circuit is electrically connected to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively;

[0020] The voltage control circuit is used to provide corresponding voltages to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively, so as to form a corresponding electric field between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure.

[0021] In one embodiment, the metamaterial units form the metasurface layer in an array manner, and the shape of the metamaterial units is any one of a rectangular block and a disk column.

[0022] In one embodiment, the alignment layer is used to provide a pre-tilt angle for the liquid crystal material.

[0023] In one embodiment, the physical state of the liquid crystal material is any one of molecule, plasma and gas.

[0024] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also provides an optical switch, which includes: a first optical fiber collimator, a Fourier lens, a second optical fiber collimator, and the resonance control device as described above;

[0025] The input end of the first optical fiber collimator is connected to the first optical fiber, and the output end of the second optical fiber collimator is connected to the second optical fiber;

[0026] The first optical fiber collimator is used to convert the first optical signal transmitted by the first optical fiber into a first light beam, and transmit the first light beam to the Fourier lens;

[0027] The Fourier lens is used to converge the first light beam onto the surface of the first electrode structure of the resonance control device;

[0028] The resonance control device is used to change the input light field phase of the received first light beam based on the electric field formed by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, so that the first light beam is transmitted to the second optical fiber collimator;

[0029] The second optical fiber collimator is used to convert the received first optical beam into a second optical signal, and transmit the second optical signal to a second optical fiber.

[0030] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also provides a wavelength selective switch, which comprises: a third optical fiber collimator, a cylindrical reflector, a port switching lens, a grating, and the resonance control device as described above;

[0031] The input end of the third fiber collimator is connected to the third optical fiber; the resonance control device and the output end of the third fiber collimator are respectively located on the front and rear focal planes of the port switching lens;

[0032] The third optical fiber collimator is used to convert the third optical signal transmitted by the third optical fiber into a second optical beam, and transmit the second optical beam to the cylindrical reflector;

[0033] The cylindrical reflector is used to horizontally deflect the second light beam so as to transmit the second light beam to the grating through the port switching lens;

[0034] The grating is used to separate the second light beam into a plurality of sub-beams of different wavelengths in parallel, and transmit each of the sub-beams to the cylindrical reflector through the port switching lens;

[0035] The cylindrical reflector is further used to horizontally deflect each of the sub-beams so as to transmit each of the sub-beams to the resonance control device;

[0036] The resonance control device is used to change the input light field phase of each received sub-beam based on the electric field formed by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, so that each sub-beam is transmitted according to the target deflection angle.

[0037] The embodiment of the present application provides a resonance control device, an optical switch and a wavelength selection switch, wherein the resonance control device comprises: a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a liquid crystal material; a liquid crystal material is arranged between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure; an alignment layer is arranged between the liquid crystal material and one of the electrode structures, and a metasurface layer composed of a plurality of metamaterial units is arranged between the liquid crystal material and the other electrode structure, wherein the liquid crystal material immerses each metamaterial unit; each metamaterial unit is used to change the input light field phase of the light passing through the liquid crystal material when the electric field generated by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal material; wherein the first electrode structure is light-transmissive and the second electrode structure is light-impermeable. By arranging the liquid crystal material between the two electrodes, and arranging the alignment layer and the metasurface layer composed of a plurality of metamaterial units between the liquid crystal material and the two electrodes respectively. When the electric field between the two electrodes is changed, the refractive index of the liquid crystal material can quickly follow the rapid change of the electric field, and at the same time, each metamaterial unit can quickly change the input light field phase of the optical fiber that externally absorbs the liquid crystal material based on the refractive index of the surrounding liquid crystal material. Since the phase of the input light field can be quickly changed by controlling the electric field between the two electrodes, the speed of light field regulation is improved, thereby improving the efficiency and speed of optical communication. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0039] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0040] Figure 1 A structural diagram of the first embodiment of the resonance control device of the present application;

[0041] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the optical switch embodiment 1 of the present application;

[0042] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the wavelength control switch embodiment 1 of the present application;

[0043] Figure 4 It is a working schematic diagram of the beam deflection switch of the resonance control device;

[0044] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of phase and pixel control of the resonance control device.

