Transmitting device for laser communication and laser communication equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a transmitting device for laser communication and laser communication equipment. The emission device includes: a thermally conductive substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; the light source module is arranged on the first surface of the heat conduction substrate and is used for outputting a laser beam, and the light source module comprises a heat-sensitive sensor; a photonic chip disposed on the first surface of the thermally conductive substrate and configured to modulate the laser beam to output a modulated laser beam; the coupling-out module is arranged at the output end of the photon chip and used for outputting the modulated laser beam to the outside of the emitting device; and a temperature controller disposed on the second surface of the thermally conductive substrate to control the temperature of the thermally conductive substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of laser communication, and more specifically to a transmitting device and laser communication equipment used for laser communication. Background Art

[0002] Laser communication has the advantages of large communication capacity, fast speed, and high reliability, and has become a mainstream communication technology. It has broad application prospects in the fields of ground-based optical fiber communication, deep space free space communication, and is the preferred technology for high-speed broadband communication in space interstellar communication networks. In current laser communication devices, only the temperature of the laser chip is usually detected and controlled. For example, when the laser chip exceeds the threshold temperature, a semiconductor refrigerator is used to cool it down. However, laser communication devices usually also include other components (for example, optical transmission components and modulation components, etc.). If only the laser chip is temperature controlled, temperature differences will appear between the various components of the laser communication device. This temperature difference will affect the laser coupling effect of the laser communication device, thereby reducing the quality and performance of the communication. Therefore, it is crucial to perform overall synchronous temperature control of the various components of the laser communication device. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the above problems, an exemplary embodiment of the present application provides a transmitting device for laser communication, comprising: a heat-conducting substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a light source module, arranged on the first surface of the heat-conducting substrate and used to output a laser beam, wherein the light source module includes a thermal sensor; a photonic chip, arranged on the first surface of the heat-conducting substrate and used to modulate the laser beam to output a modulated laser beam; a coupling-out module, arranged at the output end of the photonic chip to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device; and a temperature controller, arranged on the second surface of the heat-conducting substrate to control the temperature of the heat-conducting substrate.

[0004] In the above-mentioned emitting device, since the temperature controller can control the temperature of the heat-conducting substrate on which the light source module and the photonic chip are provided, it is allowed to avoid the laser light source in the light source module from having an excessively high temperature while ensuring that the entire device is basically under the same temperature conditions, thereby avoiding the deterioration of the laser coupling effect due to the temperature difference between different components of the device.

[0005] Furthermore, the photonic chip includes M modulators for modulating the laser beam in the same or different modulation modes, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0006] Furthermore, the light source module also includes: N lasers for outputting N laser beams, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and a coupling module for coupling the N laser beams into the photonic chip, wherein the thermal sensor is arranged adjacent to the N lasers.

[0007] Furthermore, the photonic chip includes an N×M beam splitter, and the coupling module is used to couple each of the N laser beams to the corresponding input end of the N×M beam splitter, and the N×M beam splitter is used to split each laser beam into M sub-beams and input them into the M modulators respectively.

[0008] Furthermore, the coupling module includes a coupling lens group and an optical fiber assembly, wherein the coupling lens group is used to couple the modulated laser beam into the optical fiber assembly to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device via the optical fiber assembly.

[0009] Furthermore, the coupling module includes a collimating lens, an optical isolator and a focusing lens respectively arranged on the optical path of each laser, wherein the laser beam output by each laser propagates through the corresponding collimating lens, optical isolator and focusing lens in sequence to be coupled to the corresponding input end of the photonic chip.

[0010] Further, the N lasers include a first laser, and the coupling module includes a first collimating lens, a first optical isolator, a beam splitter, a reflector, a first focusing lens and a second focusing lens, wherein the first laser beam output by the first laser propagates through the first collimating lens and the first optical isolator and is incident on the beam splitter, a portion of the first laser beam is transmitted to the first focusing lens via the beam splitter to be coupled to the first input end of the photonic chip via the first focusing lens, and the remaining portion of the first laser beam is reflected to the reflector via the beam splitter and to the second focusing lens via the reflector to be coupled to the second input end of the photonic chip via the second focusing lens.

