LPO optical module and driver control method thereof

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of LPO optical module application, and discloses an LPO optical module and a driver control method thereof, and the LPO optical module comprises a driver with a plurality of channels and a plurality of control circuits correspondingly connected with the channels of the driver. And the control circuit can control the on-off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the magnitude of the input signal of the corresponding channel. According to the invention, the problems of high power consumption and energy waste of the LPO driver when data transmission is not busy are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of LPO optical module applications, and in particular relates to an LPO optical module and a driver control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In today's digital age, data centers continue to expand in size, and their energy consumption is becoming a growing concern. Reducing data center energy consumption not only reduces operating costs but also helps achieve sustainable development goals. As a key component in data center networks, the power consumption of optical modules has a significant impact on the energy consumption of the entire data center. Therefore, the development of low-power optical modules has become a key development direction for the industry.

[0003] Compared to traditional optical modules, Linear Pluggable Optical (LPO) modules remove the high-power DSP chip, reducing overall module power consumption by 50%. Although LPO modules significantly reduce power consumption, the driver power consumption in LPO modules remains high. In some cases, energy and costs are still wasted, and further power reduction is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an LPO optical module and a driver control method thereof, so as to solve the problem of high power consumption and energy waste of the LPO driver.

[0005] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions: An LPO optical module includes a driver having multiple channels and multiple control circuits connected to the channels of the driver respectively; The control circuit can control the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the input signal of the corresponding channel.

[0006] In some embodiments, the control circuit includes: The RF signal strength indicator has an input terminal connected to the input terminal of the channel and is used to output a corresponding output voltage according to the size of the channel input signal; a comparator, one input end of which is connected to the output end of the radio frequency signal strength indicator, for comparing the output voltage of the radio frequency signal strength indicator with a set threshold voltage and outputting a flag voltage; The output end of the comparator is connected to the control unit, and the control unit controls the on and off of the current source of the channel according to the flag voltage output by the comparator.

[0007] In some embodiments, the driver is a driver having at least two channels, and each channel of the driver is connected to a corresponding control circuit.

[0008] The present invention also relates to an LPO optical module, comprising a plurality of drivers having a plurality of channels and a plurality of control circuits respectively connected to the channels of the drivers; The control circuit can control the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the input signal of the corresponding channel.

[0009] In some embodiments, the control circuit includes: The RF signal strength indicator has an input terminal connected to the input terminal of the channel and is used to output a corresponding output voltage according to the size of the channel input signal; a comparator, one input end of which is connected to the output end of the radio frequency signal strength indicator, for comparing the output voltage of the radio frequency signal strength indicator with a set threshold voltage and outputting a flag voltage; The output end of the comparator is connected to the control unit, and the control unit controls the on and off of the current source of the channel according to the flag voltage output by the comparator.

[0010] In some embodiments, the driver is a driver having at least two channels, and each channel of the driver is connected to a corresponding control circuit.

[0011] The present invention also relates to a method for controlling an LPO optical module driver, which controls a driver of the above-mentioned LPO optical module, wherein the driver includes multiple channels; The control method includes obtaining the size of the channel input signal and controlling the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the corresponding channel input signal.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects: 1. The present invention adopts a control circuit to individually control the on and off of the current source of each channel, so as to realize the control of low power consumption mode for each channel individually, so that the channel with no input signal or very low input signal automatically enters the low power consumption mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the driver and avoiding energy waste.

[0013] 2. By controlling the on and off of the current sources of multiple channels with multiple channel drivers, a high-speed driver can be used as a low-speed driver, realizing the reuse of drivers in different speed applications and reducing procurement costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate certain embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other relevant drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0015] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the LPO optical module control circuit in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments.

[0017] The existing 400G LPO driver uses a 4x100G (four-channel, single-wavelength 100G) driver chip to transmit signals, with each channel operating independently and at rated current. During periods of heavy data transmission, all four driver input channels receive high-intensity signals, and all four channels function normally. However, during periods of low data transmission, the driver receives varying amounts of data per channel, and the input signal strength for one or more channels may be low or even absent. In these cases, these channels no longer require data transmission, but continue to operate at rated current, resulting in high power consumption and wasted energy.

[0018] Example 1 An LPO optical module includes a driver having multiple channels and multiple control circuits connected to the channels of the driver respectively; The control circuit can control the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the input signal of the corresponding channel.

[0019] A control circuit is used to individually control the on and off of the current source of each channel, so that each channel can be controlled in low-power mode individually, so that channels with no input signal or very low input signal automatically enter low-power mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the driver and avoiding energy waste.

[0020] In some embodiments, reference Figure 1 , the control circuit includes: The RF signal strength indicator has an input terminal connected to the input terminal of the channel and is used to output a corresponding output voltage according to the size of the channel input signal; The RF signal strength indicator (RSSI) detects the RF signal strength of the input signal and generates a corresponding output voltage, V_RFSSI, based on the RF signal strength. For high-speed driver applications of 400G and above, the RF signal strength indicator has a very wide detection bandwidth, meeting the input signal frequency range from tens of kHz to tens of GHz required by high-speed driver applications, ultimately achieving accurate detection of the input signal's RF signal strength.

[0021] a comparator, one input end of which is connected to the output end of the radio frequency signal strength indicator, for comparing the output voltage of the radio frequency signal strength indicator with a set threshold voltage and outputting a flag voltage; The output end of the comparator is connected to the control unit, and the control unit controls the on and off of the current source of the channel according to the flag voltage output by the comparator.