[0045] The purpose, features and advantages of this application will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the technical solutions of the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0047] In order to better understand the technical solution of the present application, a detailed description will be given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0048] The present application proposes a resonance control device 100 of the first embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 , the resonance control device 100 includes: a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a liquid crystal material 104;

[0049] A liquid crystal material 104 is disposed between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure;

[0050] An alignment layer 105 is disposed between the liquid crystal material 104 and one of the electrode structures, a metasurface layer composed of a plurality of metamaterial units 103 is disposed between the liquid crystal material 104 and the other electrode structure, and the liquid crystal material 104 immerses each of the metamaterial units 103;

[0051] Each of the metamaterial units 103 is used to change the input light field phase of the light passing through the liquid crystal material 104 when the electric field generated by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal material 104;

[0052] The first electrode structure is light-transmissive, and the second electrode structure is light-impermeable.

[0053] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the liquid crystal material 104 can be a liquid crystal molecule, plasma or any other material with adjustable refractive index, and preferably a gas such as plasma with a faster response speed for adjusting the refractive index is used as the liquid crystal material 104. It has anisotropy, and the dielectric constant has uniaxial symmetry. Due to its strong dipole moment, the molecular orientation inside the liquid crystal material 104 follows the direction of the electric field vector, and it can rotate at a low driving voltage. Therefore, if the applied voltage changes, the refractive index corresponding to the linearly polarized light polarized along the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules will change.

[0054] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the metamaterial unit 103 refers to a switch unit of a high-refractive-index artificial metamaterial made of amorphous silicon, whose refractive index can reach 3.48 and has low-loss optical transmission characteristics at a central wavelength of 1550nm. When the effective refractive index of the liquid crystal around the metamaterial unit 103 changes slightly in response to a small voltage, the tuning of the metasurface resonance can be quickly generated, which is much faster than the traditional liquid crystal that requires a larger voltage and a larger flip angle to affect the light beam.

[0055] It is easy to understand that the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure are not explicitly Figure 1 It is marked in the figure, but it can be understood that the upper and lower plate-like structures are the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure described in this article. In this embodiment, an electric field can be formed between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, and the strength of the electric field depends on the voltage received by the first electrode interface and the second electrode structure. Among them, one of the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure can be transparent, while the other electrode structure is not transparent. As an example, Figure 1 The electrode structure in the middle and upper part is light-transmissive, while the electrode structure in the lower part is light-impermeable. The light-transmissive electrode structure can receive light transmitted from the outside, and can also transmit light transmitted inside the resonance control device 100 to the outside.

[0056] It should be noted that the alignment layer 105 can transmit light or light beams, and is mainly used to provide an initial pre-tilt angle for the liquid crystal material 104. In this embodiment, when the liquid crystal material 104 immerses each metamaterial unit 103 in the metasurface layer between the liquid crystal material 104 and any electrode structure, each metamaterial unit 103 and the liquid crystal material 104 distributed around it can cooperate with each other. If the electric field generated by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure undergoes a slight change due to each receiving a certain voltage, the pre-tilt angle of the liquid crystal around each metamaterial unit 103 on the metasurface layer in contact with one of the electrode structures changes rapidly, and the corresponding refractive index also changes rapidly. The tuning assisted by the metasurface layer formed by each metamaterial unit 103 will be generated rapidly, so the input light field phase of the light beam passing through the liquid crystal material 104 can be quickly changed, which is much faster than the traditional liquid crystal that requires a larger voltage and flips at a larger angle to affect the light beam. Among them, the ultra-dense structure and ultra-thin liquid crystal box thickness have, to a certain extent, alleviated the impact of discrete light spot pixel control caused by the excessive spacing between traditional pixel units, such as static or dynamic crosstalk and isolation of optical switches.

[0057] It is worth noting that each metamaterial unit 103 can be composed of a periodically distributed nanoarray to form a corresponding metasurface layer. The shape of the metamaterial unit 103 can be a rectangular block or a cylinder. In the present embodiment, the metamaterial unit 103 is preferably a rectangular block, with a height h of about 200nm, a length l of about 550nm, and a width w of about 550nm, which is arranged in the form of a square lattice array on the surface where one of the electrode structures contacts the liquid crystal material 104, with a periodic interval of about 900nm. The manufacturing process is as follows: first, a thin amorphous silicon film with a thickness of hundreds of nanometers is sputtered on the borosilicate glass of the coating on the first electrode structure to form a silicon metasurface, that is, a metasurface layer to be formed; then, a photoresist is spin-coated thereon, and a standard electron beam lithography process is performed. Finally, the designed structure is transferred to silicon by stripping and etching, thereby obtaining a fully formed metasurface layer.