[0011] Furthermore, the N lasers also include a second laser, and the coupling module also includes a second collimating lens and a second optical isolator, wherein a second laser beam output by the second laser propagates through the second collimating lens and the second optical isolator and is incident on the beam splitter, a portion of the second laser beam is transmitted to the reflector via the beam splitter and reflected to the second focusing lens via the reflector to be coupled to the second input end of the photonic chip via the second focusing lens, and the remaining portion of the second laser beam is reflected to the first focusing lens via the beam splitter to be coupled to the first input end of the photonic chip via the first focusing lens.

[0012] Furthermore, the photonic chip includes a first modulator and a second modulator, the input end of the first modulator is connected to the second input end of the photonic chip, and the input end of the second modulator is connected to the first input end of the photonic chip.

[0013] Furthermore, the modulation mode includes OOK modulation, BPSK modulation, DPSK modulation, IQ modulation and / or PPM modulation.

[0014] Furthermore, the light source module further comprises a substrate, the N lasers, the coupling module and the thermal sensor are arranged on the substrate, and the substrate is arranged on the first surface of the heat conductive substrate.

[0015] Furthermore, the photonic chip includes a silicon-based photonic chip, a lithium niobate photonic chip or a PLC photonic chip.

[0016] Furthermore, the emitting device further comprises a shell, and the shell is used to encapsulate the heat conduction substrate, the light source module, the photonic chip, the outcoupling module and the temperature controller.

[0017] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, a laser communication device is provided, comprising: a transmitting device as described above; and a driving device, the driving device comprising: a power supply for providing power to the light source module and the temperature controller; a signal generator for providing a modulation signal to the photonic chip; and a controller, the controller controlling the temperature controller to perform or stop temperature control operation in response to a feedback signal from the thermistor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a transmitting device 100 for laser communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic side view of a transmitting device 100 for laser communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a transmitting device according to a first example of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a transmitting device according to a second example of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a transmitting device according to a third example of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 A schematic side view of a transmitting device 600 for laser communication according to an optional embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0025] Figure 7 A laser communication device 700 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application, but the present application may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art may make similar generalizations without violating the connotation of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0028] Secondly, the present application is described in detail with reference to the schematic diagram. When describing the embodiments of the present application in detail, for the sake of convenience, the cross-sectional diagrams showing the device structure will not be partially enlarged according to the general scale, and the schematic diagrams are only examples, which should not limit the scope of protection of the present application. In addition, in actual production, the three-dimensional dimensions of length, width and depth should be included.

[0029] The reader is reminded of all documents and literature filed simultaneously with this specification and open to public inspection, and the contents of all such documents and literature are incorporated herein by reference. Unless otherwise directly stated, all features disclosed in this specification (including any attached claims, abstracts and drawings) can be replaced by alternative features for achieving the same, equivalent or similar purposes. Therefore, unless otherwise explicitly stated, each feature disclosed is only an example of a group of equivalent or similar features.

[0030] As used herein, the terms "above," "below," "between," and "on" refer to the relative position of a layer with respect to other layers. Likewise, for example, a layer deposited or placed above or below another layer may be directly in contact with the other layer or may have one or more intervening layers. Additionally, a layer deposited or placed between layers may be directly in contact with the layers or may have one or more intervening layers. In contrast, a first layer "above" a second layer is in contact with the second layer. Additionally, the relative position of one layer with respect to other layers is provided (assuming that deposition, modification, and removal of thin films are performed relative to a starting substrate without regard to the absolute orientation of the substrate).

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the claims and the specification shall have the usual meaning understood by persons with ordinary skills in the technical field to which the present application belongs. The words "first", "second" and similar words used in the patent application specification and the claims of this application do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Words such as "one" or "one" do not indicate a quantitative limitation, but indicate the existence of at least one. Words such as "include" or "comprise" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before "include" or "comprise" include the elements or objects listed after "include" or "comprise" and their equivalent elements, and do not exclude other elements or objects. Words such as "connect" or "connected" and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, nor are they limited to direct or indirect connections.

