Optical signal processing device, chip, laser radar and terminal

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides an optical signal processing device, a chip, a laser radar and a terminal, which can be applied to the fields of detection, intelligent surveying and mapping, intelligent driving and the like. Wherein the optical signal processing device comprises a plurality of beam splitting units and a multi-stage amplification unit, and signal light of a laser can be split into signal light of a plurality of channels by splitting the signal light of the laser through the plurality of beam splitting units. And the signal light is subjected to multi-stage amplification through the multi-stage amplification unit, so that the power of the output signal light can be ensured under the condition that the channel number of the output signal light is increased, and the detection performance is improved.

Description

Optical signal processing device, chip, laser radar and terminal Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to optical devices, and in particular to an optical signal processing device, a chip, a laser radar and a terminal. Background Art

[0002] Light detection and ranging technology involves emitting a detection signal and detecting the target's return signal to obtain target-related information (such as its position, shape, or velocity). Coherent lidar (LIDAR) uses frequency-modulated (FMM) signal light for target detection and processes the transmitted and returned signals to obtain target-related information. The transmitted signal of a coherent LIDAR is often modulated in a certain pattern, causing the frequency of the transmitted signal to vary over time. This variation can take the form of a sawtooth, triangular, or sinusoidal waveform. If the frequency variation is linear and continuous, it is called frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW). FMCW LIDAR incorporates laser linear frequency sweep ranging technology. Its distance detection principle is to measure the round-trip time of light transmission to the target, thereby determining the target's distance. To measure this round-trip time, a time-dependent signature is required on the transmitted laser light. FMCW LIDAR utilizes a linear frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) technique to modulate the laser light so that its frequency varies linearly over time, thereby imprinting time-varying frequency information on the transmitted signal.

[0003] To meet the requirements of long-range detection, high frame rates, and high detection rates, and considering factors such as size, cost, and power consumption, a key development direction for coherent lidar is multi-channel transceiver and highly integrated devices. Multi-channel lidars require the emission of detection signal light from multiple channels to ensure a high detection rate.

[0004] There are two ways to emit multiple channels of detection signal light. One is to split a single light source to generate multiple channels of detection signal light, but this limits the luminous power of each channel and leads to poor detection performance. The other approach is to increase the number of light sources to reduce the number of channels each receives. However, the need for multiple light sources significantly increases the cost of coherent lidar.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide an optical signal processing device, a chip, a laser radar, and a terminal, which can increase the number of channels and the luminous power of signal light and improve detection performance.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an optical signal processing device, comprising at least one input port, a first beam splitting unit, a second beam splitting unit, and an M-stage amplification unit, where M is an integer and M≥2.

[0008] Wherein, the at least one input port is used to receive signal light from at least one laser;

[0009] The first beam splitting unit is configured to split the signal light from the at least one laser into a plurality of sub-signal lights;

[0010] The first stage amplifying unit in the M stage amplifying unit is configured to amplify one of the plurality of sub-signal lights to generate a first signal light;

[0011] The second beam splitting unit is configured to split the first signal light into a plurality of second signal lights;

[0012] The second-stage amplifying unit in the M-stage amplifying unit is configured to amplify at least one second signal light among the plurality of second signal lights to generate a third signal light.

[0013] In this application, the laser signal light is split by a beam splitting unit to obtain multiple channels of signal light. These signal lights can pass through a multi-stage amplification unit, which can perform multi-stage amplification on the signal light, thereby ensuring the power of the output signal light and improving detection performance.

[0014] Furthermore, the amplifier unit operates by using current to generate higher-power signal light. By implementing multiple stages of amplifier units, the placement of the amplifier units and the magnitude of the driving current for each unit can be flexibly designed to prevent excessive current from flowing through any single unit. This reduces the risk of electrical components being damaged by excessive current and reduces the need for heat dissipation. Furthermore, it reduces crosstalk caused by high current, lowering noise and interference and improving the effectiveness of the signal light. In short, the use of multiple stages of amplifier units can extend the lifespan of the optical signal processing device and significantly enhance detection performance.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the multiple sub-signal lights include local oscillator signal light and detection signal light;

[0016] The first-stage amplifying unit is used to amplify the detection signal light to generate the first signal light.

[0017] The local oscillator signal light is used to mix with the return signal light to obtain the beat frequency signal, and the detection signal light is used to be emitted into space for detection.

[0018] Understandably, local oscillator signal light typically travels within the optical signal processing device, resulting in minimal energy loss. However, the process of transmitting the signal light into space and then receiving the return signal light results in significant energy loss. In this implementation, the first-stage amplification unit primarily amplifies the detection signal light, thereby precisely increasing the power of the detection signal light and improving detection performance.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, among the plurality of second signal lights, some second signal lights serve as local oscillator signal lights, and another portion of the second signal lights serve as detection signal lights. The second-stage amplification unit is configured to amplify the detection signal lights to generate third signal lights.

[0020] In this embodiment, the second-stage amplification unit is mainly used to amplify the detection signal light, thereby accurately increasing the power of the detection signal light and improving the detection performance.

[0021] Furthermore, since the local oscillator signal light may need to be transmitted to a mixing unit for mixing with the return signal light, and the return signal light also has multiple channels, this may cause crosstalk between the multiple return signal lights and the optical paths of the multiple detection signal lights. In this embodiment, the local oscillator signal light and the detection signal light are separated in a later beam splitting unit, allowing the local oscillator signal and the detection signal light to be interleaved. The return signal light does not need to pass through the detection signal light for mixing, which can reduce crosstalk between the signal lights and improve signal effectiveness.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes a beam combining unit, and the at least one input port includes a first input port and a second input port, wherein:

[0023] The first input port is used to receive signal light from a first laser, and the second input port is used to receive signal light from a second laser;

[0024] The first beam splitting unit is configured to split the signal light from the first laser into a plurality of fourth signal lights, and to split the signal light from the second laser into a plurality of fifth signal lights, wherein the plurality of fifth signal lights belong to the plurality of sub-signal lights;

[0025] The beam combining unit is configured to combine at least one fourth signal light and at least one fifth signal light to obtain a sixth signal light;

[0026] The first-stage amplifying unit is configured to amplify the sixth signal light to generate the first signal light.

[0027] In this embodiment, the optical signal processing device is also suitable for processing signal light from multiple lasers. The above example uses only the first and second lasers. Part of the signal light from these multiple lasers can be combined. The combined signal light is then transmitted as if it were a single-source signal light, thus avoiding crosstalk and reducing crosstalk.

[0028] Optionally, the signal lights emitted by multiple lasers have different properties. When processing the return signal light, the return signal light is first split and then mixed with the local oscillator signal lights of the two lasers respectively, so that multiple sampling points can be obtained using the return signal of one channel. For example, the first laser and the second laser can emit linear frequency modulated lasers with positive and negative slopes respectively. After beam combining, the detection signal light of one channel contains linear frequency modulated lasers with positive and negative slopes. The detection signal light of this channel is irradiated onto the same point on the target; after the return signal light is split, it is mixed with the local oscillator signal lights of the linear frequency modulated lasers with positive and negative slopes respectively, thereby obtaining two sampling points, which can improve the output point rate and enable the lidar to obtain a higher point cloud resolution.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser have different frequency sweep slopes.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser have different central wavelengths.

[0031] Optionally, the beam splitting of the return signal light may be demultiplexing, thereby separating the return signal lights corresponding to different lasers.

[0032] For example, if the two have different central wavelengths, the first laser emits 1550nm laser light and the second laser emits 1310nm laser light. The beam splitting unit used to separate the return signal light can separate the 1550nm laser light from the return signal light and the 1310nm laser light from the return signal light. The 1550nm laser light in the return signal light mixes with the local oscillator signal light of the first laser, and the 1310nm laser light in the return signal light mixes with the local oscillator signal light of the second laser. This method can both improve the output rate and reduce energy loss.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second beam splitting unit includes N beam splitters, the N beam splitters are arranged in a tree topology structure, and each beam splitter serves as a node of the tree topology structure, N is an integer and N>0, and the signal light split by the beam splitter at each parent node position is provided to the beam splitter at the child node position;

[0034] The first signal light is input to the beam splitter at the root node position, and the multiple second signal lights are output from the beam splitters at the leaf node positions.

[0035] Optionally, the beam splitter can be a 1-to-M (M is an integer and M>1) beam splitter, such as a 1-to-2 beam splitter, a 1-to-3 beam splitter, etc. The tree-shaped beam splitter structure can control the energy distribution of the split signal, thereby flexibly designing the resolution distribution.

[0036] As one possible implementation, the signal light projected into the center of the field of view passes through fewer beam splitters than the signal light projected into the periphery of the field of view. This results in higher power for the signal light projected into the center of the field of view than for the signal light projected into the periphery of the field of view, leading to higher resolution and detection accuracy in the center of the field of view.

[0037] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second-stage amplification unit includes a plurality of amplifiers;

[0038] The multiple amplifiers are located after the beam splitter at the leaf node position.

[0039] It should be understood that the "after" here refers to after the output end of the beam splitter located at the leaf node position.

[0040] In this embodiment, an amplifier is provided after the second beam splitting unit, and the signal light is input into the amplifier after being split, so that the power of the third signal light can be controlled more accurately and the stability of the detection signal light can be improved.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the multiple amplifiers are located between the beam splitters in the multiple tree topology structures.

[0042] In this embodiment, the signal light will be split again after passing through the second-stage amplification unit, which is equivalent to several signal lights sharing one amplifier, thereby reducing the number of amplifiers and saving costs.

[0043] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, some of the multiple amplifiers are located after the beam splitters at leaf node positions, and another part of the amplifiers are located between the beam splitters in the multiple tree topology structures.

[0044] In this embodiment, the user can set the position of the amplifier according to needs, control the power of the detection signal light, and improve the flexibility of optical path design and power design.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes a power controller, which is configured to adjust a driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit to control the power of the signal light output by the second-stage amplifying unit.

[0046] In this embodiment, the characteristic that the amplifier output power is related to the driving current is utilized. By changing the driving current of the amplifying unit, the power of the signal light passing through the amplifying unit can be controlled, thereby improving flexibility and reducing energy consumption.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the power controller is further configured to:

[0048] The driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit is adjusted according to a control signal, wherein the control signal is related to the pointing angle of the scanner.

[0049] For example, the transmit power is increased at the center of the field of view and reduced at the edge of the field of view.

[0050] Another example is the amplification unit's optical power amplification function in the ineffective scanning area, where the transmitted light beam cannot pass through the scanner. The ineffective scanning area refers to the scanning angle where the detection signal light cannot be fully projected into the field of view. In this case, the detection signal may be projected into the device.

[0051] This implementation not only increases the measurement dynamic range of the lidar system and reduces overall power consumption, but also reduces stray light within the system.

[0052] Optionally, the control signal may be from a processor or a controller.

[0053] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes an optical input and output unit, wherein the optical input and output unit includes a plurality of output ports and a plurality of receiving ports;

[0054] The plurality of output ports are used to output the third signal light;

[0055] The plurality of receiving ports are configured to receive return signal light, wherein the return signal light includes a reflection of the third signal light;

[0056] The frequency mixing unit is configured to obtain one or more frequency mixing results based on the return signal light and the local oscillator signal light, wherein the one or more frequency mixing results are used to determine relevant information of a target within a field of view;

[0057] The local oscillator signal light belongs to the multiple sub-signal lights, or belongs to the multiple second signal lights.

[0058] In this embodiment, the optical signal processing device can also perform frequency mixing on the return signal light to obtain a frequency mixing result, thereby further realizing device integration, improving device stability, and reducing device size.

[0059] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the frequency mixing unit includes a third beam splitting unit, a first frequency mixer, and a second frequency mixer;

[0060] The third beam splitting unit is used to split the return signal light to obtain a first sub-return signal light and a second sub-return signal light,

[0061] The first mixer is used to mix a first sub-local oscillator signal light and the first sub-return signal light to obtain a first mixing result, wherein the first sub-local oscillator signal light comes from a first laser;

[0062] The second mixer is used for mixing a second sub-local oscillator signal and the second sub-return signal light to obtain a second mixing result, where the second sub-local oscillator signal light comes from a second laser.

[0063] In this embodiment, a return signal light can be split into multiple sub-return signal lights, thereby beating multiple local oscillator signals to obtain multiple output points, thereby improving the output point rate and thus improving the point cloud resolution.

[0064] Optionally, the third beam splitting unit may be an energy splitting type beam splitting unit or a wavelength splitting type beam splitting unit.

[0065] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes a fourth beam splitting unit, configured to demultiplex the local oscillator signal light to obtain a first sub-local oscillator signal light and a second sub-local oscillator signal light, wherein the first sub-local oscillator signal light serves as the local oscillator signal of the signal light from the first laser, and the second sub-local oscillator signal light serves as the local oscillator signal of the signal light from the second laser.

[0066] The local oscillation signal light includes signal light from the first laser and signal light from the second laser.

[0067] Optionally, the fourth beam splitting unit may be an energy splitting type beam splitting unit or a wavelength splitting type beam splitting unit.

[0068] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the multiple receiving ports are arranged in columns to form a receiving port group, and the multiple output ports are arranged in columns to form an output port group;

[0069] The receiving port group and the output port group are arranged opposite to each other, and one output port and at least one receiving port are arranged opposite to each other and share a transceiver optical module.

[0070] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the multiple receiving ports are arranged in columns to form a receiving port group, and the multiple output ports are arranged in columns to form an output port group;

[0071] The receiving port group shares a receiving optical module, and the output port group shares a transmitting optical module.

[0072] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the output port group, a spacing between output ports in a middle portion is smaller than a spacing between output ports in an edge portion.

[0073] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the multiple receiving ports include a first receiving port, the output port includes a first output port, and the signal light received by the first receiving port includes a reflection of the signal light output by the first output port;

[0074] The optical signal processing device further includes a power controller, which is configured to:

[0075] When the power of the signal light received by the first receiving port is greater than a first threshold, reducing the driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit to reduce the power of the detection signal light emitted by the first output port;

[0076] When the power of the signal light received by the first receiving port is less than the second threshold, the driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit is increased to increase the power of the detection signal light emitted by the first transmitting sub-port.

[0077] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the optical input and output unit includes a first output port set and a second output port set, each of the first output port set and the second output port set including at least one output port, the first output port set being configured to emit detection signal light toward a middle region of the field of view, and the second output port set being configured to emit detection signal light toward an edge region of the field of view;

[0078] The power of the detection signal light emitted from the first set of output ports is higher than the power of the detection signal light emitted from the second set of output ports.

[0079] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes an optical switch, which is arranged between the second beam splitting unit and any output port and is used to control whether an optical path is formed between the second beam splitting unit and any output port.