[0058] Further, in this embodiment, the first electrode structure includes: an anti-reflection layer 101 and a conductive glass layer 102;

[0059] The conductive glass layer 102 is disposed between the anti-reflection layer 101 and the liquid crystal material 104;

[0060] The anti-reflection layer 101 is used to receive light in a preset wavelength range and transmit the light to the liquid crystal material 104 through the conductive glass layer 102;

[0061] The conductive glass layer 102 is used to generate a corresponding electric field with the second electrode structure based on a voltage received from the outside.

[0062] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the anti-reflection layer 101 may be a cover glass with a wide-spectrum AR film of corresponding wavelength coated on the surface, which plays a role in protecting and encapsulating liquid crystals, and can also greatly reduce reflected light and improve system efficiency.

[0063] It is easy to understand that a transparent conductive glass layer 102 can be provided between the anti-reflection layer 101 and the liquid crystal material 104 . While transmitting light, it can also load a constant voltage to form an electrode plate, generate a corresponding electric field with the second electrode structure, and provide it to the liquid crystal material 104 .

[0064] Further, in this embodiment, the second electrode structure includes: a reflective layer 106 and an electrode layer 107;

[0065] The reflective layer 106 is disposed between the electrode layer 107 and the liquid crystal material 104;

[0066] The reflective layer 106 is used to reflect the received light back to the liquid crystal material 104;

[0067] The electrode layer 107 is used to generate a corresponding electric field with the first electrode structure based on a voltage received from the outside.

[0068] It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the reflective layer 106 can be any one of a multilayer dielectric reflective film or an aluminum film, which can realize the reflection of the light beam. Therefore, when the resonance control device 100 receives a light beam from the outside world, the transmission direction of the light beam can be "outside world-cover glass-transparent conductive glass layer 102-liquid crystal material 104-reflective layer 106-liquid crystal material 104-transparent conductive glass layer 102-cover glass-outside world" in sequence. Among them, a light-transmitting alignment layer 105 or a super surface layer can be provided between the conductive glass layer 102 and the liquid crystal material 104, and a light-transmitting alignment layer 105 or another super surface layer is provided between the liquid crystal material 104 and the reflective layer 106. (The figure only shows a case where the super surface layer is provided between the first electrode structure and the liquid crystal material 104)

[0069] In addition, an electrode layer 107 is provided on one side of the reflective layer 106 away from the liquid crystal material 104 . The electrode layer 107 may be composed of a plurality of pixel electrodes to form another electrode plate. When powered on, the electrode layer 107 may provide a corresponding electric field for the liquid crystal material 104 together with the conductive glass described above.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the resonance control device 100 further includes: a voltage control circuit 108;

[0071] The voltage control circuit 108 is electrically connected to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively;

[0072] The voltage control circuit 108 is used to provide corresponding voltages to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively, so as to form a corresponding electric field between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure.

[0073] It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, an integrated voltage control circuit 108 may be provided at the outermost side of the second electrode structure away from the liquid crystal material 104, which may be controlled by a silicon-based CMOS chip as a control core, and is used to control the voltage received by the electrode layer 107, thereby changing the electric field between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, and further changing the refractive index of the liquid crystal material 104 around each metamaterial unit 103, thereby achieving tuning of the resonance of the metasurface layer.