[0032] In this disclosure, a structure may be referred to as being "used" or "capable of" performing certain tasks even if the structure is not currently being operated. For example, "a laser used / capable of lasing" is intended to encompass a laser having components that perform that function during operation even if the laser is not currently being used (e.g., not connected to a power source).

[0033] In this application, if there is no special description, all embodiments and preferred embodiments mentioned herein can be combined with each other to form a new technical solution. In this application, if there is no special description, all technical features and preferred features mentioned herein can be combined with each other to form a new technical solution.

[0034] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0035] A transmitting device for laser communication provided according to an embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 ,in Figure 1 : shows a schematic block diagram of a transmitting device 100 for laser communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 A schematic side view of a transmitting device 100 for laser communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. The transmitting device 100 may include a heat conductive substrate 101, a light source module 110, a photonic chip 120, an outcoupling module 130, and a temperature controller 140.

[0037] The heat conductive substrate 101 may have a first surface 10 and a second surface 20 opposite to the first surface 10 .

[0038] The light source module 110 may be disposed on the first surface 10 of the heat conductive substrate 101 and configured to output a laser beam. The light source module may include a thermal sensor (not shown in the figure). The thermal sensor may be, for example, a thermistor, a thermocouple, or the like.

[0039] The photonic chip 120 may be disposed on the first surface 10 of the thermally conductive substrate 101 and used to modulate the laser beam to output a modulated laser beam.

[0040] The outcoupling module 130 may be arranged at the output end of the photonic chip 120 to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the emitting device 100 .

[0041] The temperature controller 140 may be disposed on the second surface 20 of the heat conductive substrate 101 to control the temperature of the heat conductive substrate 101. For example, the temperature controller 140 may be a semiconductor refrigerator.

[0042] The design of the transmitting device 100 for laser communication of the present invention innovatively integrates the light source module 110 including the thermal sensor and the photonic chip 120 on one side of the heat-conducting substrate 101, and sets the temperature controller 140 on the other side of the heat-conducting substrate 101, thereby enabling the light source module 110 and the photonic chip 120 to be temperature-controlled as a whole via the heat-conducting substrate 101, allowing the entire device to be kept under substantially the same temperature conditions while avoiding excessive temperature of the laser light source in the light source module, thereby avoiding deterioration of the laser coupling effect due to temperature differences between different components of the device.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present application, the light source module 110 may include: N lasers for outputting N laser beams, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; a coupling module for coupling the N laser beams into a photonic chip; and a thermal sensor arranged adjacent to the N lasers.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present application, the photonic chip 120 may include M modulators for modulating the laser beam in the same or different modulation modes, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present application, the photonic chip 120 may further include an N×M beam splitter. The coupling module may couple each of the N laser beams to a corresponding input end of the N×M beam splitter. The N×M beam splitter may split each laser beam into M sub-beams and input them into M modulators respectively.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present application, the photonic chip 120 may include a silicon-based photonic chip, a lithium niobate photonic chip, a PLC photonic chip, or other photonic chips that can integrate a beam splitter and a modulator.

[0047] In some embodiments of the present application, the coupling module may include a coupling lens group and an optical fiber assembly. The coupling lens group may couple the modulated laser beam into the optical fiber assembly to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 100 via the optical fiber assembly. The optical fiber assembly may include a single-mode polarization-maintaining optical fiber.

[0048] In some embodiments of the present application, the coupling module may include a collimating lens, an optical isolator, and a focusing lens respectively arranged on the optical path of each laser. The laser beam output by each laser sequentially propagates through the corresponding collimating lens, optical isolator, and focusing lens to be coupled to the corresponding input end of the photonic chip. The optical isolator can be used to isolate the return light to prevent it from entering the laser.

[0049] See also Figure 3 , which shows a schematic diagram of an emission device according to a first example of the present invention. In this example, the emission device 300 includes a heat conduction substrate 301, a light source module 310, a photonic chip 320, an outcoupling module 330 and a temperature controller 340.

[0050] The light source module 310 includes a first laser 311 that outputs a first laser beam, a second laser 312 that outputs a second laser beam, and a thermal sensor 313 disposed between the first laser 311 and the second laser 312. The light source module 310 also includes a coupling module that couples the first laser beam and the second laser beam into the photonic chip 320. The coupling module includes a first collimating lens 314, a first optical isolator 315, a first focusing lens 316, a second collimating lens 317, a second optical isolator 318, and a second focusing lens 319. The first laser 311 and the second laser 312 can output laser beams of the same or different wavelengths.

