Laser redundancy device

Abstract

The invention relates to a laser redundancy device. A laser redundancy device includes a plurality of lasers and a PLC including a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers, and a plurality of output waveguides. Each first coupler includes a plurality of first input arms and a plurality of first output arms. Each second coupler includes a plurality of second input arms and a plurality of second output arms. Each first coupler is connected to two or more input waveguides via a plurality of first input arms and to a plurality of second couplers via a plurality of first output arms, two or more intermediate waveguides, and respective second input arms of the plurality of second couplers. Each second coupler is connected to two or more output waveguides via a plurality of second output arms.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 589,087, filed on October 10, 2023, entitled “LASER ARRAY COUPLED TOFIBER ARRAY WITH BUILT-IN REDUNDANT POWER”. The disclosure of that prior application is considered a part of this patent application and is incorporated by reference into this patent application. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to a laser redundancy device and a laser redundancy device including a planar lightwave circuit (PLC). Background Art

[0004] An optical system, such as an optical amplifier, may include multiple lasers (eg, pump lasers) to provide multiple laser beams for use in the optical system. Summary of the invention

[0005] In some implementations, a laser redundancy device includes: a plurality of lasers disposed on a common substrate; and a PLC including a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers, and a plurality of output waveguides, wherein: each first coupler of the plurality of first couplers includes a plurality of first input arms and a plurality of first output arms, each second coupler of the plurality of second couplers includes a plurality of second input arms and a plurality of second output arms, each first coupler is connected to two or more of the plurality of input waveguides via the plurality of first input arms of the first couplers, and is connected to the plurality of second couplers via the plurality of first output arms of the first couplers, two or more of the plurality of intermediate waveguides, and corresponding second input arms of the plurality of second couplers, and each second coupler is connected to two or more of the plurality of output waveguides via the plurality of second output arms of the second couplers.

[0006] In some implementations, the plurality of lasers are configured to couple the plurality of laser beams into the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC; and the plurality of output waveguides are configured to provide the plurality of output laser beams, wherein each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of laser beams.

[0007] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device further includes an optical assembly including one or more optical elements configured to facilitate the plurality of lasers coupling the plurality of laser beams into the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC.

[0008] In some implementations, the optical assembly also includes one or more optical isolators.

[0009] In some implementations, each coupler in the plurality of first couplers and the plurality of second couplers is configured to have an adjustable splitting ratio.

[0010] In some implementations, an output of the laser redundancy device is configured to connect to an input of the optical fiber array.

[0011] In some implementations, an output end of the laser redundancy device is configured to be connected to an input end of a multi-core optical fiber.

[0012] In some implementations, a multi-core fiber amplifier includes: a laser redundancy device, the laser redundancy device including: a plurality of lasers; and a PLC including a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers, and a plurality of output waveguides, wherein: each first coupler is connected to two or more of the plurality of input waveguides via a plurality of first input arms of the first couplers, and is connected to the plurality of second couplers via a plurality of first output arms of the first couplers, two or more of the plurality of intermediate waveguides, and corresponding second input arms of the plurality of second couplers, and each second coupler is connected to two or more of the plurality of output waveguides via a plurality of second output arms of the second couplers.

[0013] In some implementations, the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC are configured to receive a plurality of laser beams emitted by a plurality of lasers; and the plurality of output waveguides of the PLC are configured to provide a plurality of output laser beams, wherein each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of laser beams.

[0014] In some implementations, the multi-core fiber amplifier further includes: a fiber bundle array converter; and a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) combiner.

[0015] In some implementations, an output of the laser redundancy device is configured to connect to an input of a fiber array of a fiber bundle array converter.

[0016] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device further includes an optical assembly including one or more optical elements configured to facilitate coupling of the plurality of laser beams emitted by the plurality of lasers into the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC.

[0017] In some implementations, the optical assembly also includes one or more optical isolators.

[0018] In some implementations, each coupler in the plurality of first couplers and the plurality of second couplers is configured to have an adjustable splitting ratio.

[0019] In some implementations, a co-packaged optical device (CPO) transmission source includes: a laser redundancy device, which includes: a plurality of lasers; and a PLC including a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers, and a plurality of output waveguides, wherein: each first coupler is connected to two or more of the plurality of input waveguides and is connected to the plurality of second couplers via two or more of the plurality of intermediate waveguides, and each second coupler is connected to two or more of the plurality of output waveguides.