[0074] The embodiment of the present application provides a resonance control device, which includes: a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a liquid crystal material; a liquid crystal material is arranged between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure; an alignment layer is arranged between the liquid crystal material and one of the electrode structures, and a metasurface layer composed of a plurality of metamaterial units is arranged between the liquid crystal material and the other electrode structure, and the liquid crystal material immerses each of the metamaterial units; each of the metamaterial units is used to change the input light field phase of the light passing through the liquid crystal material when the electric field generated by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal material; wherein the first electrode structure is light-transmissive and the second electrode structure is light-impermeable. By arranging the liquid crystal material between the two electrodes, and arranging the alignment layer and the metasurface layer composed of a plurality of metamaterial units between the liquid crystal material and the two electrodes respectively. When the electric field between the two electrodes is changed, the refractive index of the liquid crystal material can quickly follow the rapid change of the electric field, and at the same time, each metamaterial unit can quickly change the input light field phase of the optical fiber that externally absorbs the liquid crystal material based on the refractive index of the surrounding liquid crystal material. Since the phase of the input light field can be quickly changed by controlling the electric field between the two electrodes, the speed of light field regulation is improved, thereby improving the efficiency and speed of optical communication.

[0075] In addition, to achieve the above purpose, the present application also proposes an optical switch, such as Figure 2 As shown, the optical switch comprises: a first optical fiber collimator 201, a Fourier lens 202, a second optical fiber collimator 203 and the resonance control device 100 as described above;

[0076] The input end of the first optical fiber collimator 201 is connected to the first optical fiber, and the output end of the second optical fiber collimator 203 is connected to the second optical fiber;

[0077] The first optical fiber collimator 201 is used to convert the first optical signal transmitted by the first optical fiber into a first light beam, and transmit the first light beam to the Fourier lens 202;

[0078] The Fourier lens 202 is used to converge the first light beam onto the surface of the first electrode structure of the resonance control device 100;

[0079] The resonance control device 100 is used to change the input light field phase of the received first light beam based on the electric field formed by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, so that the first light beam is transmitted to the second optical fiber collimator 203;

[0080] The second optical fiber collimator 203 is used to convert the received first optical beam into a second optical signal, and transmit the second optical signal to a second optical fiber.

[0081] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the first optical fiber collimator 201 may also be a collimator array, which may be composed of a microlens or a microlens array, and may collimate the optical signal in the optical fiber into a parallel spatial light beam.

[0082] It is easy to understand that the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are not shown in the figure. In this embodiment, when the first optical signal transmitted by the first optical fiber is converted into a first light beam through the first optical fiber collimator 201, the first light beam can be transmitted to the Fourier lens 202 (port switching lens), and can be converged by the Fourier lens 202 to different positions on the surface of the transparent first electrode structure of the resonance control device 100 described above. The resonance control device 100 modulates the first light beam input at different positions (assuming that its polarization state has been processed). When the voltage loaded on the two electrode structures inside it changes, the refractive index of the liquid crystal material 104 in the corresponding area will also change rapidly, thereby causing a change in the resonance effect, further changing the optical path of the input first light beam to produce a large phase change. In this process, it is necessary to ensure that the designed metamaterial units 103 basically have no effect on the amplitude of the first light beam. Similar to the traditional pure phase modulation spatial light modulator, by applying the phase distribution arrangement of the periodic grating, the required angle deflection of the input light beam can be achieved without changing the amplitude. The light beam with the changed angle passes through the Fourier lens 202 (port switching lens) again, and is output to the second fiber collimator 203 (which may also be another collimator array), and the second fiber collimator 203 converts the received first light beam into a second optical signal, thereby realizing the switching of the optical signal channel. In addition, the optical switch adopts all the embodiments of the resonance control device 100 described above, so it should also have the beneficial effects brought by the embodiments of the resonance control device 100 described above, which will not be repeated here one by one.

[0083] In addition, to achieve the above purpose, the present application also proposes a wavelength selective switch, such as Figure 3 As shown, the wavelength selective switch comprises: a third optical fiber collimator 301, a cylindrical reflector 302, a port switching lens 303, a grating 304 and the resonance control device 100 as described above;

[0084] The input end of the third fiber collimator 301 is connected to the third optical fiber; the output ends of the resonance control device 100 and the third fiber collimator 301 are respectively located on the front and rear focal planes of the port switching lens 303;

[0085] The third optical fiber collimator 301 is used to convert the third optical signal transmitted by the third optical fiber into a second optical beam, and transmit the second optical beam to the cylindrical reflector 302;

[0086] The cylindrical reflector 302 is used to horizontally deflect the second light beam so as to transmit the second light beam to the grating 304 through the port switching lens 303;

[0087] The grating 304 is used to separate the second light beam into a plurality of sub-beams with different wavelengths in parallel, and transmit each of the sub-beams to the cylindrical reflector 302 through the port switching lens 303;

[0088] The cylindrical reflector 302 is further used to horizontally deflect each of the sub-beams so as to transmit each of the sub-beams to the resonance control device 100;

[0089] The resonance control device 100 is used to change the input light field phase of each received sub-beam based on the electric field formed by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, so that each sub-beam is transmitted according to the target deflection angle.