[0051] The photonic chip 320 includes a 2×2 beam splitter 321 having a first input port 322 and a second input port 323 , a first modulator 324 , and a second modulator 325 .

[0052] The first laser beam output by the first laser 311 sequentially propagates through the first collimating lens 314, the first optical isolator 315 and the first focusing lens 316 to be coupled into the first input end 322 of the 2×2 beam splitter 321. The second laser beam output by the second laser 312 sequentially propagates through the second collimating lens 317, the second optical isolator 318 and the second focusing lens 319 to be coupled into the second input end 323 of the 2×2 beam splitter 321.

[0053] The 2×2 beam splitter 321 splits the first laser beam into two sub-beams and inputs them into the first modulator 324 and the second modulator 325 respectively. The 2×2 beam splitter 321 splits the second laser beam into two sub-beams and inputs them into the first modulator 324 and the second modulator 325 respectively. By loading different modulation signals on the first modulator 324 and the second modulator 325, laser outputs of different modulation modes can be realized simultaneously.

[0054] The coupling module 330 includes a first coupling lens 331, a second coupling lens 332, a first single-mode optical fiber 333, and a second single-mode optical fiber 334. The first coupling lens 331 couples the modulated laser beam output by the first modulator 324 into the first single-mode optical fiber 333, so as to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 300 via the first single-mode optical fiber 333. The second coupling lens 332 couples the modulated laser beam output by the second modulator 325 into the second single-mode optical fiber 334, so as to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 300 via the second single-mode optical fiber 334.

[0055] As an example, when the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 output the first laser beam and the second laser beam of the same wavelength, the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 can back up each other. When one of the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 is turned on, the laser beam passes through the collimating lens, the optical isolator and the focusing lens to enter the photonic chip 320. The laser beam is split by the 2×2 beam splitter 321 integrated on the photonic chip 320. One path passes through the first modulator 324, for example, to achieve OOK or BPSK modulation, and the other path passes through the second modulator 325, for example, to achieve IQ modulation. Finally, the output of two different modulation modes is achieved through the coupling module 330. In this way, the same light source can simultaneously achieve two different modulation modes for laser output. The other of the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 can work in the same way to achieve "cold backup", that is, when one of the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 fails, the other laser can be turned on. Alternatively, when the output power of a single laser is insufficient, the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 can be turned on at the same time, and the beams are combined and split on the 2×2 beam splitter 321 of the photonic chip 320, and then enter the first modulator 324 and the second modulator 325 for modulation respectively, so as to achieve higher power output, that is, realize "hot backup".

[0056] As another example, the first laser 311 and the second laser 312 may also output different wavelengths, thereby modulating and outputting laser beams of different wavelengths.

[0057] See also Figure 4 , which shows a schematic diagram of an emitting device according to a second example of the present invention. In this example, the emitting device 400 includes a heat-conducting substrate 401, a light source module 410, a photonic chip 420, an outcoupling module 430, and a temperature controller 440. Several details of the emitting device 400 are similar to those described above with respect to Figure 3 The launch device 300 described is the same and will not be described in detail here. The following mainly describes the differences of the launch device 400.

[0058] In the transmitting device 400 , the photonic chip 420 includes a 2×4 beam splitter 421 , a first modulator 422 , a second modulator 423 , a third modulator 424 , and a fourth modulator 425 .

[0059] The 2×4 beam splitter 421 splits the first laser beam into four sub-beams and inputs them respectively into the first modulator 422, the second modulator 423, the third modulator 424 and the fourth modulator 425. The 2×4 beam splitter 421 splits the second laser beam into four sub-beams and inputs them respectively into the first modulator 422, the second modulator 423, the third modulator 424 and the fourth modulator 425. By loading different modulation signals on the first modulator 422, the second modulator 423, the third modulator 424 and the fourth modulator 425, four laser outputs with different modulation modes can be realized simultaneously.

