Integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology

Abstract

The invention discloses an integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on a polarization multiplexing technology, and the method employs an input waveguide, a polarization independent beam splitter network, a first connection waveguide, a polarization independent beam splitter group, a second connection waveguide, a phase shift assembly, a third connection waveguide, and a transmitting assembly. Comprising the following steps: S1, a polarization multiplexing optical signal enters a polarization independent beam splitter network through an input waveguide, and the polarization independent beam splitter network equally divides the polarization multiplexing optical signal into N paths; the integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning adopts the polarization multiplexing technology, two orthogonal polarized light can be incident at the same time, the phased array can output two wave beams at the same time, the scanning range of one wave beam is right in the middle, the scanning range of the other wave beam is at the edge, the scanning ranges of the two wave beams are not overlapped, only half of the angle range needs to be scanned, and the scanning efficiency is greatly improved. Therefore, the whole scanning range can be covered, the phased array scanning speed is doubled, and the forming time of a laser radar point cloud picture can be shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of integrated photon technology, and in particular to an integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology. Background Art

[0002] Integrated optical waveguide phased array is a key component in all-solid-state integrated lidar. Optical phased array technology controls the phase of unit beams in the beam array to achieve reconstruction or precise control of phase surfaces such as array beams. It has the advantages of small system volume and mass, fast response speed, and good beam quality.

[0003] For example, an optical phased array two-dimensional laser radar scanning chip based on polarization multiplexing with application number CN110174661B includes, from left to right, a tunable laser, an input connecting waveguide, a polarization selection switch, a connecting waveguide, a cascaded optical splitter, a connecting waveguide, a phase modulation array, an output connecting waveguide, and an output coupling grating array. The signal light is input into the connecting waveguide through the tunable laser, the TE mode or TM mode is selected by the polarization selection switch, and then the optical power is equally divided by the cascaded optical splitter input into the connecting waveguide, and then input into the phase modulation array through the connecting waveguide. The waveguide array element can be phase modulated by applying voltage by an external circuit, and the light field with different phases is input into the one-dimensionally arranged output coupling grating array for emission through the output connecting waveguide;

[0004] The above scheme adjusts the polarization state of the input light through a polarization selection switch, and only one beam is output at the same time; in addition, this scheme uses polarization multiplexing to expand the scanning angle of the beam in the wavelength scanning dimension, but does not increase the scanning speed of the beam in the phase scanning dimension.

[0005] Moreover, most of the integrated optical waveguide phased arrays in the prior art only have one beam emitted at a time, and it takes a long time to scan and form a point cloud image; therefore, it is urgent to design an integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology to solve the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology includes an input waveguide, a polarization-independent beam splitter network, a connecting waveguide 1, a polarization-dependent beam splitter group, a connecting waveguide 2, a phase shifting component, a connecting waveguide 3 and a transmitting component.

[0009] The method comprises the following steps:

[0010] S1: The polarization-multiplexed optical signal enters the polarization-independent beam splitter network through the input waveguide, and the polarization-independent beam splitter network splits the polarization-multiplexed optical signal into N paths;

[0011] S2: N output lights enter the polarization-dependent beam splitter group through the connecting waveguide 1 and are further divided into 2N outputs;

[0012] S3: The output light of 2N channels enters the phase shifting component through the connecting waveguide 2 for phase control;

[0013] S4: After the phase is adjusted by the phase shifting component, the 2N output lights enter the transmitting component through the connecting waveguide 3 to form a beam transmission.

[0014] Furthermore, in S1, N is the number of output ports of the polarization-independent beam splitter network, each path is still polarization-multiplexed light, and the power and phase of each polarization-multiplexed light path are the same.

[0015] Further, the connecting waveguide one includes N waveguides, the polarization-dependent beam splitter group includes N identical polarization-dependent beam splitters, and the number of waveguides in the connecting waveguide one is the same as the number of polarization-dependent beam splitters in the polarization-dependent beam splitter group.

[0016] Furthermore, the second connecting waveguide includes 2N waveguides, the phase shifting component includes 2N phase shifters, and the 2N waveguides and the 2N phase shifters are connected in sequence and in correspondence.

[0017] Furthermore, the connection waveguide three includes 2N waveguides.

[0018] Furthermore, the polarization-independent beam splitter network and the polarization-dependent beam splitter group are connected via a connecting waveguide.