[0090] It should be noted that the third optical fiber is not shown in the figure. In this embodiment, in the optical path design for realizing the wavelength selection switch, it is mainly divided into an optical input and output part, an optical dispersion part, and an optical signal control engine. The main function of the third optical signal in the optical input / output part is to convert the third optical signal in the optical fiber into a second light beam in space (or vice versa). The third optical fiber collimator 301 can also be a collimator of a microlens array, which collimates the divergent light beam coming out of the third optical fiber (or couples the return light beam into the optical fiber). The cylindrical reflector 302 is a cylindrical reflector, which realizes the function of horizontally deflecting the input light beam and converging the light beam after passing through the port switching lens 303 and the grating 304. In Figure 3 In the design example, the port switching lens 303 makes the resonance control device 100 and the third optical fiber collimator 301 respectively located on the front and rear focal planes of the port switching lens 303. The light dispersion part is a wavelength division function. Figure 3 The grating 304 in the design example can be a reflective prism, which can be a solution of combining a reflective grating with a prism, or a transmission grating, and its function is to separate the input second light beam according to different wavelength levels. The optical signal control engine refers to the part that realizes the beam deflection through phase control, Figure 3The resonance control device 100 in the design example has a similar function to the optical switch described above. When the voltage applied to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure of the resonance control device 100 changes, the refractive index of the corresponding liquid crystal material 104 around it will change, thereby causing a change in the resonance effect, further changing the optical path of the input second light beam to produce a large phase change. In this process, it is necessary to ensure that the designed metasurface layer has basically no effect on the amplitude of the light beam. Similar to the traditional pure phase modulation spatial light modulator, by applying the phase distribution arrangement of the periodic grating, the desired angle deflection return of the input second light beam can be achieved without changing the amplitude.

[0091] It is worth noting that the resonance control device 100 (such as metamaterial silicon-based liquid crystal) realizes light beam deflection by changing the phase, and it regards multiple metamaterial units 103 as a large pixel unit that changes uniformly. In this way, on the resonance control device 100, the light spot converges on its surface. Figure 4 As shown, at the input and output fiber ports 401, the distance between the target port and the input port is d, and the preset port switching lens 402 in this figure has a focal length of f. In order to couple the input light beam to the fiber output port, the wavefront of the light beam needs to have a wavefront tilted relative to the incident wavefront after reflection from the resonance control device 100. The tilt amount is determined by the phase slope on the metamaterial resonance control device 100, in units of radians per micrometer. By controlling the slope of the voltage change, each pixel is given a phase shift P of the light beam, and the phase shift P is calculated by the following method:

[0092]

[0093] Where A is the width of a single pixel, B is the number of effective pixels covered by the spot after it converges on the surface of the resonance control device 100, λ is the central wavelength of the channel, d is the distance between the output target port and the input port, and f is the focal length of the port switching lens 402. A search method can be used to determine the relationship between the phase shift given to the light beam by each pixel and the voltage applied to the pixel. This will produce a function curve of voltage (or phase change) relative to the number of pixels, such as Figure 5 As shown in 51 and 52, this illustration uses 256 pixels. Figure 4 In order to limit the voltage applied to the pixel, each time the phase shift of a specific pixel reaches 2π, the voltage of the next pixel is reset, and it is only necessary to ensure that the slope of the phase shift is the same. In the figure, 51 is equivalent to 501, and 52 is equivalent to 502. In addition, the wavelength selective switch adopts all the embodiments of the resonance control device 100 described above, so it should also have the beneficial effects brought by the embodiments of the resonance control device 100 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0094] This type of resonant control device 100 realizes all switching function designs of pure phase control light beam deflection (including wavelength selection switch). No matter how the optical path structure, lens combination, grating type and other related parameters are changed, it is inseparable from the basic pure phase control light beam deflection metamaterial resonant control device 100 solution, and therefore should fall within the scope of protection of this patent.