[0060] The coupling module 430 includes a first coupling lens 431, a second coupling lens 432, a third coupling lens 433, a fourth coupling lens 434, a first single-mode optical fiber 435, a second single-mode optical fiber 436, a third single-mode optical fiber 437, and a fourth single-mode optical fiber 438. The first coupling lens 431 couples the modulated laser beam output by the first modulator 422 into the first single-mode optical fiber 435, so as to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 400 via the first single-mode optical fiber 435. The second coupling lens 432 couples the modulated laser beam output by the second modulator 423 into the second single-mode optical fiber 436, so as to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 400 via the second single-mode optical fiber 436. The third coupling lens 433 couples the modulated laser beam output by the third modulator 424 into the third single-mode optical fiber 437, so as to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 400 via the third single-mode optical fiber 437. The fourth coupling lens 434 couples the modulated laser beam output by the fourth modulator 425 into the fourth single-mode optical fiber 438 to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 400 via the fourth single-mode optical fiber 438 .

[0061] When one of the two lasers passes through the 2×4 beam splitter 421 integrated on the photonic chip 420, the laser beam is divided into four paths and respectively incident on different modulators 422, 423, 424, 425, multiple different modulation modes such as DPSK, QPSK, OOK, PPM, etc. can be realized simultaneously, and finally four different modulation modes are output through the coupling-out module 430.

[0062] See also Figure 5 , which shows a schematic diagram of an emitting device according to a third example of the present invention. In this example, the emitting device 500 includes a heat-conducting substrate 501, a light source module 510, a photonic chip 520, an outcoupling module, and a temperature controller 540. Several details of the emitting device 500 are similar to those described above with respect to Figure 3 The launch device 300 described is the same and will not be described in detail here. The following mainly describes the differences of the launch device 500.

[0063] The light source module 510 includes a first laser 511 and a second laser 512. The laser beams output by the first laser 511 and the second laser 512 are angled with each other (eg, perpendicular to each other).

[0064] The coupling module includes a first collimating lens 513, a second collimating lens 514, a first optical isolator 515, a second optical isolator 516, a first focusing lens 517, a second focusing lens 518, a beam splitter 551 and a reflector 552. The beam splitter 551 may be a semi-reflecting half-mirror.

[0065] The first laser beam output by the first laser 511 propagates through the first collimating lens 513 and the first optical isolator 515 and is incident on the beam splitter 551. A portion (for example, 50%) of the first laser beam is transmitted to the first focusing lens 517 via the beam splitter 551 to be coupled to the first input end 523 of the photonic chip 520 via the first focusing lens 517; the remaining portion (for example, another 50%) of the first laser beam is reflected onto the reflector 552 via the beam splitter 551 and reflected onto the second focusing lens 518 via the reflector 552 to be coupled to the second input end 524 of the photonic chip 520 via the second focusing lens 518.

[0066] The second laser beam output by the second laser 512 propagates through the second collimating lens 514 and the second optical isolator 516 and is incident on the beam splitter 551. A portion of the second laser beam is transmitted to the reflector 552 via the beam splitter 551 and is reflected to the second focusing lens 518 via the reflector 552 to be coupled to the second input terminal 524 of the photonic chip 520 via the second focusing lens 518; the remaining portion of the second laser beam is reflected to the first focusing lens 517 via the beam splitter 551 to be coupled to the first input terminal 523 of the photonic chip 520 via the first focusing lens 517.

[0067] Unlike the transmitting device 300, the photonic chip 520 of the transmitting device 500 does not include a beam splitter. The transmitting device 500 may include a first modulator 521 and a second modulator 522. The input end of the first modulator 521 is directly connected to the second input end 524 of the photonic chip 520, and the input end of the second modulator 522 is directly connected to the first input end 523 of the photonic chip 520.

[0068] The structure and adjustment method of the transmitting device 500 of the third example are basically the same as those of the transmitting device 300 of the first example. The difference is that the beam combining and splitting of the laser light source in the transmitting device 500 of the third example are performed outside the photonic chip 520. This scheme has lower loss during cold backup than the laser light source of the transmitting device 300 of the first example. When two different first modulators 521 and second modulators 522 are integrated on the photonic chip 520, OOK modulation and BPSK modulation, or PPM modulation and QPSK modulation can be realized simultaneously.