[0080] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes a feedback unit, and the multiple sub-signals include feedback signal light;

[0081] The feedback unit is configured to detect frequency sweep information and / or phase noise of the signal light from the at least one laser according to the feedback signal.

[0082] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the optical signal processing device further includes a multi-layer substrate and a plurality of waveguides, where the plurality of waveguides are used to form optical paths for transmitting signal light in different layers of the substrate.

[0083] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, optical paths for transmitting the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light are located in different layers of the substrate.

[0084] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, optical paths for transmitting the feedback signal light and the return signal light are located in different layers of the substrate.

[0085] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, wherein the chip includes one or more optical signal processing devices, and the optical signal processing device is the optical signal processing device described in any one of the first aspect.

[0086] For ease of description, the following description is made by taking the number of optical signal processing devices included in a chip as an example, where K is an integer and K≥1.

[0087] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the chip further includes at least one laser input port and at least one optical switch, and the at least one laser input port includes a first laser input port;

[0088] The at least one laser input port is used to receive signal light from at least one laser;

[0089] The at least one optical switch is disposed between the first laser input port and L optical signal processing devices, and is configured to: switchably couple the L optical signal processing devices to an optical path to control whether an optical path is formed between the L optical signal processing devices and the first laser input port, where L is an integer and L≤K.

[0090] In this embodiment, an optical route can be formed between multiple optical signal processing devices through at least one optical switch, so that one or more optical signal processing devices can be enabled as needed, thereby improving flexibility.

[0091] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, K≥2, and any two optical signal processing devices among the K optical signal processing devices are symmetrically arranged.

[0092] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a laser radar, comprising a laser, a scanner, and the optical signal processing device described in any one of the first aspects;

[0093] The laser is used to provide frequency modulated signal light to the optical signal processing device;

[0094] The scanner is used to project the third signal light from the optical signal processing device into a field of view.

[0095] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a laser radar, a laser, an array detector, a transceiver optical module, a scanner, and an optical signal processing device as described in any one of the first aspects;

[0096] The laser is used to provide frequency modulated signal light to the optical signal processing device;

[0097] The scanner is used to project the third signal light from the optical signal processing device into the field of view, and receive the return signal light from the field of view and provide it to the optical signal processing device;

[0098] The transceiver optical module is arranged between the scanner and the optical signal processing device;

[0099] The array detector is used to receive one or more mixing results from the optical signal processing device and obtain an electrical signal based on the one or more mixing results, and the electrical signal is used to determine relevant information of the target in the field of view.

[0100] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the optical module includes a polarization beam splitter and a quarter-wave plate, and the polarization beam splitter and the quarter-wave plate are used to achieve coaxial transmission and reception, wherein:

[0101] The third signal light is provided to the scanner through the output port of the optical signal processing device, the polarization beam splitter and the quarter-wave plate in sequence;

[0102] The return signal light from the scanner passes through the quarter-wave plate and the polarization beam splitter in sequence and is provided to the receiving port of the optical signal processing device.

[0103] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the optical module further includes a half-wave plate, and the half-wave plate is arranged between the polarization beam splitter and the receiving port of the optical signal processing device.

[0104] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal, which includes the optical signal processing device described in any one of the first aspects, or the terminal includes the chip described in any one of the second aspects, or the terminal includes a laser radar as described in any one of the third aspects or any one of the fourth aspects.

[0105] Optionally, the terminal is a vehicle, a drone or a robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0106] The following is a brief introduction to the drawings used in describing the embodiments.

[0107] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of an amplifier;

[0108] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG6A is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the slope of signal light of a multi-laser provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG7A is a schematic structural diagram of another signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG7B is a schematic structural diagram of another signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG7C is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] FIG7D is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG8A is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG8B is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG8C is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG8D is a schematic structural diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG9A is a schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG9B is a schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] FIG10A is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] FIG10B is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] FIG10C is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] FIG10D is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] FIG11A is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] FIG11B is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] FIG11C is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] FIG11D is a schematic structural diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG12A is a schematic diagram of a relative arrangement of a receiving port and an output port provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] FIG12B is a schematic diagram of an optical path provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] FIG12C is a schematic diagram of a relative arrangement of a receiving port and an output port provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG13A is a schematic diagram of another relative arrangement of receiving ports and output ports provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] FIG13B is another optical path schematic diagram provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of another output port and receiving port provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] FIG15A is a schematic diagram of an output port provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0139] FIG15B is a schematic diagram of a possible output port provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0140] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of an off-axis optical path provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0141] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of a coaxial optical path provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0142] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of an optical switch provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0143] FIG19 is a schematic diagram of another optical switch provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0144] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of a possible feedback unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0145] FIG21 is a schematic diagram of a possible application of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0146] FIG22 is a schematic diagram of another possible application of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0147] FIG23 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0148] FIG24 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0149] FIG25 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0150] FIG26 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0151] FIG27 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0152] FIG28 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0153] FIG29 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0154] FIG30 is a schematic diagram of an application of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0155] FIG31 is a schematic diagram of a possible silicon photonic chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0156] FIG32 is a schematic diagram of another possible silicon photonic chip provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0157] FIG33 is a schematic diagram of a working scenario of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0158] FIG34 is a schematic diagram of a working scenario of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0159] FIG35 is a schematic diagram of a working scenario of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0160] FIG36 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present application

[0161] Figure 37 is a schematic diagram of a working scenario of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0162] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0163] For ease of understanding, the following examples provide some explanations of concepts related to the embodiments of the present application for reference.

[0164] 1. Detection device

[0165] The detection device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a lidar or other optical detection device, such as a fusion detection device (for example, a detection device integrating a radar detector and an image sensor). Its working principle is to detect the corresponding detection area by emitting detection signal light and receiving the returned signal light.

[0166] The detection device in the embodiment of the present application can be used in various fields such as intelligent driving, intelligent transportation, intelligent manufacturing, environmental detection, surveying and mapping, drones, etc., and can complete one or more functions of target detection, distance measurement, speed measurement, target tracking, imaging recognition, etc.

[0167] The detection device in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to vehicle-mounted detection devices (e.g., vehicle-mounted radar), roadside detection devices (e.g., intersection radar), etc., and can also be applied to other detection devices, such as detection devices installed on drones, robots, rail cars, bicycles, traffic lights, speed measuring devices, base stations, etc. This application does not limit the location where the detection device is installed.

[0168] 2. Waveguide

[0169] A waveguide is a structure used to guide electromagnetic waves in a certain direction, allowing them to propagate between their endpoints. Light is also an electromagnetic wave, and the waveguides that transmit light are called optical waveguides, such as planar dielectric waveguides or optical fibers.

[0170] 3. Polarization

[0171] Polarization refers to the regularity of the vibration direction of the electric vector of light. Polarization is a property of light, and the polarization state is a parameter of light. Polarization states can be categorized as linear polarization, elliptical polarization (including circular polarization), and others.

[0172] For example, linearly polarized light has its electric vector vibrating back and forth in a single direction. Unpolarized light, such as natural light, has its electric vector vibrating randomly, neither in the same direction nor with a fixed time relationship (no fixed phase). Therefore, its vibrations are random and have no fixed pattern.

[0173] 4. Polarization beam splitter

[0174] A polarization beam splitter is an optical filter. The transmittance of signal light passing through the polarization beam splitter is related to the polarization direction of the signal light. Generally, linearly polarized light of a certain polarization direction can pass through, while light of certain polarization directions is blocked (cannot pass through).

[0175] In some scenarios, when light passes through a polarization beam splitter, the polarization state of the light is described as P-polarized light (hereinafter referred to as P-light) and S-polarized light (hereinafter referred to as S-light). P-polarized light refers to linearly polarized light with a polarization direction parallel to the polarization direction of the beam splitter, and S-polarized light refers to linearly polarized light with a polarization direction perpendicular to the polarization direction of the beam splitter.

[0176] In some other scenarios, the polarization state of light is also described by transverse electric (TE) or transverse magnetic (TM). As a possible design, TE polarized light can pass through the polarization beam splitter when passing through the polarization beam splitter, and the transmitted signal light still maintains TE polarization. TE polarization can be converted into circularly polarized light or elliptically polarized light after passing through a quarter wave plate (QWP). The circularly polarized light or elliptically polarized light is converted into TM polarized light after passing through the quarter wave plate again. The TM polarized light is reflected when passing through the polarization beam splitter.

[0177] 5. Wave Plate

[0178] Wave plates, also known as phase retarders, can create a phase shift between the two orthogonal polarization components of light passing through them, thereby adjusting the polarization state of light. Depending on the phase shift achieved, wave plates can be categorized as half-wave plates (HWPs), QWPs, and eighth-wave plates.

[0179] Optionally, the QWP shown in some embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by one or more of a Faraday rotator, a combination of a Faraday rotator and a wave plate, a combination of a quarter wave plate and a half wave plate, or a combination of two eighth wave plates.

[0180] 6. Field of view (FOV)

[0181] The field of view (FOV) refers to the range within which a detection device can detect. In some scenarios, there needs to be a line of sight (LOS) between the transmitter and the target object, and / or between the receiver and the target object, where signals (e.g., radio waves or lasers) can be transmitted uninterruptedly. This line of sight (LOS) can be understood as the FOV.

[0182] 7. Optical amplifier

[0183] An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies signal light. The principle of an amplifier is based on the stimulated emission of laser radiation, which converts other energy into signal light energy, thereby achieving amplification.

[0184] Amplifiers include but are not limited to semiconductor amplifiers or optical fiber amplifiers, etc. Among them, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA) use semiconductor materials as gain media and can amplify the power of signal light without significantly reducing its optical performance.

[0185] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the amplifier's operating principle. After a driving current is input into the amplifier, when signal light passes through the amplifier, electrons lose energy in the form of photons, generating excited photons. These excited photons have the same wavelength (and other characteristics) as the light signal.

[0186] Taking a semiconductor amplifier as an example, its operating principle is that a driving current converts semiconductor carriers into inverted particles, amplifying the injected seed light while maintaining its fundamental physical properties, such as polarization, linewidth, and frequency. As the driving current increases, the output optical power also increases in a certain functional relationship. Therefore, using an SOA can amplify the power of signal light without significantly changing its optical properties.

[0187] 8. Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW)

[0188] FMCW refers to electromagnetic waves whose frequency changes with time. When the frequency of an electromagnetic wave changes linearly with time, it is called a linear frequency modulated continuous wave.

[0189] The linear change here generally refers to the linear change within a transmission cycle. For example, the waveform of a linear frequency modulated continuous wave is generally a sawtooth wave or a triangle wave. Of course, FMCW may also have other possible waveforms, such as a linear frequency modulated stepped frequency waveform.

[0190] The following is a detailed description of the embodiments of the present application.

[0191] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. In this example, the optical signal processing device includes a first beam splitting unit 201, a second beam splitting unit 202, and a multi-stage amplification unit. The thick black lines represent the transmission path of light. For ease of description, the number of amplification units is described as M, where M is an integer and M ≥ 2.

[0192] The first beam splitting unit 201 is used to split the signal light from the laser to obtain a plurality of sub-signal lights. For example, the sub-signal lights may include sub-signal light a0 and sub-signal light a1.

[0193] As a possible implementation, a portion of the multiple sub-signals (e.g., sub-signal a0) may be transmitted to the second beam splitting unit 202. Furthermore, another portion of the photon signals (e.g., sub-signal a1) may be transmitted to other units (not shown). For example, a portion of the sub-signals may be transmitted as local oscillator signals to a frequency mixing unit. And / or, a portion of the sub-signals may be input as feedback signals to a feedback unit, etc.

[0194] As a possible implementation, each sub-signal among the multiple sub-signals is transmitted to the second beam splitting unit 202 .

[0195] It should be understood that the two sub-signal light paths shown in FIG2 are merely examples, and this application does not limit the number of sub-signal light paths. The number of lasers shown in FIG2 is merely an example. Optionally, the signal light from the laser can be a signal light whose frequency varies linearly with time. For example, the signal light from the laser can be a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) laser.

[0196] The second beam splitting unit 202 is used to split the input signal light into a plurality of second signal lights. For example, the plurality of second signal lights may include a second signal light b0 and a second signal light b1. Of course, the two second signal lights shown in FIG2 are merely examples, and this application does not limit the number of second signal lights.

[0197] As a possible implementation, part of the plurality of second signal lights can be emitted from the optical signal processing device to form detection signal light. Further, another part of the second signal light can be used as local oscillator signal light or feedback signal light.

[0198] Each of the M-stage amplification units is used to amplify the intensity of the signal light. By providing multiple amplification units, the signal light passing through can be amplified in stages. It should be understood that a multi-stage amplification unit does not refer to multiple amplification units, but rather refers to amplifying a particular signal light path at least twice.

[0199] Optionally, each stage of amplification units may include one or more amplification units. For example, amplification unit 203c is a stage of amplification units, which may include multiple amplification units, each of which is used to amplify one channel of second signal light.

[0200] It should be understood that there are many possible implementations for the position of the multi-stage amplification unit. The following exemplifies two possible implementations:

[0201] Case 1: Multiple-stage amplification units can be dispersed among multiple other units. For example, in the example shown in Figure 2, amplification unit 203a is one of the first-stage amplification units, amplification unit 203b is one of the second-stage amplification units, and amplification unit 203c is one of the third-stage amplification units. An M-stage amplification unit can include at least two of amplification units 203a, 203b, and 203c.

[0202] Case 2: Multiple stages of amplifying units can be arranged adjacent to each other. FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application, where amplifying unit 301a is one stage of amplifying unit and amplifying unit 301b is another stage of amplifying unit.

[0203] Optionally, the optical signal processing device may further include an input port, and the input port is used to receive signal light from the laser.

[0204] In the embodiments of the present application, a splitting unit is used to split the laser signal light, thereby obtaining multiple channels of signal light. These signal lights can then pass through a multi-stage amplification unit, which performs multi-stage amplification on the signal light, thereby ensuring the output power of the signal light. By splitting and amplifying the signal light from the laser, the embodiment of the present application can increase the number of channels and ensure the power of the signal light in each channel, thereby reducing costs while ensuring detection performance and having great commercial value.

[0205] Furthermore, the amplifier unit operates by driving current to generate higher-power signal light. By implementing multiple stages of amplifier units, the placement of the amplifier units and the current levels of each unit can be flexibly designed to prevent excessive current from reaching any one unit. This reduces the risk of electrical components being damaged by excessive current and reduces the need for heat dissipation. Furthermore, it reduces crosstalk caused by high current, lowering noise and interference and improving the effectiveness of the signal light. In short, using multiple stages of amplifier units can extend the lifespan of the optical signal processing device and enhance detection performance.