[0020] In some implementations, the PLC is configured to receive a plurality of laser beams emitted by a plurality of lasers; and the PLC is configured to provide a plurality of output laser beams, wherein each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of laser beams.

[0021] In some implementations, the CPO transmission source further includes: an integrated circuit (IC); and a plurality of electro-optical (EO) modulators.

[0022] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device is configured to connect to multiple EO modulators.

[0023] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device further includes: an optical assembly including one or more optical elements.

[0024] In some implementations, each coupler in the plurality of first couplers and the plurality of second couplers is configured to have an adjustable splitting ratio. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 is a diagram of an example implementation described in this article;

[0026] Figure 2A-2B is a diagram of an example implementation described in this article;

[0027] Figure 3 is a diagram of an example implementation described herein; and

[0028] Figure 4 is a diagram of an example implementation described in this article. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following detailed description of example implementations refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0030] An optical system (e.g., an optical amplifier or another type of optical system) may require that multiple laser beams be provided within the optical system. In many cases, multiple lasers provide multiple laser beams via corresponding optical channels. This typically requires the use of a large number of discrete components (e.g., waveguides, optical isolators, lenses, or other components) for each optical channel (and each laser) to ensure that the laser beams are provided as intended within the optical system. Including these numerous components requires considerable physical area (e.g., in terms of area and / or volume), which may increase design complexity when attempting to package the components as part of the optical system. In addition, in some cases, a single laser may cease to operate and therefore no longer provide a laser beam within the optical system, which may negatively affect the performance of the optical system or may cause the optical system to cease operating as intended.

[0031] Some implementations described herein include a laser redundancy device. The laser redundancy device includes multiple lasers and a PLC, and the PLC includes multiple input waveguides, multiple first couplers, multiple intermediate waveguides, multiple second couplers, and multiple output waveguides. Each first coupler includes multiple first input arms and multiple first output arms. Each second coupler includes multiple second input arms and multiple second output arms. Each first coupler is connected to two or more input waveguides via multiple first input arms, and is connected to multiple second couplers via multiple first output arms, two or more intermediate waveguides, and corresponding second input arms of multiple second couplers. Each second coupler is connected to two or more output waveguides via multiple second output arms.

[0032] Thus, multiple lasers are configured to couple multiple laser beams into the PLC (e.g., into multiple input waveguides of the PLC). The PLC is configured to provide (e.g., as an output of the PLC) multiple output laser beams (e.g., by using multiple input waveguides, multiple first couplers, multiple intermediate waveguides, multiple second couplers, and multiple output waveguides to propagate and combine portions of the multiple laser beams), wherein each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the multiple laser beams. In this way, even when one or more of the lasers are unable to provide a laser beam, the PLC still provides the same number of output laser beams (where each output laser beam includes a portion of the laser beam provided by the operating laser). This can improve the performance of an optical system (e.g., a multi-core fiber amplifier, a CPO transmission source, or another type of optical system) that includes laser redundancy equipment. In addition, in some cases, this allows the optical system to continue to operate as expected (e.g., even when one or more lasers are not operating).

[0033] In some implementations, because the laser redundancy device includes only the laser array, the PLC, and optional optical components (e.g., which are configured to facilitate coupling of the laser beam into the PLC), no other components need to be used. Therefore, the physical area of ​​the laser redundancy device can be smaller than the physical area of ​​using individual lasers with discrete components. This allows the laser redundancy device to be used in a compact package of an optical system (e.g., in situations where a multi-component configuration could not otherwise be used). In addition, because the laser redundancy device is a single device, the design complexity associated with including the laser redundancy device within the optical system can be reduced (e.g., compared to a multi-component configuration).

[0034] Figure 1 is a diagram of an example implementation 100 described herein. Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a laser redundancy device 102. Figure 1 As shown, the laser redundancy device 102 may include a laser array 104 , an optical assembly 106 , and / or a PLC 108 .