[0019] Furthermore, the polarization-dependent beam splitter group and the phase shifting component are connected via a second connecting waveguide.

[0020] Furthermore, the phase shift component and the transmitting component are connected via a connecting waveguide.

[0021] Furthermore, the transmitting component will emit two beams simultaneously, one beam in the middle of the scanning range and the other beam at the very edge.

[0022] Furthermore, the deflection angle between the two beams is Φ, and Φ is the maximum deflection angle in the phase scanning dimension of the phased array.

[0023] In the above technical solution, the integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology provided by the present invention is:

[0024] The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning in this scheme adopts polarization multiplexing technology, which can simultaneously input two orthogonal polarized lights. At the same time, the phased array can output two beams, one beam in the middle of the scanning range and one at the very edge. The scanning ranges of the two beams do not overlap, and only half of the angle range needs to be scanned to cover the entire scanning range, which doubles the scanning speed of the phased array and reduces the time it takes to form a lidar point cloud image. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 The overall structural diagram of the embodiment of the integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology of the present invention is provided.

[0027] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the TE polarized light incident structure provided for an embodiment of the integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the TM polarized light incident structure provided for an embodiment of the integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology of the present invention.

[0029] Description of reference numerals:

[0030] 1. Input waveguide; 2. Polarization-independent beam splitter network; 3. Connecting waveguide one; 4. Polarization-dependent beam splitter group; 5. Connecting waveguide two; 6. Phase shifting component; 7. Connecting waveguide three; 8. Transmitting component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] like Figure 1-3 As shown, the integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes an input waveguide 1, a polarization-independent beam splitter network 2, a connecting waveguide 1 3, a polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4, a connecting waveguide 2 5, a phase shift component 6, a connecting waveguide 3 7 and a transmitting component 8.

[0033] The method comprises the following steps:

[0034] S1: The polarization multiplexed optical signal enters the polarization-independent beam splitter network 2 through the input waveguide 1, and the polarization-independent beam splitter network 2 equally splits the polarization multiplexed optical signal into N paths;

[0035] S2: N output lights enter the polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4 through the connecting waveguide 1 3 and are further divided into 2N output lights;

[0036] S3: The output light of the 2N path enters the phase shifting component 6 through the connecting waveguide 5 for phase control;

[0037] S4: After the phase is adjusted by the phase shifting component 6, the 2N output lights enter the transmitting component 8 through the connecting waveguide 3 7 to form a beam transmission.

[0038] The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology provided by the present invention comprises an input waveguide 1, a polarization-independent beam splitter network 2, a connecting waveguide 1 3, a polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4, a connecting waveguide 2 5, a phase shifting component 6, a connecting waveguide 3 7 and a transmitting component 8.

[0039] The method comprises the following steps:

[0040] S1: The polarization-multiplexed optical signal enters the polarization-independent beam splitter network 2 through the input waveguide 1. The polarization-independent beam splitter network 2 equally splits the polarization-multiplexed optical signal into N paths, where N is the number of output ports of the polarization-independent beam splitter network 2. Each path is still polarization-multiplexed light, and the power and phase of each polarization-multiplexed light are the same.

[0041] S2: N output lights enter the polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4 through the connecting waveguide 1 3 and are further divided into 2N output lights;

[0042] S3: The output light of the 2N path enters the phase shifting component 6 through the connecting waveguide 5 for phase control;

[0043] S4: After the phase shift component 6 adjusts the phase, the 2N output lights enter the transmitting component 8 through the connecting waveguide 3 7 to form a beam emission. The transmitting component 8 will emit two beams at the same time, one beam in the middle of the scanning range and the other beam at the edge. The deflection angle between the two beams is Ф, which is the maximum deflection angle in the phase scanning dimension of the phased array.

[0044] In an embodiment provided by the present invention, the connecting waveguide 1 3 includes N waveguides, the polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4 includes N identical polarization-dependent beam splitters, and the number of waveguides in the connecting waveguide 1 3 is the same as the number of polarization-dependent beam splitters in the polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4.

[0045] In another embodiment provided by the present invention, the connecting waveguide 2 5 includes 2N waveguides, the phase shifting assembly 6 includes 2N phase shifters, and the 2N waveguides and the 2N phase shifters are connected in sequence and in correspondence.