[0069] In some embodiments of the present application, the emitting device 100 may further include a shell. The shell may encapsulate the heat-conducting substrate 101, the light source module 110, the photonic chip 120, the coupling module 130, and the temperature controller 140 to provide sealing. The temperature controller 140 may be fixed on the inner surface of the shell. For example, the shell may have an upper shell and a lower shell. After the encapsulated heat-conducting substrate 101, the light source module 110, the photonic chip 120, the coupling module 130, and the temperature controller 140 are mounted on the inner surface of the upper shell or the lower shell, the upper shell and the lower shell may be joined and fastened to each other. Figure 3-Figure 5 As shown, the launch device 300 , the launch device 400 , and the launch device 500 may include a housing 370 , a housing 470 , and a housing 570 .

[0070] The transmitting device 100 may also include a plurality of pins extending from the inside of the transmitting device 100 through the housing to the outside. The plurality of pins may be respectively connected to the corresponding components of the transmitting device 100 to provide power supply and / or signal transmission. The plurality of pins may include a pin connected to a thermistor for transmitting a feedback signal from the thermistor. The plurality of pins may also include a pin connected to a temperature controller 140 for powering the temperature controller 140. The plurality of pins may also include M pins respectively connected to M modulators for providing modulation signals to the M modulators respectively. Similarly, the optical fiber assembly may be led out from the inside of the transmitting device 100 through the housing to the outside to output a modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device 100.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present application, if there is a height difference between the height of the laser beam output by the laser in the light source module 110 and the height of the input end of the photonic chip 120 , the light source module 110 may further include a substrate 111 to compensate for the height difference.

[0072] See also Figure 6, which shows a schematic side view of a transmitting device 600 for laser communication according to an optional embodiment of the present invention. The transmitting device 600 includes a heat-conducting substrate 601, a light source module 610, a photonic chip 620, an outcoupling module 630, a semiconductor cooler 640 and a housing 670. Several details of the transmitting device 600 are similar to those described above. Figure 1-6 The launch devices 100, 300, 400 and 500 described above are the same and will not be described in detail here. The following mainly describes the differences of the launch device 600.

[0073] The light source module 610 of the emitting device 600 may include a light source substrate 111, and N lasers 112, a coupling module 113, and a thermistor 114 disposed on the light source substrate 111. The light source substrate 111 is disposed on the first surface 10 of the thermal conductive substrate 601. In this way, the thickness of the light source substrate 111 can be used to compensate for the height difference between the height of the laser beam output by the laser 112 in the light source module 610 and the height of the input end of the photonic chip 620.

[0074] In some embodiments of the present application, the size of the temperature controller 140 can be selected to cover the area where the light source module 110, the photonic chip 120 and the coupling module 130 are located, as shown in the figure. In this way, the temperature controller 140 can allow the thermally conductive substrate 101 to have a substantially uniform temperature distribution when working, thereby performing overall temperature control on the emitting device 110.

[0075] A method for forming a transmitting device (100, 300, 400, 500, 600) for laser communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described below. The forming method is described by taking the transmitting device 600 as an example, and may include the following steps ①-⑥.

[0076] In step ①, N lasers 112 and thermistors 114 are fixed on the light source substrate 111 by eutectic welding.

[0077] In step ②, the bottom surface of the semiconductor cooler 640 is welded to the bottom surface of the housing 670 , and the bottom surface of the heat-conductive substrate 601 is welded and fixed to the upper surface of the semiconductor cooler 640 .

[0078] In step ③, the light source substrate 111 fixed with N lasers 112 and thermistors 114 is fixed on the upper surface of the heat conduction substrate 601 by low-temperature solder, the input waveguide (input end) of the photonic chip 620 is roughly aligned with the active area of ​​the light source module 610, and the photonic chip 620 is fixed on the heat conduction substrate 601.