[0035] The laser array 104 may include a plurality of lasers 110 (shown as black rectangles). For example, each laser 110 may be a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), an edge emitting laser (EEL), or another type of laser disposed on a substrate (e.g., a common substrate). Each laser 110 may be configured to emit a laser beam (e.g., which is intended to be coupled into the PLC 108). The plurality of lasers 110 may be arranged in a one-dimensional array within the laser array 104 (e.g., on a substrate). The plurality of lasers 110 may be arranged in a one-dimensional array such that the plurality of lasers 110 are configured to emit light in the same direction (e.g., in a right direction, as shown in FIG. 1 ). Figure 1 As shown, multiple laser beams are emitted (for example, from the emission end of the laser array 104).

[0036] The optical assembly 106 may include one or more optical elements 112 (shown as ellipses). For example, each optical element 112 may include a lens (e.g., a focusing lens), a reflective element, a refractive element, and / or another type of optical element, and may be configured to receive at least one laser beam (e.g., from at least one laser 110 of the laser array 104) and transmit the laser beam in a particular direction (e.g., a right direction, such as Figure 1 The optical assembly 106 may be positioned relative to the laser array 104 such that the one or more optical elements 112 are positioned to receive the multiple laser beams emitted by the multiple lasers 110. In other words, the optical assembly 106 may be positioned such that the one or more optical elements 112 are positioned within the optical paths of the multiple laser beams.

[0037] The PLC 108 may include a plurality of input waveguides 114, a plurality of first couplers 116, a plurality of intermediate waveguides 118, a plurality of second couplers 120, and / or a plurality of output waveguides 122. Each of the plurality of input waveguides 114, the plurality of intermediate waveguides 118, and the plurality of output waveguides 122 (shown as solid black lines) may include a structure, channel, or other optical element configured to propagate a laser beam (e.g., to direct and control propagation of a laser beam from an “input” end of the waveguide to an “output” end of the waveguide).

[0038] Each of the plurality of first couplers 116 and the plurality of second couplers 120 (shown as white rectangles with black borders) may include a multimode interference coupler (MMI), a directional coupler, or another type of coupler. In addition, each coupler may include a plurality of input arms and a plurality of output arms. For example, Figure 1 As shown, each coupler can be a 2×2 coupler (e.g., comprising two input arms and two output arms). Each coupler can be configured to receive multiple light beams (e.g., which are received by the coupler via multiple input arms of the coupler), combine the multiple light beams into a combined laser beam, and provide portions of the combined laser beam (e.g., via multiple output arms of the coupler). Each coupler can be configured to have a fixed splitting ratio (e.g., each output arm of the coupler can provide a specific percentage of the combined laser beam), or alternatively, have an adjustable splitting ratio (e.g., each output arm can be “adjusted,” such as by a user responsible for operating, maintaining, and / or servicing the laser redundancy device 102, to provide a specific percentage of the combined laser beam). In this way, each coupler can be configured to facilitate precise combining of laser beams, such as enabling equalization of the power levels of the laser beams or forming a specific power ratio between the laser beams.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, each input waveguide 114 can be positioned at the input end of the PLC 108 (e.g., the left side of the PLC 108, such as Figure 1 ), and can be connected to an input arm of a first coupler 116 of the plurality of first couplers 116. Thus, each input waveguide 114 can be configured to receive a laser beam (e.g., emitted by a laser 110 of the laser array 104 and can be guided to the input waveguide 114 by an optical element 112 of the optical assembly 106), and can be configured to propagate the laser beam to an input arm of a first coupler 116 connected to the input waveguide 114.

[0040] Each first coupler 116 may be connected to two or more input waveguides 114 (of the plurality of input waveguides 114) via a plurality of input arms of the first coupler 116, and may be connected to two or more intermediate waveguides 118 (of the plurality of intermediate waveguides 118) via a plurality of output arms of the first coupler 116. Figure 1 As shown, each first coupler 116 (e.g., a 2×2 coupler) can be connected to two input waveguides 114 and two intermediate waveguides 118. Therefore, each first coupler 116 can be configured to receive (e.g., respectively receive) a plurality of laser beams from two or more input waveguides 114; combine the plurality of laser beams into a combined laser beam; and provide (e.g., respectively provide) portions of the combined laser beam to two or more intermediate waveguides 118.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, each intermediate waveguide 118 can be positioned in an inner region of the PLC 108 (e.g., a central non-peripheral region of the PLC 108, such as Figure 1 ) and may be connected to an output arm of a first coupler 116 (among the plurality of first couplers 116) and an input arm of a second coupler 120 (among the plurality of second couplers 120). Thus, each intermediate waveguide 118 may be configured to receive a portion of the combined laser beam (e.g., provided to the intermediate waveguide 118 by the first coupler 116 via the output arm of the first coupler 116) and may be configured to propagate the portion of the combined laser beam to an input arm of a second coupler 120 connected to the intermediate waveguide 118.