[0206] The above describes the basic structure of the optical signal processing device. The following describes some possible designs of the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that the following various designs can be implemented individually or in combination. For the combination, an exemplary description will be given below. The following first introduces various possible designs:

[0207] Design 1

[0208] As a possible design, some or all modules of the optical signal processing device may be chips, or implemented in chips. The chips here may be silicon photonic chips, integrated circuit (IC) chips, etc.

[0209] Alternatively, some or all modules of the optical signal processing device can be implemented on a material platform, which is also referred to as a substrate. The material of the material platform can be semiconductor, ceramic, glass, or plastic.

[0210] Exemplarily, materials in the material platform include, but are not limited to, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, indium phosphide, and silicon-on-insulator (SOI).

[0211] As a possible solution, when the optical signal processing device is implemented in the form of a chip or on a material platform, the signal light is transmitted in the chip (or material platform) through a waveguide.

[0212] Exemplarily, the material platform further includes, but is not limited to, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide platform, a silicon nitride waveguide platform, a silicon oxynitride waveguide platform, and a silicon dioxide planar light waveguide circuit (PLC) waveguide platform. Alternatively, the material bottle may be a multilayer waveguide platform comprising multiple types of waveguides stacked together.

[0213] Through chip or material platform integration, not only the integration of the optical signal processing device is improved and the overall volume of the device is reduced, but also the impact of vibration on optical components and optical paths can be reduced, the stability of the device and optical path can be improved, which helps to improve the detection performance of the detection device.

[0214] Design 2

[0215] The amplifier can be implemented in a chip manner. When the optical signal processing device is implemented on a silicon chip (or material platform), the amplifier can be coupled inside the chip (or material platform) or outside the chip (or material platform), such as outside the chip.

[0216] As a possible implementation, the amplifier can be implemented in a chip and has an incident end face and an output end face. The incident end face of the amplifier is coupled to a waveguide, so that signal light can enter the incident end face of the SOA from the waveguide in the chip.

[0217] In some scenarios, if the amplified signal light needs to be transmitted into a waveguide, the output end face may also be coupled with the waveguide, so that the amplified signal light can then enter the waveguide from the output end face and continue to be transmitted.

[0218] Taking the implementation of an optical signal processing device on a silicon photonic chip as an example, the amplifier can be coupled to the silicon photonic chip in an integrated manner.

[0219] For example, the amplifier chip is coupled to the silicon photonics chip in a flip-chip configuration. Flip-chip technology involves manufacturing the amplifier chip and the silicon photonics chip separately. During integration, one chip (usually the amplifier chip) is flipped upside down to attach it to the other.

[0220] For example, an amplifier chip is coupled to a silicon photonics chip using a spatial optical method, such as a lens. In a flip-chip method, the two chips are typically tightly fitted together, without a lens. In a spatial optical method, however, a lens is placed in a space between the two chips. Signal light is emitted from one chip, converged by the lens, and then enters the other chip.

[0221] For another example, the amplifier chip is coupled to the silicon photonic chip by wafer-to-wafer bonding. Alternatively, the amplifier chip is coupled to the silicon photonic chip by wafer-to-wafer bonding.

[0222] Design 3

[0223] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in one possible design, the M-stage amplifying unit includes at least a first-stage amplifying unit and a second-stage amplifying unit.

[0224] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Signal light from a laser passes through a first beam splitting unit 201 and is split into multiple sub-signals. A first-stage amplification unit 401 is configured to amplify at least one of the multiple sub-signals to generate a first signal. A second beam splitting unit 202 is configured to split the first signal into multiple second signal beams. A second-stage amplification unit 402 is configured to amplify at least one of the multiple second signal beams to generate a third signal.

[0225] Optionally, the second-stage amplifying unit 402 includes multiple amplifying units, such as the amplifying unit 402a and the amplifying unit 402b shown in FIG. 4 .

[0226] In this embodiment, each stage of amplification is discretely positioned after the splitting unit. Amplifying some or all of the signal light after splitting can further narrow the current range of the amplification unit. Furthermore, the multiple signals after splitting often have different functions or are directed to different areas of the field of view. Placing a stage of amplification after the splitting unit allows for customized positioning of the amplification unit, improving the accuracy and effectiveness of amplification and increasing flexibility in controlling signal light power.

[0227] In the aforementioned embodiment, the beam splitting unit can split the signal light into multiple paths, and each stage of the amplification unit is arranged after the beam splitting unit.

[0228] As a possible solution, each stage of amplification units can be used to amplify part of the split signal light. That is, at least one sub-signal light is part of a plurality of sub-signal light, and / or at least one second signal light is part of a plurality of second signal light.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the multiple sub-signals include a local oscillator signal light and a detection signal light. One of the multi-stage amplification units (e.g., the first-stage amplification unit) is configured to amplify the detection signal light to generate the first signal light. As shown in FIG4 , the multiple sub-signals generated by the first beam splitting unit include sub-signal light a0 and sub-signal light a1. Sub-signal light a0 serves as the detection signal light, while sub-signal light a1 serves as the local oscillator signal light. In this case, the first-stage amplification unit 401 is configured to amplify the detection signal light.

[0230] The local oscillator signal light is used for frequency mixing, obtaining a beat frequency signal, frequency multiplication, or frequency division, etc. The detection signal light is used for emitting into the field of view for detection.

[0231] Because local oscillator signal light is relatively stable and has low energy loss during transmission, while the process of transmitting the signal to the field of view and then receiving the return signal suffers from high energy loss, the first-stage amplification unit is primarily used to amplify the detection signal light, accurately increasing the power of the detection signal light and improving detection performance.

[0232] Design 4

[0233] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in one possible design, some of the plurality of second sub-signal lights serve as local oscillator signal lights, and some of the second sub-signals serve as detection signal lights. One of the amplification stages (e.g., the second amplification stage) in the multi-stage amplification unit is configured to amplify the detection signal light to generate the first signal light.

[0234] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The multiple second signal lights split by the first beam splitting unit include second signal light b0, second signal light b1, second signal light b2, and second signal light b3. Second signal light b0 and second signal light b2 serve as detection signal lights, while second signal light b1 and second signal light b3 serve as local oscillator signal lights. A second-stage amplification unit 501 is used to amplify the detection signal lights.

[0235] Specifically, the second-stage amplifying unit 501 includes a plurality of amplifying units, such as an amplifying unit 501a and an amplifying unit 501b, wherein the amplifying unit 501a is used to amplify the second signal light b0, and the amplifying unit 501c is used to amplify the second signal light b2.

[0236] In this embodiment, the second-stage amplification unit is mainly used to amplify the detection signal light, which can accurately increase the power of the detection signal light and improve the detection performance.

[0237] Optionally, in one possible embodiment, the local oscillator signal light and the detection signal light are interwoven within the plurality of second signal lights. That is, the signal lights on either side of the local oscillator signal light are detection signal lights, and the signal lights on either side of the detection signal light are local oscillator signal lights. As shown in FIG5 , the second signal light b0 (detection signal light) is adjacent to the second signal light b1 (local oscillator signal light), and the second signal light b1 (local oscillator signal light) is adjacent to the second signal light b0 (detection signal light) and the second signal light b2 (detection signal light).

[0238] The local oscillator signal light may need to be transmitted to a mixing unit for mixing with the return signal light. The return signal light also has multiple channels, which may cause the multiple return signal lights to intersect with the optical paths of multiple detection signal lights, causing crosstalk. In this embodiment, the local oscillator signal light and the detection signal light are separated in a later beam splitting unit. This allows the local oscillator signal and the detection signal light to be intertwined, and the return signal light does not need to pass through the detection signal light for mixing. This can reduce crosstalk between the transmission signals and improve signal effectiveness.

[0239] Design 5

[0240] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in one possible design, the signal light input to the first beam splitting unit comes from multiple lasers. The following description uses two lasers (referred to as the first laser and the second laser for ease of distinction) as an example, and this application is equally applicable to other numbers of lasers.

[0241] The signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser pass through the first beam splitting unit to generate multiple sub-signal lights. One of the first-stage amplification units in the multi-stage amplification unit is used to amplify at least one of the sub-signal lights to generate the first signal light. The at least one sub-signal light includes a portion of the signal light from the first laser and a portion of the signal light from the second laser. The subsequent processing can refer to the aforementioned embodiments and other designs.

[0242] As a possible embodiment, the optical signal processing device may include a beam combining unit, which is used to combine part of the signal light from the first laser and part of the signal light from the second laser to obtain the at least one signal light. Optionally, the beam combining unit can be implemented by a multi-wavelength beam combining structure such as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), or can be implemented by an optical energy beam combining structure such as a multi-mode interferometer (MMI) and a directional coupler (DC). It is understandable that since the optical path is reversible, WDM, AWG, MMI, DC, etc. can also be used for beam splitting and / or demultiplexing.

[0243] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. A first beam splitting unit 601 is configured to split the signal light from the first laser into a plurality of fourth signal lights, and to split the signal light from the second laser into a plurality of fifth signal lights. The fourth and fifth signal lights herein can be considered the aforementioned sub-signal lights.

[0244] The number of the fourth signal light and the fifth signal light is not limited in this application. For example, the plurality of fourth signal lights may include a fourth signal light c0 and a fourth signal light c1, and the plurality of fifth signal lights may include a fifth signal light d0 and a fifth signal light d1.

[0245] The optical signal processing device further includes a beam combining unit 602 for combining at least one fourth signal light and at least one fifth signal light to obtain a sub-signal light a1. For ease of distinction, the signal light obtained after combining is hereinafter referred to as the sixth signal light.

[0246] One of the first-stage amplifying units in the M-stage amplifying units is used to amplify the sixth signal light (ie, the sub-signal light a1 shown in FIG6A ) to generate the first signal light.

[0247] In this embodiment, the optical signal processing device is also suitable for processing signal light from multiple lasers. The above example uses only the first and second lasers. Portions of the signal light from these multiple lasers can be combined, and the combined signal light is transmitted as if it were a single-source signal light, thus avoiding crosstalk and reducing crosstalk.

[0248] Optionally, the signal lights emitted by the multiple lasers typically have different properties. Exemplarily, the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser have different sweep slopes. Exemplarily, the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser have different central wavelengths.

[0249] During the return processing, demultiplexing the return signal can distinguish the return signals of different detection signal lights, thereby obtaining multiple sampling points using the return signal of a single channel. For example, the first laser and the second laser can respectively emit linear frequency modulated lasers with positive and negative slopes. After beam combining, the detection signal light of a single channel contains both linear frequency modulated lasers with positive and negative slopes, and the detection signal light of this channel is irradiated on the same point on the target. The return signal can be mixed separately through beam splitting to obtain two sampling points, which can improve the output point rate and obtain higher point cloud resolution.

[0250] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the slope of a multi-laser signal light provided in an embodiment of the present application. It can be seen that in the time period t0-t1, laser 1 emits a positive slope sweep laser, while laser 2 emits a negative slope sweep laser. Therefore, during the beat, the return signal obtained after the target reflection can be separated and mixed with the respective local oscillators to form beat signals of different frequencies. The beat signal can be intercepted in sequence according to time to obtain multiple signal segments, and the multiple signal segments are used to obtain information of multiple measurement points. For example, during the first beat, after the flight time, the first segment of the signal with a coherent duration of N1 is taken for processing to obtain the distance and speed information of the first measurement point; during the second beat, the second segment of the signal with a coherent duration of N2 is taken for processing to obtain the information of the second measurement point. The lengths of the two segments can be equal or different.

[0251] Optionally, FIG6B is introduced with reference to different directions of the frequency sweep slopes. In a specific implementation, signal lights of different lasers may be distinguished by other methods.

[0252] For example, both laser 1 and laser 2 emit positive slope swept laser or negative slope swept laser, but the sweep slope (ie, sweep speed) is different.

[0253] For another example, Laser 1 and Laser 2 emit lasers of different wavelength ranges. It should be understood that "different wavelength ranges" here refer to different central wavelengths, or alternatively, different upper and lower limits of the laser wavelength ranges. That is, the wavelength ranges of the two lasers may overlap to some extent, but not completely. For example, Laser 1 emits infrared light, and Laser 2 emits visible light.

[0254] Design 6

[0255] The beam splitting unit may include one or more beam splitters, and the present application does not limit the number of paths of the beam splitter. For example, the beam splitter may be a one-to-two beam splitter, or a one-to-three beam splitter.

[0256] As a possible design, the beam splitting unit may include multiple beam splitters, and the multiple beam splitters may be arranged in a tree structure to output signals of multiple channels through multiple splitting operations.

[0257] Taking the second beam splitting unit as an example, the number of beam splitters included in the second beam splitting unit is, for example, N, where N is an integer and N>0. The N beam splitters are arranged in a tree topology, with each beam splitter serving as a node in the tree topology. The signal light split by the beam splitter at each parent node is provided to the beam splitter at the child node. The first signal light is input to the beam splitter at the root node, and the multiple second signal lights are output from the beam splitters at the leaf node positions.

[0258] The following exemplary implementation diagrams of several beam splitting units are provided. It should be noted that in some of the following embodiments, the amplification unit is described using SOA as an example, and the present application is also applicable to the case where other amplifiers are used.

[0259] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of another signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7A, the first beam splitting unit 701 includes a one-to-two beam splitter, which splits the signal light from the laser into two sub-signal lights; the second beam splitting unit 702 includes multiple one-to-two beam splitters, each of which splits the input signal light into two parts, and ultimately outputs multiple second signal lights from the beam splitters at the leaf node positions.

[0260] In some scenarios, waveguides can be used to split multiple signal paths. In other words, a beam splitter can be implemented using waveguides. Using optical waveguides as the beam splitting unit facilitates integration, further reduces size, and improves stability. Furthermore, waveguide splitting reduces energy loss caused by optical splitting, improving signal efficiency and avoiding stray light.

[0261] 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of another signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The second beam splitting unit includes a plurality of waveguides, each waveguide being used to split the input signal light into a plurality of parts, and finally output a plurality of second signal lights.

[0262] As shown in FIG7B , waveguide 703 can serve as a first beam splitting unit, splitting the input signal light into multiple sub-signal lights at region 704. For another example, second beam splitting unit 705 includes multiple waveguides, each of which includes multiple branching points, and splits the input signal light into multiple second signal lights through the branching points of the multiple waveguides.

[0263] As a possible implementation, one of the first-stage amplification units of the M-stage amplification units includes multiple amplifiers, and the multiple amplifiers are located after the beam splitter at the leaf node position.