[0022] The comparator compares the set threshold voltage V0 with the output voltage V_RFSSI of the radio frequency signal strength indicator; When V0>V_RFSSI, it is determined that the RF signal strength of the input signal does not meet the requirements for normal operation of the channel. The comparator outputs a flag voltage V1. After the control unit receives the flag voltage V1, it controls the current source of the channel to be disconnected, so that the current source cannot provide working current to the channel, and the channel enters low power mode, thereby reducing the working current of the driver and making the driver enter low power mode.

[0023] When V_RFSSI>V0, it is determined that the RF signal strength of the input signal meets the requirement for normal operation of the channel. The comparator outputs a flag voltage V2. After the control unit receives the flag voltage V2, it controls the current source of the channel to be turned on, so that the current source provides working current to the channel, and the channel enters the normal working mode from the low power mode, thereby increasing the working current of the driver and making the driver enter the normal working mode.

[0024] A control circuit is used to individually control the on and off of the current source of each channel, so that each channel can be controlled in low-power mode individually, so that channels with no input signal or very low input signal automatically enter low-power mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the driver and avoiding energy waste.

[0025] In some embodiments, the driver is a driver having at least two channels, and each channel of the driver is connected to a corresponding control circuit.

[0026] Example 2 Existing LPO drives are usually classified into 400G, 800G, 1.2T and 1.6T according to different application speeds. In actual applications, it is often necessary to purchase multiple drives with different speeds to meet transmission requirements, resulting in high procurement costs.

[0027] An LPO optical module includes a plurality of drivers having multiple channels and a plurality of control circuits connected to the respective channels of the drivers; The control circuit can control the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the input signal of the corresponding channel.

[0028] For applications with 800G and higher speed drivers, optical modules require multiple 4x100G drivers to meet transmission requirements. However, for applications with 400G speed drivers, optical modules only require a single 4x100G driver. When switching from an 800G and higher speed driver application to a 400G speed driver application, by putting one of the 400G drivers in the 800G speed driver into low-power mode, the 800G speed driver can be used as a 400G speed driver. This allows an optical module containing multiple 4x100G speed drivers to be used as a single 4x100G speed driver. The power consumption of multiple 4x100G speed drivers is the same as that of a single 4x100G speed driver, reducing user procurement and usage costs.

[0029] By controlling the on / off between multiple channels with multiple channel drivers and the current source, a high-speed driver can be used as a low-speed driver, thereby realizing the reuse of drivers in different speed applications and reducing procurement costs.

[0030] In some embodiments, the control circuit includes: The RF signal strength indicator has an input terminal connected to the input terminal of the channel and is used to output a corresponding output voltage according to the size of the channel input signal; a comparator, one input end of which is connected to the output end of the radio frequency signal strength indicator, for comparing the output voltage of the radio frequency signal strength indicator with a set threshold voltage and outputting a flag voltage; The output end of the comparator is connected to the control unit, and the control unit controls the on and off of the current source of the channel according to the flag voltage output by the comparator.

[0031] In some embodiments, the driver is a driver having at least two channels, and each channel of the driver is connected to a corresponding control circuit.

[0032] The present invention also relates to a method for controlling an LPO optical module driver, wherein the driver includes a plurality of channels; The control method includes obtaining the size of the channel input signal and controlling the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the corresponding channel input signal.

[0033] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any form. Any simple modification or equivalent change made to the above embodiment based on the technical essence of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An LPO optical module, characterized in that: It includes a driver having multiple channels and multiple control circuits respectively connected to the channels of the driver; The control circuit can control the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the input signal of the corresponding channel.

2. The LPO optical module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control circuit comprises: A radio frequency signal strength indicator, whose input end is connected to the input end of the channel, is used to output a corresponding output voltage according to the size of the channel input signal; A comparator, one input end of which is connected to the output end of the radio frequency signal strength indicator, for comparing the output voltage of the radio frequency signal strength indicator with a set threshold voltage and outputting a flag voltage; The output end of the comparator is connected to a control unit, and the control unit controls the on and off of the current source of the channel according to the flag voltage output by the comparator.

3. The LPO optical module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driver is a driver with at least two channels, and each channel of the driver is connected to a corresponding control circuit.

4. An LPO optical module, characterized in that: It includes a plurality of drivers with a plurality of channels and a plurality of control circuits respectively connected to the channels of the drivers; The control circuit can control the on and off of the current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the input signal of the corresponding channel.

5. The LPO optical module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The control circuit comprises: A radio frequency signal strength indicator, whose input end is connected to the input end of the channel, is used to output a corresponding output voltage according to the size of the channel input signal; A comparator, one input end of which is connected to the output end of the radio frequency signal strength indicator, for comparing the output voltage of the radio frequency signal strength indicator with a set threshold voltage and outputting a flag voltage; The output end of the comparator is connected to a control unit, and the control unit controls the on and off of the current source of the channel according to the flag voltage output by the comparator.

6. The LPO optical module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The driver is a driver with at least two channels, and each channel of the driver is connected to a corresponding control circuit.

7. A method for controlling a LPO optical module driver, characterized in that: A driver of an LPO optical module according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is controlled, wherein the driver includes multiple channels; the control method includes obtaining the size of a channel input signal, and controlling the on and off of a current source of the corresponding channel according to the size of the corresponding channel input signal.

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