[0079] In step ④, the electrodes of the N lasers 112 are brought out by bonding gold wires, one of them is powered on to emit light, and the collimating lens, optical isolator, and focusing lens in the coupling module 113 are adjusted in sequence to maximize the output power of the laser coupled through the photonic chip 620, and the adjusted collimating lens, optical isolator, and focusing lens are fixed on the light source substrate 111, and then the coupling modules 113 of the other lasers in the N lasers 112 are adjusted and fixed according to the above method.

[0080] In step ⑤, the coupling-out module 630 is fixed on the upper surface of the heat-conducting substrate 601 and aligned with the output optical waveguide (output end) of the photonic chip 620, so that the modulated laser beam output by the photonic chip 620 can be coupled into the single-mode polarization-maintaining optical fiber through the coupling lens in the coupling-out module 630.

[0081] In step ⑥, the pins of the corresponding components of the transmitting device 600 that need to be electrically connected to the external device are led out from the inside of the shell 670 to the outside of the shell 670, and the single-mode polarization-maintaining optical fiber is led out from the inside of the shell 670 to the outside of the shell 670, and then the transmitting device 600 is encapsulated in the shell 670 (for example, by joining and fastening the upper component of the shell 670 with the lower component).

[0082] The present invention also provides a laser communication device. Figure 7 , which shows a laser communication device 700 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0083] The laser communication device may include the transmitting device (100, 300, 400, 500, 600) as described above and a driving device 710 for driving the transmitting device.

[0084] The driving device 710 may include a power supply, a signal generator, and a controller. The power supply may provide power to the light source module 110 and the temperature controller 140. The signal generator may provide a modulation signal to the photonic chip 120. The controller may control the temperature controller 140 to perform or stop the temperature control operation in response to a feedback signal from a thermistor in the light source module 110.

[0085] The above describes in detail the transmitting device and laser communication equipment for laser communication according to the exemplary embodiments of the present application. According to the present invention, since the temperature controller can control the temperature of the heat-conducting substrate provided with the light source module and the photonic chip, it is allowed to avoid the laser light source in the light source module from being too high in temperature while ensuring that the entire device is basically under the same temperature conditions, thereby avoiding the deterioration of the laser coupling effect due to the temperature difference between different devices of the device, which helps to achieve high reliability and long life. In addition, the solution of the present invention requires a small number of components, thereby reducing the volume and weight.

[0086] The architecture of the transmitting device of the present invention also has the following advantages:

[0087] 1. The laser light source can use two or more light sources with the same wavelength to achieve cold backup or hot backup (derated use) to achieve high reliability and long life; use two or more light sources with different wavelengths to achieve dual / multi-wavelength alternating operation and realize laser emission with multiple wavelengths and different modulation methods.

[0088] 2. The photonic chip integrates an optical beam splitter and multiple modulators of different or same structures, which can realize laser output of multiple modulation formats when one wavelength light source is output.

[0089] 3. The laser light source and the photonic chip are separated, and a micro optical isolator is added to effectively prevent the influence of light feedback on the laser light source chip. Coupling the laser through a focusing lens can reduce the difficulty of designing and making the input waveguide of the photonic chip and improve the coupling efficiency.

[0090] 4. Modular design, plug and play.

[0091] The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of existing laser communication transmitters in actual application, such as the inability to realize multiple modulation modes at the same time and the large size, and provides an integrated solution for a multi-modulation multi-channel laser communication transmitter with high reliability and long life. The transmitter can not only be applied to the laser communication terminal of the ground optical fiber communication network, but also is the preferred laser communication transmitter module for the laser communication terminal of the intersatellite communication network, and has the advantages of small size, light weight, high reliability and long life.

[0092] Although the present application has been described with reference to the current specific embodiments, ordinary technicians in this technical field should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present application, and various equivalent changes or substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of the present application. Therefore, as long as the changes and modifications to the above embodiments are within the essential spirit of the present application, they will fall within the scope of the claims of the present application.

[0093] It should be understood that this specification will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing detailed description, it can be seen that various features are combined together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the present disclosure. This method of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting the purpose of the claimed embodiment requiring more features than the features explicitly listed in each claim. On the contrary, as reflected in the attached claims, the creative subject matter lies in less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the attached claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, wherein each claim independently serves as a separate embodiment.