[0264] As shown in FIG. 7A and / or FIG. 7B , the SOA is located after the last beam splitter.

[0265] It should be noted that in the embodiments shown in FIG7A and FIG7B , each second signal light undergoes the same optical splitting level, but it is not limited to that each second signal light has the same power. The following are two ways to achieve the design of different power levels of multiple second signal lights:

[0266] Implementation method 1: The beam splitter can set the splitting ratio when splitting light. For example, in the two signal paths split by a one-to-two beam splitter, the energy of one signal path can be higher than that of the other.

[0267] By controlling the splitting ratio, some of the second signal light can have higher power, allowing the power of the signal light to be tailored to the desired detection results (e.g., resolution, detection accuracy, or detection distance). For example, the second signal light emitted to an area of ​​interest in the field of view can have higher power to improve the resolution and detection accuracy of the detection results for that area of ​​interest.

[0268] Optionally, the region of interest may be the middle portion of the field of view, or a predefined field of view area, etc.

[0269] Implementation Method 2: The number of optical splitter layers experienced by a portion of the second signal light is different from the number of optical splitter layers experienced by another portion of the second signal light. Figure 7C is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The second beam splitting unit 706 splits the output signal light into multiple second signal lights. The second signal light corresponding to portion 1 and the second signal light corresponding to portion 3 undergo four-layer optical splitting, while the second signal light corresponding to portion 2 undergoes three-layer optical splitting.

[0270] By controlling the splitting levels, some of the second signal light can have higher power, allowing the power of the signal light to be tailored to the desired detection results (e.g., resolution, detection accuracy, or detection distance). For example, the second signal light emitted to an area of ​​interest in the field of view undergoes relatively fewer splitting levels, resulting in higher power, thereby improving the resolution and detection accuracy of the detection results for the area of ​​interest.

[0271] Implementation Method 3: Part of the second signal light can be obtained by merging. Figure 7D shows the structure of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The second beam splitting unit 707 splits the output signal light into multiple second signal lights. Among them, the second signal light 708 is obtained by merging the two signal lights at region 709. The second signal light 708 may have a higher power.

[0272] The above-mentioned method of achieving the power difference of the second signal lights by using the optical splitting unit is only an example. In a specific implementation process, the difference between the second signal lights may be achieved by other methods.

[0273] In summary, the tree-shaped beam splitter structure can be used to control the energy distribution of the split signal, thereby flexibly designing the resolution distribution of the detection device.

[0274] Design 7

[0275] As can be seen in Design 6, the second beam splitting unit includes multiple beam splitters in a tree structure, with each beam splitter serving as a node in the tree topology. The tree structure contains multiple branches, which makes the location design of the amplification unit more flexible. The following are several possible scenarios for the amplification unit:

[0276] In case 1, some of the M-stage amplification units include multiple amplifiers, and the multiple amplifiers are located after the beam splitter at the leaf node position.

[0277] As shown in Figures 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D, multiple SOAs are placed after the beam splitters at the leaf nodes. In this implementation, an amplifier is placed after the second beam splitting unit, and the signal light is input into the amplifier after being split. This allows for more precise control of the power of the third signal light and improves the stability of the detection signal light.

[0278] In case 2, among the M-stage amplification units, some stage amplification units include multiple amplifiers, and the multiple amplifiers are located between multiple beam splitters in a tree topology structure.

[0279] FIG8A is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the second beam splitting unit includes two beam splitting units, namely, beam splitting unit 801 and beam splitting unit 802. Beam splitting unit 801 includes multiple beam splitters, and the beam splitting unit also includes multiple beam splitters. The signal light input to beam splitting unit 802 is obtained by beam splitting unit 801. A first-stage amplification unit, namely, amplification unit 803, is provided between beam splitting unit 801 and beam splitting unit 802. Amplification unit 803 includes multiple SOAs.

[0280] As shown in Figure 8A , beam splitting unit 801 is used to split an input signal light into multiple second signal lights, such as second signal light b0, second signal light b1, second signal light b3, and second signal light b1 shown in Figure 8A . Amplification unit 803 is used to amplify at least one of the multiple second signal lights to generate multiple third signal lights. These multiple third signal lights can be further input into beam splitting unit 802 for further splitting.

[0281] It should be understood that the SOA design shown in FIG8A is merely an example, and other designs are possible in specific implementations. For example, the SOA can be provided along the transmission path of a portion of the second light signal. In this case, the amplification unit 803 is used to amplify the portion of the second light signal. For another example, a portion of the second light signal (or the third light signal) can be bypassed by beam splitting.

[0282] In this implementation, the signal light is further split after passing through the second-stage amplification unit, allowing several signal lights to share a single amplifier, reducing the number of amplifiers and saving costs. Furthermore, adding a beam splitter after the final amplifier increases the number of transmission channels and improves the output rate.

[0283] In case 3, among the M-stage amplification units, some stage amplification units include multiple amplifiers, some of which are located after the beam splitters at leaf nodes, and others are located between the beam splitters in the multiple tree topologies.

[0284] 8B is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. A first-stage amplification unit, namely, amplification unit 804, is provided between beam splitting unit 801 and beam splitting unit 802. A first-stage amplification unit, namely, amplification unit 805, is provided after beam splitting unit 802.

[0285] Specifically, the amplification unit 804 includes multiple SOAs, which are used to amplify a portion of the second signal light to obtain a third signal light. This portion of the third signal light can be input into the beam splitting unit 802 for further splitting. The remaining portion of the unamplified second signal light is also input into the beam splitting unit 802. The signal light obtained after the splitting is input into the amplification unit 805 for amplification.

[0286] In this embodiment, part of the third signal light is amplified by the amplifier and then split, which is equivalent to the final part of the signal light sharing one amplifier; part of the signal light is amplified after multi-layer splitting, that is, each signal light is independently amplified by an amplifier. In this way, the power of the detection signal light can be set according to demand, which can not only save a certain amount of cost, but also prioritize the power of part of the detection signal light.

[0287] In some scenarios, some signal light may pass through multiple amplifiers. Figure 8C is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. A first-stage amplification unit, namely, amplification unit 803, is provided between beam splitting unit 801 and beam splitting unit 802. A first-stage amplification unit, namely, amplification unit 806, is provided after beam splitting unit 802.

[0288] Amplification unit 803 is used to amplify the multiple second signal lights to generate third signal lights. This portion of the third signal lights is then fed into beam splitting unit 802 for further splitting. A portion of the signal lights split by beam splitting unit 802 is then amplified by amplification unit 806. In summary, the tree-structured beam splitter and multiple amplification units allow manufacturers to position the amplifiers as needed, control the power of the detection signal light, and enhance flexibility in optical path and power design.

[0289] In case 4, the final amplification unit in the M-stage amplification unit includes multiple amplifiers, and the multiple amplifiers are located after the second beam splitting unit. The signal light after passing through the final amplification unit may be split again. Figure 8D is a structural schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8D, an amplification unit 808 (i.e., the final amplification unit) is provided after the second beam splitting unit 807. The second beam splitting unit 807 is used to output the second signal light. The second signal light is split again after passing through the amplification unit 808.

[0290] Optionally, the level of beam splitting and the number of split signal lights are not strictly limited in this application. For example, as shown in FIG8D , the signal light contained in portion 1 undergoes two levels of beam splitting after the final amplifying unit 808, while the signal light contained in portion 2 undergoes only one level of beam splitting after the final amplifying unit 808.

[0291] Design 8

[0292] As a possible design, the amplification effect of the amplifier unit can be controlled. Taking the SOA as an example, by leveraging the characteristic that the power of the SOA's output signal light is related to the drive current, the optical signal processing device can change the drive current of the amplifier unit, thereby controlling the power of the signal light passing through the amplifier unit, improving flexibility and reducing energy consumption. The following explanation uses the example of an amplification unit passing through an SOA, but the same applies to other amplifiers.

[0293] In some possible scenarios, the optical signal processing device further includes a power controller, which is used to adjust the driving current of some or all of the M-stage amplification units to control the power of the output signal light.

[0294] For example, the power controller may increase the driving current of part or all of the SOAs when the signal light is directed to an area of ​​interest in the field of view, and reduce the driving current of part or all of the SOAs in other areas of the field of view.

[0295] For example, the signal light scans the field of view in a line-scanning pattern, and a complete scan of the field of view takes 20 milliseconds. The power controller can increase the drive current of some or all SOAs during the 5th to 10th millisecond of each scan cycle. This allows the detection signal light to have higher power when scanning the center of the field of view, thereby increasing the detection rate in the center of the field of view. Using lower power to scan the edge areas reduces energy consumption, controls heat dissipation, and increases service life.

[0296] For example, by defining an area of ​​interest in the field of view, when the signal light scans the area of ​​interest, the driving current of the corresponding SOA is increased, thereby increasing the output rate in a targeted manner for the area of ​​interest, and then improving the resolution of the area of ​​interest in the detection results, which is conducive to using the perception results for identification and decision-making, and improving the level of intelligence.

[0297] In some possible scenarios, the transmission power of a signal is related to the current pointing angle of the signal.

[0298] For example, the transmit power is increased at the center of the field of view and reduced at the edge of the field of view.

[0299] Another example is the amplification unit's optical power amplification function in the ineffective scanning area, where the transmitted light beam cannot pass through the scanner. The ineffective scanning area refers to the scanning angle where the detection signal light cannot be fully projected into the field of view. In this case, the detection signal light may be projected into the device.

[0300] The signal's directional angle can be changed by the scanner. As a possible solution, the power controller can adjust the driving current of the second-stage amplification unit according to a control signal from the processor and / or controller, where the control signal is related to the directional angle of the scanner.

[0301] Design 9

[0302] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in one possible design, the optical signal processing device further includes an optical input and output unit, and the optical input and output unit includes multiple output ports, and the multiple output ports are used to emit the detection signal light into space for detection.

[0303] Optionally, the output port may be provided by a final amplifier and / or provided by a coupler (hereinafter referred to as a transmission coupler for easy distinction). Optionally, the transmission coupler may be an edge coupler or a grating coupler.

[0304] As a possible implementation, the amplifier includes an input end facet and an output end facet. The output end facet can serve as an output port, outputting signal light into space. Figure 9A is a schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. After signal light enters SOA 901, it is emitted from the output end facet of SOA 901 to the outside, forming detection signal light.

[0305] As another possible implementation, the output port of the signal light is provided by a coupler. Figure 9B is a schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. After the signal light enters SOA 902, it is transmitted from the output end face of SOA 902 to emission coupler 903 (i.e., the triangular-shaped component), and is emitted from the end face of emission coupler 903 to form detection signal light.

[0306] It should be understood that Figures 9A and 9B illustrate two possible implementations for illustrating the design of the output port and do not limit the transmission path or optical splitting. For example, the path from SOA 902 to transmit coupler 903 may also pass through an optical splitter and / or an optical switch. Other designs are possible and will not be detailed here.

[0307] Design 10

[0308] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in another possible design, the optical signal processing device may further include a plurality of receiving ports, where the plurality of receiving ports are used to receive return signal light, where the return signal light includes a reflection of the detection signal light.

[0309] It should be noted that although the term "return signal light" is used here, it does not limit the return signal light to only the reflection of the detection signal light. For example, the return signal light may also include signal light from other light sources within the field of view, such as the sun, street lights, car lights, or lasers.

[0310] Optionally, the receiving port may be implemented by a coupler (hereinafter referred to as a receiving coupler for ease of distinction), such as an edge coupler or a grating coupler.

[0311] As a possible design, the receiving port can be coupled with the output port. That is, the output port can also serve as a receiving port. For example, a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) can provide three ports (referred to as port 1, port 2, and port 2 for easy distinction), wherein port 1 receives the detection signal light and outputs it to space through port 3, and port 3 also receives the signal light from the field of view and outputs the signal light from the field of view from port 2 as the return signal light, that is, the PBS can provide both an output port and a receiving port. For another example, a polarization beam splitting grating (PSGC) coupler also includes port 1 and port 2, wherein port 1 is used to receive the signal light to be detected and output it to space, and port 2 is used to obtain the return signal light.

[0312] As we learned from the previous design, the power of the signal light is controllable. As a possible design, the power of the detection signal light can be adjusted by monitoring the energy intensity of the return signal light.

[0313] For example, when the return signal light intensity is too low, the detection signal light power can be increased to improve the detection accuracy.

[0314] For example, when the intensity of the return signal light is too high, the power of the detection signal light can be reduced. This can not only reduce energy consumption, but also reduce the possibility of burning out the detection element due to strong reflection from high-reflection or angle-reflection targets.

[0315] In some possible scenarios, there is a corresponding relationship between the receiving port and the output port. For example, taking the first output port and the first receiving port as an example, the signal light received by the first receiving port includes a reflection of the detection signal light output by the first output port. In this case, when the power of the signal light received by the first receiving port is greater than a first threshold, the optical signal processing device can reduce the driving current of the second-stage amplification unit to reduce the power of the detection signal light output by the first output port. Similarly, when the power of the signal light received by the first receiving port is less than a second threshold, the optical signal processing device increases the driving current of the second-stage amplification unit to increase the power of the detection signal light output by the first transmitting sub-port.

[0316] Optionally, the operation of adjusting the driving current may be implemented by a power controller.

[0317] As a possible solution, the optical signal processing device further includes a mixing unit, which is used to obtain one or more mixing results based on the return signal light and the local oscillator signal light. The mixing result here can be a signal light obtained through mixing or beat frequency processing.

[0318] Optionally, the local oscillator signal light is a signal light having the same properties as the signal light from the laser. For example, as mentioned above, the local oscillator signal light may belong to the aforementioned sub-signal light, or the aforementioned second signal light.

[0319] 10A is a schematic diagram of the structure of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The optical signal processing device may include multiple receiving ports and a mixing unit 1001. Exemplarily, the mixing unit may include multiple mixers.

[0320] The input of the mixing unit 1001 is the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light received by the receiving port. For ease of understanding, the return signal light is represented as e0, e1, e2 and e3 respectively. The local oscillator signal light also contains signal lights of multiple channels, represented as a 1_0 、a 1_1 、a 1_2 and a 1_3 The mixing unit is used to mix the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light to obtain multiple mixing results. As shown in Figure 10A, the local oscillator signal light a 1_0 The returned signal light e0 is mixed in the mixer to obtain the mixing result f0. Similarly, the local oscillator signal light e1 and the returned signal light a 1_1 The mixing is performed in the mixer to obtain the mixing result f1. The mixing of the remaining signal lights is similarly performed to obtain the mixing results f0, f1, f2 and f3.

[0321] Furthermore, the mixing result can be input into the detection unit for further processing. As shown in FIG10A , the mixing result f1 can be input into the input port 1003 of the detection unit (the input port of the detection unit is indicated by a circle).