[0046] In still another embodiment provided by the present invention, the connecting waveguide three 7 includes 2N waveguides.

[0047] In one embodiment provided by the present invention, the polarization-independent beam splitter network 2 and the polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4 are connected via a connecting waveguide 1 3, the polarization-dependent beam splitter group 4 and the phase shift component 6 are connected via a connecting waveguide 2 5, and the phase shift component 6 and the transmitting component 8 are connected via a connecting waveguide 3 7.

[0048] Take the case where the phase shift amount applied by the phase shift component 6 is 0 as an example (as shown below Figure 2 and 3 shown):

[0049] (1) Before the incident TE polarized light is transmitted to the transmitting component 7, it is equally divided into 2N TE polarized light paths, each of which has the same power and phase. According to the phased array principle, after passing through the transmitting component 7, the deflection angle of the formed beam 1 is 0°.

[0050] (2) Before the incident TM polarized light is transmitted to the transmitting component 7, it is equally divided into 2N TE polarized lights. The power of each light is the same, but the adjacent output phases differ by π. According to the phased array principle, after passing through the transmitting component 7, the deflection angle of the formed beam 2 is Ф, where Ф is the maximum deflection angle in the phase scanning dimension of the phased array.

[0051] Therefore, when a polarization multiplexed optical signal is input, the phased array will emit two beams at the same time, wherein beam one formed by TE polarized input light is in the middle of the scanning range, and beam two formed by TM polarized input light is at the very edge of the scanning range; when the phase shift component 6 starts to apply phase shift, beam one and beam two start scanning at the same time, and only half of the original angle range needs to be scanned to cover the entire scanning range, thus doubling the scanning speed of the phased array and reducing the time it takes to form a lidar point cloud image.

[0052] The above description is only by way of illustration of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It is undoubted that those skilled in the art can modify the described embodiments in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the above drawings and descriptions are illustrative in nature and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology, characterized in that: It comprises an input waveguide (1), a polarization-independent beam splitter network (2), a connecting waveguide 1 (3), a polarization-dependent beam splitter group (4), a connecting waveguide 2 (5), a phase shifting component (6), a connecting waveguide 3 (7) and a transmitting component (8), The method comprises the following steps: S1: The polarization multiplexed optical signal enters the polarization-independent beam splitter network (2) through the input waveguide (1), and the polarization-independent beam splitter network (2) splits the polarization multiplexed optical signal into N paths; S2: N output lights enter the polarization-dependent beam splitter group (4) through the connecting waveguide 1 (3) and are further divided into 2N output lights; S3: The output light of the 2N-path enters the phase shifting component (6) through the connecting waveguide 2 (5) for phase control; S4: After the phase is adjusted by the phase shifting component (6), the 2N output lights enter the transmitting component (8) through the connecting waveguide three (7) to form a beam for transmission.

2. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In S1, N is the number of output ports of the polarization-independent beam splitter network (2), each path is still polarization multiplexed light, and the power and phase of each polarization multiplexed light path are the same.

3. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting waveguide one (3) comprises N waveguides, the polarization-dependent beam splitter group (4) comprises N identical polarization-dependent beam splitters, and the number of waveguides in the connecting waveguide one (3) is the same as the number of polarization-dependent beam splitters in the polarization-dependent beam splitter group (4).

4. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second connecting waveguide (5) includes 2N waveguides, the phase shifting component (6) includes 2N phase shifters, and the 2N waveguides and the 2N phase shifters are connected in sequence and in correspondence.

5. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting waveguide three (7) comprises 2N waveguides.

6. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The polarization-independent beam splitter network (2) and the polarization-dependent beam splitter group (4) are connected via a connecting waveguide one (3).

7. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The polarization-dependent beam splitter group (4) and the phase shifting component (6) are connected via a second connecting waveguide (5).

8. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The phase shifting component (6) and the transmitting component (8) are connected via a connecting waveguide three (7).

9. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmitting component (8) will emit two beams simultaneously, one beam in the middle of the scanning range and the other beam at the very edge.

10. The integrated optical waveguide phased array scanning acceleration method based on polarization multiplexing technology according to claim 9, characterized in that: The deflection angle between the two beams is Ф, where Ф is the maximum deflection angle in the phase scanning dimension of the phased array.

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