[0094] Reference to an embodiment or embodiments in this description means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of a circuit or method. The appearances of the phrase "embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Claims

1. A transmitting device for laser communication, comprising: a heat conductive substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a light source module, disposed on the first surface of the heat conductive substrate and used to output a laser beam, wherein the light source module includes a thermal sensor; a photonic chip disposed on the first surface of the heat conductive substrate and configured to modulate the laser beam to output a modulated laser beam; An outcoupling module, arranged at the output end of the photonic chip to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the emitting device; as well as A temperature controller is disposed on the second surface of the heat-conducting substrate to control the temperature of the heat-conducting substrate.

2. The transmitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The photonic chip includes M modulators for modulating the laser beam in the same or different modulation modes, where M is an integer greater than 1.

3. The transmitting device according to claim 2, characterized in that The light source module further includes: N lasers, configured to output N laser beams, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and A coupling module, used for coupling the N laser beams into the photonic chip, The thermal sensor is arranged adjacent to the N lasers.

4. The transmitting device according to claim 3, characterized in that The photonic chip includes an N×M beam splitter, and the coupling module is used to couple each of the N laser beams into the corresponding input end of the N×M beam splitter, and the N×M beam splitter is used to split each laser beam into M sub-beams and input them into the M modulators respectively.

5. The transmitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The coupling module includes a coupling lens group and an optical fiber assembly, wherein the coupling lens group is used to couple the modulated laser beam into the optical fiber assembly so as to output the modulated laser beam to the outside of the transmitting device via the optical fiber assembly.

6. The transmitting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The coupling module includes a collimating lens, an optical isolator and a focusing lens respectively arranged on the optical path of each laser, wherein the laser beam output by each laser sequentially propagates through the corresponding collimating lens, optical isolator and focusing lens to be coupled to the corresponding input end of the photonic chip.

7. The transmitting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The N lasers include a first laser, and the coupling module includes a first collimating lens, a first optical isolator, a beam splitter, a reflecting mirror, a first focusing lens and a second focusing lens, The first laser beam output by the first laser propagates through the first collimating lens and the first optical isolator and is incident on the beam splitter, a portion of the first laser beam is transmitted to the first focusing lens via the beam splitter so as to be coupled to the first input end of the photonic chip via the first focusing lens, and the remaining portion of the first laser beam is reflected onto the reflector via the beam splitter and reflected onto the second focusing lens via the reflector so as to be coupled to the second input end of the photonic chip via the second focusing lens.

8. The transmitting device according to claim 7, characterized in that The N lasers further include a second laser, and the coupling module further includes a second collimating lens and a second optical isolator, The second laser beam output by the second laser propagates through the second collimating lens and the second optical isolator and is incident on the beam splitter, a portion of the second laser beam is transmitted to the reflector via the beam splitter and is reflected to the second focusing lens via the reflector so as to be coupled to the second input end of the photonic chip via the second focusing lens, and the remaining portion of the second laser beam is reflected to the first focusing lens via the beam splitter so as to be coupled to the first input end of the photonic chip via the first focusing lens.

9. The transmitting device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The photonic chip includes a first modulator and a second modulator, wherein an input end of the first modulator is connected to a second input end of the photonic chip, and an input end of the second modulator is connected to a first input end of the photonic chip.

10. The transmitting device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The modulation mode includes OOK modulation, BPSK modulation, DPSK modulation, IQ modulation and / or PPM modulation.

11. The transmitting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The light source module further includes a substrate, the N lasers, the coupling module and the thermal sensor are arranged on the substrate, and the substrate is arranged on the first surface of the thermal conductive substrate.

12. The transmitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The photonic chip includes a silicon-based photonic chip, a lithium niobate photonic chip or a PLC photonic chip.

13. The transmitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The emitting device further comprises a housing, and the housing is used to encapsulate the heat-conducting substrate, the light source module, the photonic chip, the outcoupling module and the temperature controller.

14. A laser communication device, comprising: The transmitting device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13; as well as A driving device, the driving device comprising: A power supply, used to provide power to the light source module and the temperature controller; A signal generator, used for providing a modulation signal for the photonic chip; and A controller controls the temperature controller to start or stop a temperature control operation in response to a feedback signal from the thermistor.

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