[0322] Optionally, some detection units may also receive output from the feedback unit 1002 (described below).

[0323] FIG10B is a schematic diagram of the structure of another possible optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The optical signal processing device may include multiple receiving ports and mixing units (multiple mixers as shown in FIG10B ).

[0324] The inputs to the mixing unit are the local oscillator (LO) signal light and the return signal light received by the receiving port. The LO signal light (e.g., b1, b3, b5, and b7 shown in Figure 10B) is introduced from the second beam splitting unit, which can be either before or after the final SOA. The mixing unit is used to mix the LO signal light and the return signal light to produce multiple mixing results. As shown in Figure 10B, the LO signal light and the return signal light are mixed in the mixer to produce mixing results, which are then input to the input port 1004 of the detection unit for further processing.

[0325] As a possible implementation, the local oscillator signal light may be obtained by partially reflecting the outgoing signal light, or the signal light received by the receiving port includes the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light.

[0326] Please refer to Figure 10C, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Signal light output from an output port (e.g., an SOA) passes through optical module 1005. Optical module 1005 includes a partially reflective and partially transmissive optical element that partially reflects the output signal light. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the reflection ratio of the partially reflective and partially transmissive optical element; for example, a transflective, semi-transmissive optical element or a 70% transmissive, 30% reflective optical element is applicable to this solution.

[0327] As shown in FIG10C , the optical module 1005 includes a PBS, a QWP, a semi-transparent mirror, an HWP (optional), and a reflector (optional). The signal light output from the output port passes through the PBS, QWP, and semi-transparent mirror. Approximately half of the signal light passes through the semi-transparent mirror, and the other half is reflected. The reflected signal light passes through the QWP again. Since the polarization direction changes after passing through the QWP twice, the signal light reflected by the semi-transparent mirror is reflected again when passing through the PBS, and then passes through the HWP (optional) and reflector (optional) to reach the receiving port. The signal light reflected by the semi-transparent mirror can be used as the local oscillator signal light.

[0328] Furthermore, the return signal light from the field of view passes through the QWP and PBS, is reflected when passing through the PBS, and passes through the HWP (optional) and the reflector (optional) to reach the receiving port.

[0329] Optionally, the QWP may also be replaced by one or more of two eighth wave plates, a Faraday rotator, a combination of a Faraday rotator and a wave plate, or a combination of a quarter wave plate and a half wave plate.

[0330] As a possible implementation, the signal light received by the receiving port includes the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light. Therefore, the signal light received by the receiving port can be regarded as a mixed signal light. Furthermore, the signal light received by the receiving port can be input to the input port 1004 of the detector for further processing.

[0331] It should be noted that FIG10C illustrates multiple optical modules respectively disposed before multiple receiving ports as an example. In a specific implementation, the multiple optical modules can be replaced with optical modules covering multiple transmitting ports and receiving ports.

[0332] Figure 10D is a schematic diagram of the structure of another optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The functions implemented by multiple optical modules 1005 in Figure 10C can be implemented by optical module 1006, which covers multiple transmitting ports and receiving ports.

[0333] The mixing result obtained by the optical signal processing device is used to determine relevant information of the target in the field of view, such as the target's distance, position, speed, reflectivity or color.

[0334] As a possible implementation, the mixing result may be transmitted to a detection unit, which may obtain an electrical signal based on the mixing result. The electrical signal may be used to process and obtain relevant information about the target.

[0335] The detection unit may include one or more detection elements (or detectors), which can be used to receive signal light and generate electrical signals. For example, the detection element may be a photodiode (PD) capable of detecting light energy, such as an InGaAs PD, InP PD, or germanium PD. Accordingly, the detection unit may be an InGaAs PD array, an InP PD array, or the like.

[0336] In some scenarios, when a detection unit includes multiple detection elements, the multiple detection elements can be arranged in an array, for example, 10 detection elements can be arranged to form a 1×10 array, a 2×5 array, etc. In this case, the detection unit can also be called an array detector.

[0337] Optionally, the detection unit can be positioned outside the edge of the optical signal processing device. When the detection unit is positioned externally, the optical signal processing device is smaller and easier to manufacture. For example, the optical signal processing device and the detection unit can be manufactured separately, and the detection element can be subsequently mounted on the edge of the optical signal processing device, allowing the detection element to process the output of the optical signal processing device. Of course, mounting is only an exemplary embodiment, and can also be replaced by flip-chip, surface mount, and other methods.

[0338] Alternatively, the detection elements in the detection unit can be integrated into the optical signal processing device. For example, multiple detection elements can be fabricated and coupled to a chip (or material platform) through on-chip integration. For example, the optical signal processing device is implemented using a silicon photonic chip, which includes an integrally fabricated germanium PD.

[0339] Placing the detection element within the optical signal processing device optimizes the topology of the optical signal processing device. This structure effectively avoids waveguide crossover, essentially achieving zero or low crosstalk, thereby improving signal detection capabilities and lowering the discrimination threshold.

[0340]

Design 11

[0341] As a possible implementation, when there are multiple lasers, the return signal may include reflections of signal light from multiple lasers. When processing the return signal light, it is necessary to split the return signal light so that it can be mixed with the local oscillator signal light from each of the multiple lasers. Optionally, the splitting can separate the signal light corresponding to different lasers.

[0342] The following describes the processing of return signal light using an example where the laser includes a first laser and a second laser. It should be understood that when a beam splitter can separate signal light of different properties, this can also be referred to as a demultiplexing process. While this application uses beam splitting as an example, the same applies to demultiplexing.

[0343] As a possible solution, the optical signal processing device further includes a third beam splitting unit and a frequency mixing unit.

[0344] The third beam splitting unit is configured to split the return signal light into a first sub-return signal light and a second sub-return signal light. The mixing unit is configured to mix the first sub-return signal light with the first sub-local oscillator signal light to obtain a first mixing result, and to mix the second sub-return signal light with the second sub-local oscillator signal light to obtain a second mixing result. The first sub-local oscillator signal light originates from the first laser, and the second sub-local oscillator signal light originates from the second laser.

[0345] Figure 11A is a schematic diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The optical signal device divides the signal light from the first laser into two parts, namely, sub-signal light a0 and sub-signal light a1, and divides the signal light from the second laser into two parts, namely, sub-signal light c0 and sub-signal light c1. Among them, sub-signal light a0 and sub-signal light c0 are used as detection signal lights, which are amplified by the beam combining unit, the second beam splitting unit and the multi-stage amplification unit (such as SOA) and then emitted. Sub-signal light a1 and sub-signal light c1 serve as the first sub-local oscillator signal light and the second sub-local oscillator signal light, respectively. Furthermore, the first sub-local oscillator signal light (a1) can be further split to obtain signal light a 1_0 、a 1_1 、a 1_2 and a 1_3 The second sub-local oscillator signal light (c1) can be further split to obtain signal light c 1_0 、c 1_1 、c 1_2 and c 1_3 .

[0346] The receiving port receives the return signal light. Each return signal light is split by the third beam splitting unit (including four "demultiplexing" modules) into two sub-return signal light paths, which are mixed with two local oscillator signal light paths (a first sub-local oscillator signal light and a second sub-local oscillator signal light). Alternatively, the multiple demultiplexing modules of the present application can also be replaced with a beam splitter, such as a wavelength splitter or an energy splitter.

[0347] As shown in FIG11A , the first sub-return signal light may include: e0, e1, e2 and e3, and the second sub-return signal light may include: g0, g1, g2 and g3. Exemplarily, the mixing unit 1101 includes four beam splitters for mixing the first sub-return signal light and the first sub-local oscillator signal light. The sub-return signal light e0 and the first sub-local oscillator signal light a 1_0 Mixing, obtaining a mixing result f0; the mixing unit 1102 includes four beam splitters for mixing the second sub-return signal light and the second sub-local oscillator signal light, the sub-return signal light g0 and the second sub-local oscillator signal light c 1_3 The mixing is performed to obtain a mixing result f8. The rest of the cases are analogous, and can be referred to FIG11A.

[0348] As another possible solution, the local oscillator signal light may be combined by a beam combining unit, that is, the local oscillator signal light includes the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser. In this case, the optical signal processing device further includes a fourth beam splitting unit. The fourth beam splitting unit is configured to demultiplex the local oscillator signal light to obtain a first sub-local oscillator signal light and a second sub-local oscillator signal light, with the first sub-local oscillator signal light serving as the local oscillator signal for the signal light from the first laser, and the second sub-local oscillator signal light serving as the local oscillator signal for the signal light from the second laser.

[0349] As shown in Figure 11B, this is a schematic diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The optical signal device divides the signal light from the first laser into two parts, namely, sub-signal light a0 and sub-signal light a1, and divides the signal light from the second laser into two parts, namely, sub-signal light c0 and sub-signal light c1. Among them, sub-signal light a0 and sub-signal light c0, after beam combining and beam splitting, obtain multiple second signal lights, for example, represented as b0, b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6 and b7. Among them, b0, b2, b4 and b6 are emitted. Among them, b1, b3, b5 and b7 are used as local oscillator signal lights, and after being processed by the fourth beam splitting unit (including 4 "beam splitting" modules), the first sub-local oscillator signal light and the second sub-local oscillator signal light are respectively obtained. For example, the first sub-local oscillator signal light contains b 1_0 、b 3_0 、b 5_0 and b 7_0 , the second sub-LO signal light contains b 1_1、b 3_1 、b 5_1 and b 7_1 .

[0350] The receiving port receives the return signal light, for example, the return signal light includes e0, e1, e2 and e3, and each return signal light passes through the third beam splitting unit (including 4 "beam splitting" modules) to obtain the first sub-return signal light and the second sub-return signal light. 0_0 、e 1_0 、e 2_0 and e 3_0 , the second sub-return signal light contains e 0_1 、e 1_1 、e 2_1 and e 3_1 .

[0351] For example, the return signal light e 0_0 With the first sub-local oscillator signal light b 1_0 Mixing, get a mixing result, the sub-return signal light e 0_1 With the first sub-local oscillator signal light b 1_1 The mixing is performed to obtain a mixing result. The rest of the cases are analogous, as shown in FIG11B .

[0352] It should be noted that in various embodiments of the present application, the beam splitting of the return signal light may be energy beam splitting or wavelength beam splitting. In addition, the term "demultiplexing" described in some embodiments may also be replaced by "beam splitting".

[0353] As another possible solution, the return signal light may be split by an optical element and then received by a receiving port.

[0354] FIG11C is a schematic diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. For the relevant description of the signal light emission part, please refer to FIG11B and will not be repeated here.

[0355] The processing of the return signal light is as follows: the signal lights e0, e1, e2 and e3 are split by the optical module (such as comprising four splitting elements 1103), and each path is divided into two sub-signal lights. The receiving port receives the sub-return signal light and obtains four first sub-return signal lights and four second sub-return signal lights. As shown in the figure, the first sub-return signal light includes e 0_0 、e 1_0 、e 2_0 and e 3_0 , the second sub-return signal light contains e 0_1 、e 1_1 、e 2_1 and e 3_1 .

[0356] For example, the return signal light e 0_0 With the first sub-local oscillator signal light b 1_0 Mixing, get a mixing result; the return signal light e 0_1 With the first sub-local oscillator signal light b 1_1 The mixing is performed to obtain a mixing result. The rest of the cases are analogous, as shown in FIG11B .

[0357] The optical splitter element 1103 may be a grating, an interferometer, etc. For example, WDM, AWG, MMI, DC, etc.

[0358] Optionally, Figure 11C illustrates the light splitting by multiple light splitting elements 1103. In a specific implementation, the signal light from the field of view can also be split as a whole to obtain signal light that can be received by multiple receiving elements.

[0359] It should be understood that the number of transmitting channels and the number of receiving channels provided in each embodiment of the present application are only examples, and more or fewer channels may be included in the specific implementation process. For example, the 4 channels of transmitted signal light and the 8 channels of return signal light shown in Figure 11C are only examples. In addition, the arrangement of the output port (such as the output end face of the SOA) and the receiving port shown in Figure 11C is only for reference. For other arrangements, the design of "the return signal light can be split by an optical element and then received by the receiving port" can also be applied.

[0360] As another possible solution, the signal light received by the receiving port may contain signal light that can serve as a local oscillator. In this case, the signal light received by the receiving port can be separated into two groups of signal light through a beam splitter. The two groups of signal light can correspond to different lasers. The two groups of signal light enter different detection units for detection, eliminating the need for additional frequency mixing.

[0361] FIG11D is a schematic diagram of another possible optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The relevant description of the signal light emission portion is referred to above and will not be repeated here. The signal light output from the output port (such as the output end face of the SOA) passes through the optical module, which includes an optical element with partial reflection and partial transmission, which can partially reflect the output signal light.

[0362] As shown in Figure 11D, the optical module includes a PBS, a QWP, a semi-transparent mirror, an HWP (optional), and a reflector (optional). The signal light output from the output port passes through the PBS, QWP, and semi-transparent mirror. Approximately half of the signal light passes through the semi-transparent mirror, and the other half is reflected. The reflected signal light passes through the QWP again. Since the polarization direction changes after passing through the QWP twice, the signal light reflected by the semi-transparent mirror is reflected again when passing through the PBS, and then passes through the HWP (optional) and reflector (optional) to reach the receiving port. The signal light reflected by the semi-transparent mirror can be used as the local oscillator signal light.

[0363] Furthermore, the return signal light from the field of view passes through the QWP and PBS, is reflected when passing through the PBS, and passes through the HWP (optional) and the reflector (optional) to reach the receiving port.

[0364] As a possible implementation, the signal light received by the receiving port includes the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light. Therefore, the signal light received by the receiving port can be considered as mixed signal light. Because both the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light contain signal light from two lasers, a beam splitter can be used to split the signal light received by the receiving port. This allows multiple sampling points to be obtained based on a single return signal light, improving resolution.

[0365] Furthermore, the split signal light can be input to the input port of the detection unit for further processing. Optionally, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the reflection ratio of the partially reflective and partially transmissive optical element. For example, a semi-transparent and semi-reflective optical element, or a 70% transmission and 30% reflection optical element, is applicable to this solution. The semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror shown in Figure 11D is only an example.

[0366] Design 12

[0367] Since there are multiple output ports and multiple output ports, the arrangement of the receiving port and the reflective port of the optical signal processing device can have many possible designs. The following are several possible situations:

[0368] In case 1, multiple receiving ports are arranged in columns to form a receiving port group, and multiple output ports are arranged in columns to form an output port group. The receiving port group and the output port group are arranged opposite to each other, and one output port and at least one receiving port are arranged opposite to each other and share an optical module.

