Method for saving optical module test equipment
By using a microcontroller to control the analog switch in the optical module, the differential test clock output of the DSP chip is connected to the MCB board, and connected to the optical eyepiece through a coaxial cable, the problem of high cost of existing optical module testing equipment is solved, and the utilization of the optical module's own synchronous clock signal is realized, which saves clock recovery CDR equipment, reduces production costs and test system power consumption.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411665340.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-20
- Publication Date
- 2025-02-28
AI Technical Summary
The existing optical module testing equipment is expensive, especially the cost of clock recovery instrument CDR, which leads to unfavorable mass production.
The analog switch of the optical module is controlled by a microcontroller, the differential test clock output of the DSP chip is connected to the MCB board, and connected to the optical eye meter through a coaxial cable, avoiding dependence on the clock recovery instrument CDR.
It realizes the utilization of the optical module's own synchronous clock signal, and is directly supplied to the optical eye meter for testing, saving clock recovery CDR equipment, reducing production costs and testing system power consumption.
Smart Images
Figure CN119544054A_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of optical module testing, and in particular to a method for saving optical module testing equipment. [Background technology]
[0002] The test equipment of optical modules is used to measure, detect and debug the performance of optical modules. These devices play a vital role in the production, maintenance and overhaul of optical modules. The test equipment of optical modules mainly includes optical eye diagrammers, bit error testers, clock recovery instruments CDR, etc. The clock recovery instrument CDR is responsible for providing a stable, accurate clock signal that is synchronized with the module optical signal clock to the optical eye diagrammer. The optical eye diagrammer can test and analyze the optical module transmission signal to verify the transmission signal performance of the optical module. The clock recovery instrument CDR ensures the accuracy and reliability of the module test. In high-speed modules, such as the test of 100G / 400G / 800G modules, each optical eye diagrammer needs to be equipped with an external clock recovery instrument CDR to accurately test the transmission performance of the optical module.
[0003] The traditional test method for optical modules is to pass the transmitter signal of the optical module through a splitter to split the optical signal into two paths, one of which is connected to the clock recovery CDR and the other to the optical eye diagram. The clock recovery CDR extracts a stable clock signal from the optical signal, and recovers the original data based on it, generating a signal synchronized with the clock of the transmitter signal of the optical module. The signal is connected to the optical eye diagram, and the optical eye diagram can analyze and test the transmitter signal of the optical module. This method is relatively simple, but the cost is too high. A CDR is very expensive, especially a PAM4 CDR, which may cost more than 100,000 yuan, which is not conducive to mass production. [Summary of the invention]
[0004] In order to overcome the above problems, the present invention proposes a method for saving optical module testing equipment which can effectively solve the above problems.
[0005] The present invention provides a technical solution to solve the above technical problem: providing a method for saving optical module testing equipment, comprising the following steps:
[0006] Step S1, controlling the analog switch of the optical module through the single-chip microcomputer, when the optical module transmits a signal, the analog switch switches the signal to the MCB board, and the MCB board connects the signal to the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable. The optical eye diagram instrument receives a clock synchronized with the signal of the optical module transmitting end, and can analyze and test the transmit signal;
[0007] Step S2: When the optical module is working normally or does not need to be tested, the single chip microcomputer controls the analog switch to switch the test clock output of the DSP to the ground GND terminal.
[0008] Preferably, in step S1, the DSP differential test clock output function in the optical module is used to output a signal synchronized with the signal at the transmitting end of the optical module to the MCB board, and then to the Trigger of the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable.
[0009] Preferably, in step S1, the transmitting end of the optical module transmits an optical signal to the optical eye diagrammer.
[0010] Preferably, the optical module comprises a DSP chip, and the DSP chip has a differential test clock output function.
[0011] Preferably, in step S1, the single chip microcomputer is configured with an analog switch to connect the clock to the gold finger end, and then to the MCB board and then to the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable.
[0012] Preferably, in step S1, the DSP chip and the single-chip microcomputer are both connected to the analog switch, and the optical module is connected to the MCB board.
[0013] Compared with the prior art, the method of saving optical module test equipment of the present invention can save the clock recovery CDR. The optical module has its own clock signal synchronized with the original signal, and the optical eye diagram instrument can directly analyze and test the signal without the need for a separate clock recovery CDR. This method saves an expensive CDR, reduces the difficulty of the optical module test system, greatly reduces the production cost of the optical module, and the test method is simple and easy to implement, which is convenient for mass production. It also reduces the power consumption of the optical module test system, facilitates production and maintenance, and thus promotes the development of optical modules.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0014] Figure 1 The present invention is a principle block diagram of the method for saving optical module testing equipment. [Specific implementation method]
[0015] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and implementation examples. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.