[0095] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent processing scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A resonance control device, characterized in that: The resonance control device comprises: a first electrode structure, a second electrode structure and a liquid crystal material; A liquid crystal material is disposed between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure; An alignment layer is provided between the liquid crystal material and one of the electrode structures, a metasurface layer consisting of a plurality of metamaterial units is provided between the liquid crystal material and the other electrode structure, and the liquid crystal material immerses each of the metamaterial units; Each of the metamaterial units is used to change the input light field phase of the light passing through the liquid crystal material when the electric field generated by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal material; The first electrode structure is light-transmissive, and the second electrode structure is light-impermeable.

2. The resonance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first electrode structure includes: an anti-reflection layer and a conductive glass layer; The conductive glass layer is disposed between the anti-reflection layer and the liquid crystal material; The anti-reflection layer is used to receive light in a preset wavelength range and transmit the light to the liquid crystal material through the conductive glass layer; The conductive glass layer is used to generate a corresponding electric field with the second electrode structure based on a voltage received from the outside.

3. The resonance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second electrode structure includes: a reflective layer and an electrode layer; The reflective layer is disposed between the electrode layer and the liquid crystal material; The reflective layer is used to reflect the received light back to the liquid crystal material; The electrode layer is used to generate a corresponding electric field with the first electrode structure based on a voltage received from the outside.

4. The resonance control device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The reflective layer includes any one of a multilayer dielectric reflective film and an aluminum film.

5. The resonance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The resonance control device further includes: a voltage control circuit; The voltage control circuit is electrically connected to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively; The voltage control circuit is used to provide corresponding voltages to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively, so as to form a corresponding electric field between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure.

6. The resonance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metamaterial units form the metasurface layer in an array manner, and the shape of the metamaterial units is any one of a rectangular block and a disc column.

7. The resonance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The alignment layer is used to provide a pre-tilt angle for the liquid crystal material.

8. The resonance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The physical state of the liquid crystal material is any one of molecule, plasma and gas.

9. An optical switch, characterized in that: The optical switch comprises: a first optical fiber collimator, a Fourier lens, a second optical fiber collimator and a resonance control device as described in any one of claims 1 to 8; The input end of the first optical fiber collimator is connected to the first optical fiber, and the output end of the second optical fiber collimator is connected to the second optical fiber; The first optical fiber collimator is used to convert the first optical signal transmitted by the first optical fiber into a first light beam, and transmit the first light beam to the Fourier lens; The Fourier lens is used to converge the first light beam onto the surface of the first electrode structure of the resonance control device; The resonance control device is used to change the input light field phase of the received first light beam based on the electric field formed by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, so that the first light beam is transmitted to the second optical fiber collimator; The second optical fiber collimator is used to convert the received first optical beam into a second optical signal, and transmit the second optical signal to a second optical fiber.

10. A wavelength selective switch, characterized in that: The wavelength selective switch comprises: a third optical fiber collimator, a cylindrical reflector, a port switching lens, a grating, and a resonance control device as described in any one of claims 1 to 8; The input end of the third fiber collimator is connected to the third optical fiber; the resonance control device and the output end of the third fiber collimator are respectively located on the front and rear focal planes of the port switching lens; The third optical fiber collimator is used to convert the third optical signal transmitted by the third optical fiber into a second optical beam, and transmit the second optical beam to the cylindrical reflector; The cylindrical reflector is used to horizontally deflect the second light beam so as to transmit the second light beam to the grating through the port switching lens; The grating is used to separate the second light beam into a plurality of sub-beams of different wavelengths in parallel, and transmit each of the sub-beams to the cylindrical reflector through the port switching lens; The cylindrical reflector is further used to horizontally deflect each of the sub-beams so as to transmit each of the sub-beams to the resonance control device; The resonance control device is used to change the input light field phase of each received sub-beam based on the electric field formed by the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure, so that each sub-beam is transmitted according to the target deflection angle.

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