[0369] The relative arrangement may be that the devices are installed in opposite directions (or have surfaces facing each other), or they may be installed in the same direction but opposite in spatial position.

[0370] As an example of an example of a receiving port and an output port being arranged relative to each other, Figure 12A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application, wherein the output port and the receiving port are arranged relative to each other on the left and right sides. Figure 12B is a schematic diagram of an optical path according to an embodiment of the present application, in which signal light is transmitted along the sides of the surfaces opposite the transmitting and receiving end faces. The detection signal light output by the output port and the signal light received by the receiving port pass through the same optical module 1201. Since both the output signal light and the received signal light pass through the optical module, the optical module 1201 can also be referred to as a transceiver optical module.

[0371] It should be noted that Figures 12A and 12B illustrate an example in which one output port corresponds to one receiving port. In a specific implementation, one output port may also correspond to multiple receiving ports. Figure 12C is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application showing a receiving port and an output port arranged relative to each other. One output port corresponds to two receiving ports, such as output port 1 corresponding to receiving port 1_1 and receiving port 1_2, with output port 1 being arranged relative to receiving port 1_1 and receiving port 1_2. Furthermore, receiving port 1_1 and receiving port 1_2 are closely arranged, and output port 1, receiving port 1_1, and receiving port 1_2 share a transceiver optical module.

[0372] Optionally, the receiving port 1_1 and the receiving port 1_2 may obtain two echo signals, which also correspond to two local oscillator signals during mixing and are mixed with the respective corresponding mixing signals.

[0373] As an example of the relative arrangement of a receiving port and an output port, Figure 13A is a schematic diagram of another relative arrangement of a receiving port and an output port provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the output port and the receiving port are arranged vertically relative to each other. Figure 13B is a schematic diagram of another optical path provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the output port and the receiving port transmit signal light at the transmitting end face and the receiving end face, and the signal light output by the output port and the signal light received by the receiving port pass through the same optical module 1301.

[0374] Optionally, there may be multiple optical modules. For example, the number of optical modules is the same as the number of receiving ports or output ports. In this case, one receiving port and one output port share one optical module, and another receiving port and another output port share another optical module.

[0375] Alternatively, there may be only one optical module, and multiple receiving ports and multiple output ports all share the same optical module.

[0376] Optionally, the optical path of the detection signal light and the optical path of the reception signal light may be coaxial or off-axis.

[0377] In case 2, the multiple receiving ports are arranged in columns to form a receiving port group, and the multiple output ports are arranged in columns to form an output port group; the receiving port group shares a receiving optical module, and the output port group shares a transmitting optical module.

[0378] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of another output port and receiving port according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein an output port group 1401 includes multiple output ports, and a receiving port group 1403 includes multiple receiving ports. The multiple output ports share an optical module 1402, and the multiple receiving ports share an optical module 1404.

[0379] In case three, the output port group includes multiple output ports, and the spacing between the multiple output ports can be designed so that the spacing between some output ports is relatively smaller, thereby improving the detection accuracy of some areas within the field of view.

[0380] As a possible implementation, the spacing between the output ports in the upper portion is smaller than the spacing between the output ports in the lower portion. Figure 15A is a schematic diagram of a possible output port configuration provided in an embodiment of the present application. Output port group 1501 includes multiple output ports, wherein the spacing between the output ports in the upper portion is D1, and the spacing between the output ports in the lower portion is D2, where D1 < D2. Of course, depending on the usage scenario, D1 < D2 can also be designed.

[0381] As another possible implementation, the spacing between the output ports in the middle portion is smaller than the spacing between the output ports in the edge portion. FIG15B is a schematic diagram of a possible output port provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein output port group 1502 includes multiple output ports, the spacing between the output ports in the upper portion is D3, the spacing between the output ports in the middle portion is D4, and the spacing between the output ports in the lower portion is D5, where D4 < D3 and / or D4 < D5.

[0382] Consider a possible scenario where the detection signal light emitted by the output port in the upper portion is directed toward the top of the field of view, the detection signal light emitted by the output port in the middle portion is directed toward the center of the field of view, and the detection signal light emitted by the output port in the lower portion is directed toward the bottom of the field of view. When the field of view of the optical signal processing device is in front of the vehicle, since the field of view in front of the vehicle is usually above buildings or the sky, the field of view below is the ground at close range, and the field of view in the middle of the field of view is the ground at medium and long distances in front of the vehicle, densely arranging the output ports pointing toward the center of the field of view can improve the resolution of the detection results for the center of the field of view, improve detection accuracy, facilitate subsequent target recognition or autonomous driving decision-making, and improve the usability of the detection results.

[0383] Optionally, the distance between D3 and D5 can be designed based on actual needs, for example, D5 < D3. For example, in the aforementioned vehicle driving scenario, the lower portion of the field of view is of greater interest than the upper portion. In this case, the spacing between the output ports in the lower portion can be designed to be smaller than the spacing between the output ports in the upper portion.

[0384] Of course, depending on the usage scenario, it is also possible to design D3>D5, D3=D5, etc. In short, by transmitting through multiple output ports, the spacing between the output ports can be designed so that the detection resolution and detection accuracy meet the detection requirements and improve the detection performance.

[0385] Design 13

[0386] As mentioned above, the optical signal processing device of the present application can have a transmit and receive optical path that is coaxial or off-axis. The following describes the coaxial optical path design and the off-axis optical path design respectively.

[0387] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of a possible off-axis optical path provided by an embodiment of the present application. The signal light is transmitted through a transmitter (Tx, also called a detection) coupler to form a detection signal light. The detection signal light passes through a transmitting lens (Tx lens) and irradiates a target within the field of view, generating reflection to form a return signal light. The return signal light passes through a receiving (Rx) lens and is received by a receiving coupler (Rxcoupler). The optical axes of the detection signal light and the reflected signal light are different.

[0388] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a possible coaxial optical path provided by an embodiment of the present application. The detection signal light is emitted into space through the transmitting coupler, passes through the transmitting lens and PBS, and is transmitted to the quarter wave plate. At this time, the polarization direction of the detection signal light is P polarization. The quarter wave plate (QWP) changes the polarization direction of the detection signal light and converts linear polarization into circular polarization. Therefore, the detection signal light after passing through the quarter wave plate is circularly polarized. The circularly polarized light is reflected on the target within the field of view to form a return signal light (still circularly polarized). When the return signal light passes through the quarter wave plate again, the polarization direction changes, forming a return signal light with an S polarization direction. The S-polarized return signal light is reflected after passing through the PBS and reaches the receiving coupler through the receiving lens. The optical axis of the detection signal light and the reflected signal light is the same.

[0389] Optionally, the detection signal light is P-polarized light.

[0390] Alternatively, the QWP in each embodiment of the present application may be replaced by one or more of two eighth wave plates, a Faraday rotator, a combination of a Faraday rotator and a wave plate, or a combination of a quarter wave plate and a half wave plate.

[0391] As a possible implementation scheme, a half wave plate (HWP) can also be set in the optical path between the PBS and the receiving coupler. The HWP converts the S-polarized return signal light into P-polarized return signal light, so that the signal light output into space by the optical signal processing device and the received signal light have the same polarization direction, which is beneficial to subsequent optical path processing.

[0392] Furthermore, in some scenarios, waveguides have different polarization-maintaining properties. Therefore, the signal light transmitted in the optical signal processing device has a consistent polarization direction, which facilitates optical path design and waveguide procurement, reducing the complexity of optical path design.

[0393] It should be understood that one or more reflectors (or optical elements with a reflective function) may be provided in the optical path to change the propagation direction of the signal light. The present application does not limit the number and placement of the reflectors.

[0394] Of course, FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are exemplary introductions made to explain the concepts of coaxial and off-axis, and are not intended to limit the coaxial and off-axis solutions of the present application to be implemented in the above manner.

[0395] Design 14

[0396] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in another possible design, the optical signal processing device further includes an optical switch, which is used to control the on / off state of the optical transmission path.

[0397] As a possible solution, an optical switch is included before at least one output port, and the optical switch is used to select a plurality of output ports between the at least one output port.

[0398] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of a possible optical switch provided by an embodiment of the present application. When optical switch 1801 is switched upward, an optical path is formed between optical switch 1801 and output port 0, thereby enabling output port 0. When optical switch 1801 is switched downward, an optical path is formed between optical switch 1801 and output port 1, thereby enabling output port 1.

[0399] It should be understood that the optical switch can be coupled to multiple optical paths in the optical signal processing device. For example, the optical switch can be arranged between the second beam splitting unit and the output port to control whether a path is formed between the second beam splitting unit and the output port.

[0400] In some possible scenarios, there may be multiple optical switches, for example, multiple switches may be used to form an optical route, thereby selecting one or more channels from multiple channels.

[0401] As a possible implementation method, an optical switch can switch between channels of multiple output ports, increasing the number of transmission channels through time multiplexing. At the same time, using an optical switch to switch the transmission channels can prevent the optical power of each channel from being lost, thereby ensuring the luminous power of each transmission channel.

[0402] FIG19 is a schematic diagram of another possible optical switch provided in an embodiment of the present application. Taking an optical switch enabling four output ports as an example, at time t0, multiple optical switches enable output port 0; at time t1, multiple optical switches enable output port 1; at time t2, multiple optical switches enable output port 2; and at time t3, multiple optical switches enable output port 3.

[0403] By using optical switches, multiple output ports are sequentially enabled in a pre-set order. This reduces the number of SOAs and output power requirements compared to enabling all output ports simultaneously. Furthermore, this solution allows for flexible selection of output ports based on resolution or detection performance requirements, improving usability.

[0404] Design 15

[0405] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in another possible design, the optical signal processing device further includes a feedback unit. The feedback unit receives a portion of the signal light from the laser as input, and the feedback unit is configured to detect frequency sweep information and / or phase noise of the signal light from the laser based on the feedback signal light.

[0406] The output of the feedback unit (i.e., the feedback result) can be one or more signal lights. Optionally, the output of the feedback unit can be provided to a detection unit, which can obtain an electrical signal based on the feedback result from the feedback unit. This electrical signal can be used to obtain sweep frequency information and / or phase noise of the signal light from the laser.

[0407] As shown in FIG10A , among the multiple sub-signal lights, sub-signal light a3 is input into the feedback unit as feedback signal light.

[0408] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of a possible feedback unit provided in an embodiment of the present application. The feedback unit includes a beam splitting unit 2001 and a frequency mixing unit 2002 .

[0409] After the signal light is input into the beam splitter 2001, it is split into two paths. The beam splitter 2001 includes two optical paths of unequal length. After traveling through these two optical paths, the two signal light paths are input into the mixer 2002. The mixer 2002 mixes the two signal light paths to generate one or more feedback results.

[0410] Furthermore, one or more feedback results output by the frequency mixing unit 2002 may be received by a detection element of the detection unit.

[0411] Optionally, the beam splitting unit 2001 may include an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer (AMZI). The mixing unit 2002 may include an in-phase / quadrature (I / Q or IQ) mixer, such as a 2×4 (2-input, 4-output) MMI, or a 2×2 (2-input, 2-output) MMI mixer.

[0412] The detection unit may include multiple detection elements, some of which may receive the signal light output from the feedback unit. For example, the mixing unit 2002 may include one mixer, such as a 2×4 MMI mixer, and thus the mixing unit may output four signal lights, each of which may be received by four detection elements.

[0413]

Design 16

[0414] Not limited to the aforementioned design, in another possible design, the optical signal processing device is implemented by a chip or a material platform, and the chip and / or the material platform includes different layers.

[0415] Optionally, the optical paths for transmitting the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light are located in different layers of the substrate. And / or, the optical paths for transmitting the feedback signal light and the return signal light are located in different layers of the substrate.

[0416] The above describes some possible designs of the embodiments of the present application. During implementation, the above multiple designs may be combined. The following describes an exemplary combination of some designs. It should be understood that for modules and logic not explained in the following manner, reference can be made to the basic structure and possible designs described above.

[0417] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram of a possible application of an optical signal processing device 210 provided in an embodiment of the present application. After the linearly swept laser light emitted by the FMCW laser is coupled into the optical waveguide, it is split into three beams by the first beam splitting unit. One beam serves as the detection signal light (Tx), which is amplified by the SOA and split by the second beam splitting unit before being emitted. One beam serves as the feedback signal light and is input to the AMZI. The last beam, after being split, serves as the local oscillator (LO) signal light and is mixed with the return signal light (Rx).

[0418] The optical signal processing device 210 processes the detection signal light as follows: after amplification by the first-stage SOA, it is split into eight beams by the second beam splitting unit. The end of the second beam splitting unit enters the second-stage SOA, and after amplification, it is emitted from the SOA output end facet to form eight channels of detection signal light. The power of the detection signal light in each channel is the output power of the second-stage SOA.

[0419] The optical signal processing device 210 processes the feedback signal light as follows: the feedback signal light is input into the AMZI, and the AMZI splits the feedback signal light into two paths. After passing through two optical paths of unequal lengths, the feedback signal light is received and detected by four PDs after passing through an IQ mixer such as a 2×4 MMI, or by two PDs after passing through a mixer such as a 2×2 MMI.

[0420] The optical signal processing device 210 processes the local oscillator (LO) signal light as follows: The LO signal light is split by a beam splitter into the same number of LO channels as the transmit channels (i.e., eight channels of LO signal light), which are then mapped one-to-one to the receive channels (i.e., eight channels of return signal light). The beam splitter can include an MMI or DC beam splitter, enabling equal or unequal division of the optical energy.

[0421] The eight channels of local oscillator (LO) signal light and the eight channels of return signal light are input to a mixing unit for mixing. The mixing unit may include multiple mixers, such as a 2×2 MMI, a 2×4 MMI, or an IQ mixer. A mixer is used to mix one LO signal light and one return signal light, and output one or more (for example, two) mixing results, which can be received by the PD.

[0422] As a possible scenario, each of the three signal beams generated by the first beam splitting unit must meet a preset energy requirement. If the light source energy is insufficient, a single-stage optical amplification (SOA) can be added before the first beam splitting unit, allowing the signal light to be amplified by the SOA before entering the first beam splitting unit. Alternatively, the signal light can be split by the first beam splitting unit and then amplified further in the subsequent optical path.

[0423] Optionally, the first beam splitting unit and / or the second beam splitting unit may be formed by cascading at least one 1-to-2 beam splitter, or at least one 1-to-3 beam splitter. Further, the signal light after the beam splitter is split may be designed to meet a certain ratio requirement.