[0016] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present invention, all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) are limited to relative positions on the specified view, rather than absolute positions.
[0017] In addition, in the present invention, descriptions such as "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.
[0018] See also Figure 1 The method for saving optical module testing equipment of the present invention comprises the following steps:
[0019] Step S1, the analog switch of the optical module is controlled by the single chip microcomputer. When the optical module transmits a signal, the analog switch switches the signal to the MCB board. The MCB board connects the signal to the trigger of the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable. The optical eye diagram instrument can receive a clock synchronized with the optical module transmit end signal, and can analyze and test the transmit signal. No additional clock recovery instrument CDR is required.
[0020] Step S2: When the optical module is working normally or does not need to be tested, in order to avoid the influence of external signals or noise on the DSP, the MCU can control the analog switch to switch the test clock output of the DSP to the ground GND terminal to ensure the normal, continuous and stable operation of the optical module.
[0021] In step S1, the DSP differential test clock output function in the optical module is used to output a signal synchronized with the optical module transmitter signal to the MCB board, and then to the trigger of the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable, so that the optical module transmitter signal can be tested.
[0022] In the step S1, the transmitting end of the optical module transmits an optical signal to the optical eye diagram instrument.
[0023] The optical module includes a DSP chip, and the DSP chip has a differential test clock output function, that is, the DSP can generate a clock synchronized with the transmitter signal. Using this function, a circuit is designed to pass the clock signal through an analog switch. When the eye diagram signal of the transmitter needs to be tested, the analog switch is configured through the single-chip microcomputer, the clock is connected to the gold finger end, and then to the test board (MCB board) and then connected to the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable. When it is not necessary to test the optical signal of the optical module, the analog switch is configured to the ground GND end to avoid interference with the DSP by external signals or noise, thereby ensuring the stability of the module.
[0024] DSP chips are usually used in high-speed optical modules such as 100G / 400G / 800G optical modules.
[0025] In the step S1, the DSP chip and the single-chip microcomputer are connected to the analog switch, and the optical module is connected to the MCB board.
[0026] The method for saving optical module testing equipment of the present invention is that the optical module can provide a clock synchronized with the transmission signal by itself, and then be connected to an optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable after being connected to a test board (MCB board) via a gold finger. The optical eye diagram instrument can receive a clock signal synchronized with the transmission end of the optical module, and the performance of the transmitted optical signal can be tested without the need for a clock recovery instrument CDR.
[0027] Compared with the prior art, the method of saving optical module test equipment of the present invention can save the clock recovery CDR. The optical module has its own clock signal synchronized with the original signal, and the optical eye diagram instrument can directly analyze and test the signal without the need for a separate clock recovery CDR. This method saves an expensive CDR, reduces the difficulty of the optical module test system, greatly reduces the production cost of the optical module, and the test method is simple and easy to implement, which is convenient for mass production. It also reduces the power consumption of the optical module test system, facilitates production and maintenance, and thus promotes the development of optical modules.
[0028] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the concept of the present invention should be included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A method for saving optical module testing equipment, characterized in that: The steps include: Step S1, controlling the analog switch of the optical module through the single-chip microcomputer, when the optical module transmits a signal, the analog switch switches the signal to the MCB board, and the MCB board connects the signal to the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable. The optical eye diagram instrument receives a clock synchronized with the signal of the optical module transmitting end, and can analyze and test the transmit signal; Step S2: When the optical module is working normally or does not need to be tested, the single chip microcomputer controls the analog switch to switch the test clock output of the DSP to the ground GND terminal.
2. The method for saving optical module testing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step S1, the DSP differential test clock output function in the optical module is used to output a signal synchronized with the signal at the transmitting end of the optical module to the MCB board, and then to the trigger of the optical eye diagram instrument through the coaxial cable.
3. The method for saving optical module testing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step S1, the transmitting end of the optical module transmits an optical signal to the optical eye diagram instrument.
4. The method for saving optical module testing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical module includes a DSP chip, and the DSP chip has a differential test clock output function.
5. The method for saving optical module testing equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the step S1, the single chip microcomputer is configured with an analog switch, the clock is connected to the gold finger end, and then to the MCB board and then to the optical eye diagram instrument through a coaxial cable.
6. The method for saving optical module testing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step S1, the DSP chip and the single-chip microcomputer are connected to the analog switch, and the optical module is connected to the MCB board.