[0424] In the optical signal processing device shown in FIG21 , the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light mix in the waveguide, and the waveguide propagating the local oscillator signal light and the waveguide propagating the return signal light may intersect. Since the optical signal processing device can be a multi-layer structure, as a possible solution, the waveguide propagating the local oscillator signal light or the waveguide propagating the feedback signal light can be in the same layer as the waveguide propagating the return wave, or they can be in different layers. Note that the term "layer" here refers to layered waveguides in the vertical direction. For example, as shown in FIG21 , the waveguide represented by the solid line is in the first layer, while the waveguide represented by the dashed line is in the second layer.

[0425] Optionally, the detector array includes multiple detection elements, each of which may be a photodetector (PD) capable of detecting light energy. The detector array may be an InGaAs PD array, an InP PD array, or the like, coupled to the silicon photonic chip via packaging or flip-chip bonding, or may be a germanium PD integrally fabricated with the silicon photonic chip.

[0426] As shown in Figure 21, the receiving coupler uses an edge coupler to couple the return signal light focused by the receiving lens into an optical waveguide for mixing. The receiving couplers correspond to the transmitting SOAs in equal number. The return signal from a particular transmitting channel is received by the receiving coupler at the corresponding position.

[0427] In the embodiment shown in Figure 21, the transmitting portion uses a set of light sources to split the light into a linear array. A multi-stage SOA amplifies the signal light power, increasing the number of channels while ensuring the power of each channel. Furthermore, the SOA can adjust the power and control the selection of light-emitting channels, enhancing the flexibility of the transmitting array design. Furthermore, by transmitting the signal light through waveguides and integrating the amplifier with the silicon photonic chip through hybrid integration, heterogeneous integration, or package coupling, it can significantly reduce the size and improve stability.

[0428] Please refer to Figure 22, which is a schematic diagram of another possible application of an optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 22, the FMCW lasers emitted by two FMCW lasers are respectively coupled into the optical waveguide, and the two FMCW lasers are respectively split into three beams by the first beam splitting unit, namely the detection signal light (Tx), the feedback signal light, and the local oscillator signal light (LO). Optionally, each signal beam can be directly split, or after being amplified by the SOA and then split.

[0429] The optical signal processing device 220 processes the detection signal light as follows: the detection signal light, obtained by splitting the two FMCW lasers, is input into a beam combiner. After being combined by the beam combiner, it undergoes multi-stage SOA amplification and beam splitting, and finally is amplified and emitted by the final SOA at the output port. The beam combiner can be a multi-wavelength combiner or a power combiner. In Figure 22, the circle after the FMCW laser represents the coupler, which is the input port of the optical signal processing device and is used to receive the signal light from the laser.

[0430] Optical signal processing device 220 processes the feedback signal light as follows: The two feedback signal beams are input into separate AMZIs. Each AMZI measures information such as the frequency sweep and phase noise of a laser. These parameters can vary depending on the settings of the respective light sources. For a detailed description, please refer to the relevant description of Figure 21.

[0431] The optical signal processing device 220 processes the local oscillator signal light as follows: the two local oscillator signal lights are divided into the same number as the receiving channels, and are mixed with the corresponding return signal lights. As shown in Figure 21, the receiving coupler receives the return signal light formed by the reflection of the outgoing laser formed by the combination of the two light sources on the target surface. The return signal light contains the reflection of the FMCW lasers of the two lasers. The return signal light is received by the receiving coupler and coupled into the optical waveguide and then divided into two parts by the beam splitter. One part contains the reflection of the FMCW laser of the first laser, and is therefore mixed with the local oscillator signal light of the first laser; the other part contains the reflection of the FMCW laser of the second laser, and is therefore mixed with the local oscillator signal light of the second laser. Exemplarily, the beam splitter for separating the return signal light here can be a wavelength splitter device such as AWG or WDM, or can be a power splitter device such as 1×2MMI.

[0432] It should be understood that the feedback signal light and the local oscillator signal light are split by two FMCW lasers. Depending on the power requirement, the splitting position can be before the first-stage SOA, as shown in Figure 22. Alternatively, the splitting position can be after the first-stage SOA.

[0433] For other related descriptions, please refer to the description of Figure 21 above, or you can also combine the aforementioned multiple designs.

[0434] Please refer to Figure 23, which is a schematic diagram of the application of another optical signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 23, the first laser and the second laser have different properties. The optical signal processing device 230 combines the signal light of the first laser and the second laser, and then extracts the local oscillator signal light (LO) and the feedback signal light (i.e., the signal light input to the AMZI). The signal light from different lasers can be distinguished by the properties of the light. For example, the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser can be distinguished by different sweep slopes. For example, the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser can be distinguished by different wavelengths.

[0435] Optionally, the local oscillator signal light derived after beam combining can be split to mix with the split return signal light (Rx) respectively. The beam splitting here includes but is not limited to wavelength splitting or energy splitting.

[0436] Similarly, the feedback signal light drawn out after beam combining can also be input into two feedback units respectively after beam splitting.

[0437] For the description of the components, optical paths, etc. in the optical signal processing device 230, reference may be made to the description of FIG. 21 or FIG. 22 .

[0438] Please refer to Figure 24, which is a schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 24, the first laser and the second laser have different properties. After combining the signal light from the first laser and the second laser, the optical signal processing device 240 extracts the local oscillator signal light (LO) and the feedback signal light (i.e., the signal light input to the AMZI).

[0439] When the LO and return signal (Rx) are mixed, the input local oscillator signal light of each mixer contains both the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser. Accordingly, the return signal light received by the receiving unit is not split and directly beats with the combined local oscillator signal light.

[0440] Furthermore, the beat-frequency output signal from the mixer can be input to a detection unit (i.e., a detector array). The detection unit can distinguish echo signals corresponding to different lasers based on the different properties of the light in the output signal. For example, the detection unit can distinguish echo signals of different frequencies by using different sweep slopes.

[0441] For the description of the components, optical paths, etc. in the optical signal processing device 230, reference may be made to the description of FIG. 21 or FIG. 22 .

[0442] Please refer to Figure 25, which is a schematic diagram of another application of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. In the optical signal processing device 250, the output port (such as the SOA end face) and the receiving port are closely arranged. The output port and the receiving port can use the same optical lens. Optionally, the receiving and transmitting can be coaxial or non-coaxial. For detailed description, please refer to the relevant description in the above embodiments, such as Figure 10A or Figure 22.

[0443] In addition, FIG25 takes the structure of a single light source as an example for introduction, and is also applicable to the structure of a dual light source.

[0444] Please refer to Figure 26, which is a schematic diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 26, the optical signal processing device 260 differs from the optical signal processing device 210 shown in Figure 21 in that the output port of the optical signal processing device 260 uses a surface-coupled grating coupler 2601.

[0445] Optionally, the receiving port of the optical signal processing device 260 is provided by a receiving coupler 2602. By bypassing the local oscillator signal light outside the receiving coupler, the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light are prevented from crossing each other, thereby reducing crosstalk between the signal lights and improving signal effectiveness.

[0446] Please refer to Figure 27, which is a schematic diagram of another application of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The optical signal processing device 270 can perform hierarchical amplification on the signal light from multiple lasers to form a linear beam array emission of multiple channels. Its receiving port is provided by a surface-coupled grating coupler, and the receiving port is provided by a receiving coupler. By bypassing the local oscillator signal light outside the grating coupling and receiving coupler, the crosstalk between the local oscillator signal light and the return signal light is reduced, the crosstalk between the signal lights is reduced, and the signal effectiveness is improved.

[0447] Optionally, the waveguide for propagating the local oscillator signal light and the waveguide for propagating the echo wave may be in the same layer or in different layers, for example, the waveguide for propagating the local oscillator signal light may be in the first layer and the waveguide for propagating the echo wave may be in the second layer.

[0448] Please refer to Figure 28, which is a schematic application diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0449] The output port and the receiving port of the optical signal processing device 280 are closely arranged relative to each other and correspond one to one. Optionally, the receiving port and the output port can share an optical lens.

[0450] In the optical signal processing device 280, each local oscillator (LO) signal can be extracted after the final optical splitter unit (optionally before the final SOA) and transmitted to the mixer for processing with the return signal light.

[0451] Optionally, the detection element may also be integrated into the optical signal processing device 280 .

[0452] Please refer to Figure 29, which is a schematic application diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0453] The optical signal processing device 290 can perform hierarchical amplification on the optical signals from multiple lasers to form a linear beam array transmission of multiple channels.

[0454] In optical signal processing device 290, each LO signal can be extracted after the final optical splitter (optionally before the final SOA), split into two sub-LO signals, which are then mixed with the received echo after splitting. Correspondingly, the return signal light is also split into two return signals, which are then mixed with the two LO signals.

[0455] Please refer to Figure 30, which is a schematic application diagram of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0456] In the optical signal processing device 300 , the signal light amplified by the final SOA can be coupled into the optical waveguide again, and split by the beam splitter into multiple channels of signals to be emitted from the output port.

[0457] Optionally, the signal light passing through the final SOA can undergo multiple splitting operations after being coupled into the optical waveguide. The signal light output from different output ports can undergo different splitting operations and use different numbers of transmit couplers after splitting. The power of the signal light output from each transmit coupler can also be different. This splitting can be achieved using splitting devices such as MMIs or DCs.

[0458] In another possible implementation, as shown in region 3001, signal light passing through the final SOA is split and then passed through one or more optical switches. Optical switches are used to switch between multiple channels, increasing the number of transmission channels through time multiplexing. Furthermore, switching transmission channels using optical switches can keep the output power of each channel similar to that before the optical switch.

[0459] The above describes the optical signal processing device provided in the embodiment of the present application. In the specific implementation process, multiple optical signal processing devices can be set in a device or chip. The following describes the example of setting multiple groups of optical signal processing devices on a chip.

[0460] As one possible design, the chip is provided with M optical signal processing device groups. Each optical signal processing device group can include one or more optical signal processing devices. For details about optical signal processing devices, refer to the above. The chip can receive signal light from N lasers and select one or more of the M optical signal processing device groups through an optical switch tree, where M is an integer greater than 1 and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0461] For each optical signal processing device group, the switch tree can be used to enable the optical signal processing device group to switchably receive signal lights input by 0-N lasers.

[0462] The following description will be made using a silicon photonic chip made of silicon as an example. Please refer to Figure 31, which is a schematic diagram of a possible silicon photonic chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. The number of lasers can be 14, and Figure 31 omits the 12 lasers in the middle. In the silicon photonic chip 310, the number of optical signal processing device groups is M, and each optical signal processing device group exemplarily includes 14 optical signal processing devices. The switch tree can be used to control which or which lasers' signal light the optical signal processing device group processes. It is also possible to control which one or which optical signal processing devices in the optical signal processing device group perform the processing.

[0463] As another possible design, N groups of optical signal processing devices are provided in the silicon photonic chip, wherein the N groups of optical signal processing devices can be arranged relative to each other, for example, every two optical signal processing devices are arranged in an axisymmetric manner.

[0464] Please refer to Figure 32, which is a schematic diagram of another possible silicon photonic chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. Silicon photonic chip 320 includes two optical signal processing devices arranged opposite to each other. The optical signal processing device shown in Figure 26 is used as an example for the optical signal processing device described herein, and the same applies to the optical signal processing devices of other embodiments.

[0465] Of course, multiple optical signal processing devices may also be stacked in multiple layers in the vertical direction.

[0466] The above introduces the structures of the optical signal processing device and the silicon photonic chip. The following is an exemplary description of the working scenarios of the optical signal processing device and the chip.

[0467] Figure 33 is a schematic diagram of a working scenario of an optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The optical signal processing device can receive signal light from a light source (such as a laser) and process it to obtain multiple detection signal lights (depicted as solid lines with arrows in the figure). These multiple detection signal lights are presented in the form of a beam array and emitted into the field of view via an optical module 3301. Each detection signal light can correspond to an angular range in the field of view.

[0468] Furthermore, the optical signal processing device can also receive signal light from within the field of view with the help of the optical module 3301 .

[0469] In FIG33 , the optical module may include one or more optical elements, including but not limited to lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, gratings, wave plates, light homogenizers, or scanning devices.

[0470] The scanning device is used to provide the detection signal light at different angles to different angular ranges of the field of view. The scanning method can be one-dimensional or two-dimensional. This application does not limit the scanning method or the device that implements the scanning. For example, the scanning device can implement one-dimensional or two-dimensional scanning by means of an oscillating mirror, a rotating mirror (polygon), a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) galvanometer, a metal galvanometer, etc.

[0471] As shown in Figure 34, an embodiment of the present application provides a schematic diagram of a working scenario of another optical signal processing device. The optical signal processing device can receive signal light from a light source (such as a laser) and process it to obtain multiple detection signal lights (depicted as solid lines with arrows in the figure). These multiple detection signal lights are presented in the form of a beam array and are emitted into the field of view at a certain angle with the help of a scanning device 3401. For example, at a certain moment, the signal light processed by the optical signal processing device is irradiated onto area 3402 in the field of view. By changing the angle of the scanner, the signal light can complete the scanning of the field of view.

[0472] In some scenarios, the output port of the optical signal processing device itself can be designed to meet the detection resolution requirements for different areas within the field of view. Alternatively, by combining multiple optical signal processing devices, the detection resolution requirements for different areas within the field of view can be designed.

[0473] Figure 35 is a schematic diagram of the working scenario of another optical signal processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Optical signal processing device A receives signal light from laser A, processes it to obtain multiple detection signal lights, and irradiates them onto area 3502 in the field of view through a scanning device 3501. Similarly, optical signal processing device B receives signal light from laser B, processes it to obtain multiple detection signal lights, and irradiates them onto area 3503 in the field of view through a scanning device 3501. The detection signal lights processed by the two optical signal processing devices form an overlapping area 3504 in the middle area of ​​the field of view, so that the detection results of the overlapping area 3504 have a higher resolution.

[0474] Of course, in the specific implementation process, more resolution designs can be achieved through more optical signal processing devices, which will not be described one by one here.

[0475] The following is an introduction to the detection device provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0476] Please refer to Figure 36, which is a structural diagram of a possible laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present application. The laser radar 360 includes a laser (or laser) and an optical signal processing device 3601.

[0477] The optical signal processing device 3601 may include one or more of a plurality of beam splitters, a multi-stage SOA, a receiving coupler, a mixer, an AMZI, etc., such as the units shown by solid lines in the optical signal processing device 3601. The beam splitter may include an LO beam splitter for splitting an LO beam.

[0478] Optionally, the optical signal processing device 3601 further includes a transmitting coupler, a switch (such as an optical switch) or a beam combiner, such as the units shown by dotted lines in the optical signal processing device 3601. The description of the optical signal processing device 3601 can be referred to above and will not be described here one by one.

[0479] In some scenarios, the lidar may also include one or more of a laser, a detector array, an analog digital converter (ADC), a transimpedance amplifier (TIA), a driver (e.g., a laser driver), a control and data processing module, or an optical device (including a scanner). The aforementioned one or more modules can be implemented in a circuit manner. For example, the ADC can also be a sampling circuit, and the TIA can be an amplification circuit. The number of the aforementioned modules can be one or more. For example, there can be multiple lasers.

[0480] The following is an introduction to the functions of some components in the LiDAR 360.

[0481] The laser is used to generate signal light, which can be provided to the optical signal processing device. For example, the laser can include a semiconductor laser, a fiber laser, or a gas laser. Among them, the semiconductor laser includes but is not limited to a laser diode (LD), a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), an edge-emitting laser (EEL), a distributed feedback laser (DFB-LD), a distributed Bragg reflection laser (DBR-LD), a grating coupled sampling reflection laser (GCSR-LD), or a micro opto electro mechanical system laser (MOEMS-LD).

[0482] The scanner is used to project the signal light from the optical signal processing device into the field of view at multiple angles, and to receive the signal light from the field of view and provide it to the optical signal processing device, refer to the optical paths shown in Figures 35 and 36.

[0483] Optical devices are used to implement optical path design, such as one or more of convergence, collimation, shaping, reflection, scanning, or coaxial transmission and reception. Optical devices include, but are not limited to, shaping devices (such as collimators or optical path shaping devices), reflectors, lenses, windows, beam splitters, oscillating mirrors, rotating mirrors (polygons), or micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) micro-vibration mirrors, beam splitters, polarizers, filters, or light diffusers.

[0484] The array detector is used to receive one or more mixing results from the optical signal processing device and obtain an electrical signal based on the one or more mixing results, and the electrical signal is used to determine the relevant information of the target in the field of view. The array detector may include one or more detection elements. For example, the array detector may include one or more of the following detection elements: single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD), silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), semiconductor avalanche photodiode (APD), multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC), or electron multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) and other detection elements.

[0485] The control and data processing module is used to generate control signals and / or process data. For example, the control and data processing module includes a power controller for controlling the drive current of the SOA. In another example, the control and data processing module is used to process electrical signals to obtain target-related information.

[0486] In some scenarios, the control and data processing module may be implemented by a processor and / or a controller. For example, the control and data processing module may include one or more of the following devices: a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), a time-to-digital converter (TDC), a filter, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a TIA, an image signal processor (ISP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a coprocessor (to assist the central processor in completing corresponding processing and applications), a microcontroller unit (MCU), and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU).

[0487] Optionally, when the control and data processing module shown in Figure 35 includes multiple modules, some modules can be set outside the laser radar and some modules can be set inside the laser radar.

[0488] Figure 37 is a schematic diagram of a working scenario of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present application. The FMCW signal light generated by the laser is split and amplified (implemented by an optical signal processing device), and then irradiated to the field of view through optical devices and scanners (such as swing mirror 3701 and rotating mirror 3702). The signal light irradiated in the field of view can be reflected by the target in the field of view to form a return signal light. The return signal light then passes through the scanner and optical devices and reaches the optical signal processing device. The optical signal processing device receives the signal light into the optical waveguide through the receiving port, and obtains one or a mixing result after processing. The mixing result is provided to the detector array to output an electrical signal. Optionally, the electrical signal can be input into a controller and / or processor, for example, into a TIA, ADC, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and other modules.

[0489] Furthermore, the processor can process the electrical signals and / or control one or more components of the LiDAR. For example, the processor can further process the electrical signals to obtain detection data reflecting relevant information about the target. This detection data can specifically be point cloud data corresponding to the field of view, or the detection data can include one or more of the following: the distance, orientation, pixel area occupied by the target, height, speed, attitude, or shape information of the target within the field of view.

[0490] Optionally, one or more components in the gray box in FIG37 may be integrated into a module, for example, a detection module may be obtained by BOX packaging.

[0491] The present application also provides a terminal comprising the aforementioned optical signal processing device, or the aforementioned silicon photonic chip, or the aforementioned lidar. Optionally, the terminal may comprise a mobile platform or transportation vehicle, such as a vehicle, ship, airplane, train, spacecraft, drone, or robot.

[0492] The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to the field of smart car technology, such as vehicle to everything (V2X), long-term evolution vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), etc.

[0493] In the description of this application, the terms "center", "up", "down", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be understood as limitations on this application.

[0494] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0495] The “at least one” mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to one or more, and “plurality” refers to two or more. “At least one of the following items” or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, (a and b), (a and c), (b and c), or (a and b and c), where a, b, c can be single or multiple. “And / or” describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character “ / ” generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an “or” relationship.

[0496] Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to define the order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects. For example, the first signal light and the second signal light are only for ease of description and do not indicate a difference in the source, order, or importance of the first and second signal lights. In some embodiments, the first signal light and the second signal light can also be the same signal light.

[0497] In the above embodiments, the term "when" can be interpreted to mean "if...", "after...", "in response to determining...", or "in response to detecting...", depending on the context. The above are merely optional embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the concepts and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

[0498] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps to implement the above embodiments may be accomplished by hardware, or by a program to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which may be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc.

Claims

1. An optical signal processing device, characterized in that: include: At least one input port, a first beam splitting unit, a second beam splitting unit, and M-stage amplification units, where M is an integer and M≥2, wherein: The at least one input port is configured to receive signal light from at least one laser; The first beam splitting unit is configured to split the signal light from the at least one laser into a plurality of sub-signal lights; The first stage amplifying unit in the M stage amplifying unit is configured to amplify one of the plurality of sub-signal lights to generate a first signal light; The second beam splitting unit is configured to split the first signal light into a plurality of second signal lights; The second-stage amplifying unit in the M-stage amplifying unit is configured to amplify at least one second signal light among the plurality of second signal lights to generate a third signal light.

2. The optical signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The multiple sub-signal lights include local oscillator signal light and detection signal light; The first-stage amplifying unit is used to amplify the detection signal light to generate the first signal light.

3. The optical signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The optical signal processing device further includes a beam combining unit, and the at least one input port includes a first input port and a second input port, wherein: The first input port is used to receive signal light from a first laser; The second input port is used to receive signal light from a second laser; The first beam splitting unit is configured to split the signal light from the first laser into a plurality of fourth signal lights, and to split the signal light from the second laser into a plurality of fifth signal lights, wherein the plurality of fourth signal lights and the plurality of fifth signal lights belong to the plurality of sub-signal lights; The beam combining unit is configured to combine at least one fourth signal light and at least one fifth signal light to obtain a sixth signal light; The first-stage amplifying unit is configured to amplify the sixth signal light to generate the first signal light.

4. The optical signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The optical signal processing device further includes a beam combining unit, and the at least one input port includes a first input port and a second input port, wherein: The first input port is used to receive signal light from a first laser, and the second input port is used to receive signal light from a second laser; The beam combining unit is configured to combine the signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser to obtain a seventh signal light; The first beam splitting unit is configured to split the seventh signal light to obtain the plurality of sub-signal lights, wherein the plurality of sub-signal lights include a local oscillator signal light and a detection signal light; The first-stage amplifying unit is used to amplify the detection signal light to generate the first signal light.

5. The optical signal processing device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The signal light from the first laser and the signal light from the second laser have different sweep slopes, and / or, have different central wavelengths.

6. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The second beam splitting unit includes N beam splitters, the N beam splitters are arranged in a tree topology structure and each beam splitter serves as a node of the tree topology structure, N is an integer and N>0, and the signal light obtained by the beam splitter at each parent node position is provided to the beam splitter at the child node position; The first signal light is input to the beam splitter at the root node position, and the multiple second signal lights are output from the beam splitters at the leaf node positions.

7. The optical signal processing device according to claim 6, wherein: The second-stage amplification unit includes a plurality of amplifiers; The multiple amplifiers are located after the beam splitter at the leaf node position, Alternatively, the plurality of amplifiers are located between beam splitters within the plurality of tree topologies; Alternatively, some of the multiple amplifiers are located after the beam splitters at leaf node positions, and another part of the amplifiers are located between the beam splitters in the multiple tree topology structures.

8. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The optical signal processing device further includes a power controller, which is used to adjust the driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit to control the power of the signal light output by the second-stage amplifying unit.

9. The optical signal processing device according to claim 8, wherein: The power controller is further configured to: The driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit is adjusted according to a control signal from a processor, wherein the control signal is related to the pointing angle of the scanner.

10. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The optical signal processing device further comprises an optical input and output unit, wherein the optical input and output unit comprises a plurality of output ports, a plurality of receiving ports and a frequency mixing unit; The plurality of output ports are configured to emit the third signal light; The plurality of receiving ports are configured to receive return signal light, wherein the return signal light includes a reflection of the third signal light; The frequency mixing unit is configured to obtain one or more frequency mixing results based on the return signal light and the local oscillator signal light, wherein the one or more frequency mixing results are used to determine relevant information of a target within a field of view; The local oscillator signal light belongs to the plurality of sub-signal lights, or belongs to the plurality of second signal lights.

11. The optical signal processing device according to claim 10, wherein: The frequency mixing unit comprises a third beam splitting unit, a first frequency mixer and a second frequency mixer; The third beam splitting unit is used to split the return signal light to obtain a first sub-return signal light and a second sub-return signal light, The first mixer is used to mix a first sub-local oscillator signal light and the first sub-return signal light to obtain a first mixing result, wherein the first sub-local oscillator signal light comes from a first laser; The second mixer is used for mixing a second sub-local oscillator signal and the second sub-return signal light to obtain a second mixing result, where the second sub-local oscillator signal light comes from a second laser.

12. The optical signal processing device according to claim 11, wherein: The optical signal processing device further includes a fourth beam splitting unit, the fourth beam splitting unit being configured to demultiplex the local oscillator signal light to obtain a first sub-local oscillator signal light and a second sub-local oscillator signal light, the first sub-local oscillator signal light being used as the local oscillator signal of the signal light from the first laser, and the second sub-local oscillator signal light being used as the local oscillator signal of the signal light from the second laser; The local oscillation signal light includes signal light from the first laser and signal light from the second laser.

13. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The multiple receiving ports are arranged in columns to form a receiving port group, the multiple output ports are arranged in columns to form an output port group, the receiving port group and the output port group are arranged opposite to each other, and one output port and at least one receiving port are arranged opposite to each other and share a transceiver optical module; or, The plurality of receiving ports are arranged in columns to form a receiving port group, and the plurality of output ports are arranged in columns to form an output port group; The receiving port group shares a receiving optical module, and the output port group shares a transmitting optical module.

14. The optical signal processing device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The plurality of receiving ports include a first receiving port, the output ports include a first output port, and the signal light received by the first receiving port includes a reflection of the signal light output by the first output port; The optical signal processing device further includes a power controller, which is configured to: When the power of the signal light received by the first receiving port is greater than a first threshold, reducing the driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit to reduce the power of the detection signal light emitted by the first output port; When the power of the signal light received by the first receiving port is less than the second threshold, the driving current of the second-stage amplifying unit is increased to increase the power of the detection signal light emitted by the first transmitting sub-port.

15. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 10 or 11, characterized in that: The optical input and output unit includes a first output port set and a second output port set, wherein the first output port set and the second output port set each include at least one output port, the first output port set is used to emit detection signal light toward a middle area of ​​the field of view, and the second output port set is used to emit detection signal light toward an edge area of ​​the field of view; The power of the detection signal light emitted by the first set of output ports is higher than the power of the detection signal light emitted by the second set of output ports.

16. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that: The optical signal processing device further includes an optical switch, which is arranged between the second beam splitting unit and any output port and is used to control whether an optical path is formed between the second beam splitting unit and any output port.

17. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: The optical signal processing device further includes a feedback unit, wherein the plurality of sub-signal lights include feedback signal light; The feedback unit is configured to detect frequency sweep information and / or phase noise of the signal light from the at least one laser according to the feedback signal.

18. The optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that: The optical signal processing device further includes a multi-layer substrate and a plurality of waveguides, wherein the plurality of waveguides are used to form optical paths for transmitting signal light in different layers of the substrate.

19. A chip, characterized in that: The optical signal processing device comprises K optical signal processing devices according to any one of claims 1 to 18, where K is an integer and K≥1.

20. The chip according to claim 19, characterized in that The chip further comprises at least one laser input port and at least one optical switch, wherein the at least one laser input port comprises a first laser input port; The at least one laser input port is used to receive signal light from at least one laser; The at least one optical switch is disposed between the first laser input port and L optical signal processing devices, and is configured to: switchably couple the L optical signal processing devices to an optical path to control whether an optical path is formed between the L optical signal processing devices and the first laser input port, where L is an integer and L≤K.

21. The chip according to claim 19, characterized in that K is an even number and K≥2, and any two of the K optical signal processing devices are symmetrically arranged.

22. A laser radar, characterized in that: The laser radar comprises a laser, a scanner, and an optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 18; The laser is used to provide frequency modulated signal light to the optical signal processing device; The scanner is used to project the third signal light from the optical signal processing device into a field of view.

23. A laser radar, characterized in that: The laser radar comprises a laser, an array detector, a transceiver optical module, a scanner, and the optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 17; The laser is used to provide frequency modulated signal light to the optical signal processing device; The scanner is used to project the third signal light from the optical signal processing device into the field of view, and receive the return signal light from the field of view and provide it to the optical signal processing device; The transceiver optical module is arranged between the scanner and the optical signal processing device; The array detector is used to receive one or more mixing results from the optical signal processing device and obtain an electrical signal based on the one or more mixing results, and the electrical signal is used to determine relevant information of the target in the field of view.

24. The laser radar according to claim 23, characterized in that The optical module includes a polarization beam splitter and a quarter-wave plate, and the polarization beam splitter and the quarter-wave plate are used to achieve coaxial transmission and reception, wherein: The third signal light is provided to the scanner through the output port of the optical signal processing device, the polarization beam splitter and the quarter-wave plate in sequence; The return signal light from the scanner passes through the quarter-wave plate and the polarization beam splitter in sequence and is provided to the receiving port of the optical signal processing device.

25. The laser radar according to claim 24, characterized in that The optical module further includes a half-wave plate, which is arranged between the polarization beam splitter and the receiving port of the optical signal processing device.

26. A terminal, characterized in that: The terminal comprises the optical signal processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, Or, comprising the chip according to any one of claims 19 to 21, Or, comprising the laser radar as claimed in claim 22, Alternatively, it comprises a laser radar as described in any one of claims 23-25.

27. The terminal according to claim 26, characterized in that The terminal is a vehicle, a drone or a robot.

Images