[0042] Each second coupler 120 may be connected to two or more intermediate waveguides 118 (of the plurality of intermediate waveguides 118) via a plurality of input arms of the second coupler 120, and may be connected to two or more output waveguides 122 (of the plurality of output waveguides 122) via a plurality of output arms of the second coupler 120. For example, Figure 1As shown, each second coupler 120 (e.g., 2×2 coupler) can be connected to two intermediate waveguides 118 and two output waveguides 122. In addition, each input arm (of the plurality of input arms) of the second coupler 120 can be connected to a specific first coupler 116 (of the plurality of first couplers 116) via the intermediate waveguide 118, such as an output arm (of the plurality of output arms) connected to the specific first coupler 116. That is, the second coupler can be connected to two or more first couplers 116 (of the plurality of first couplers 116) via corresponding two or more intermediate waveguides 118 (of the plurality of intermediate waveguides 118). Therefore, each second coupler 120 can be configured to receive (e.g., respectively receive) a plurality of portions of a combined laser beam (e.g., portions of a combined laser beam respectively combined by two or more first couplers 116) from two or more intermediate waveguides 118; combine the plurality of portions of the combined laser beam into an additional combined laser beam; and provide (e.g., respectively provide) portions of the additional combined laser beam to two or more output waveguides 122.

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, each output waveguide 122 can be positioned at the output end of the PLC 108 (e.g., the right side of the PLC 108, such as Figure 1 ), and can be connected to an output arm of a second coupler 120 (among the plurality of second couplers 120). Thus, each output waveguide 122 can be configured to receive a portion of the additional combined laser beam (e.g., provided to the output waveguide 122 by the second coupler 120 via the output arm of the second coupler 120), and can be configured to propagate the portion of the additional combined laser beam out of the PLC 108 (e.g., via the output end of the PLC 108). Thus, elsewhere herein, each portion of the additional combined laser beam can be referred to as an output laser beam.

[0044] Figure 1 Further illustrated are example propagation paths (indicated by black dashed lines) of laser beams (and portions of laser beams) through laser redundancy device 102. Multiple lasers 110 may emit multiple laser beams (four laser beams, such as Figure 1 ), these laser beams can propagate to the multiple input waveguides 114 of the PLC 108 via one or more optical elements 112 of the optical assembly 106. In this manner, the multiple lasers 110 can be configured to couple the multiple laser beams into the multiple input waveguides 114 (e.g., each laser 110 can be configured to couple the laser beam into the corresponding input waveguide 114).

[0045] The plurality of input waveguides 114 may be configured to propagate the plurality of laser beams to the plurality of first couplers 116. For example, Figure 1As shown, the first group of input waveguides 114 (e.g., the top two input waveguides 114) can be configured to propagate the first group of laser beams (e.g., the two laser beams emitted by the top two lasers 110) to the first first coupler (e.g., the top first coupler 116) among the first couplers 116, and the second group of input waveguides 114 (e.g., the bottom two input waveguides 114) can be configured to propagate the second group of laser beams (e.g., the two laser beams emitted by the bottom two lasers 110) to the second first coupler (e.g., the bottom first coupler 116) among the first couplers 116.

[0046] Each first coupler 116 may be configured to combine the laser beams received by the first coupler 116 into a combined laser beam, and provide a portion of the combined laser beam to each second coupler of the plurality of second couplers 120 via a corresponding intermediate waveguide 118. Thus, the plurality of intermediate waveguides 118 may be configured to propagate portions of the combined laser beam to the plurality of second couplers 120. For example, a first first coupler of the first couplers 116 (e.g., the top first coupler 116) may be configured to combine a first group of laser beams into a first combined laser beam, and provide a first portion of the first combined laser beam to a first second coupler of the second couplers 120 (e.g., the top second coupler 120) via a first intermediate waveguide 118 (e.g., which is connected to the top first coupler 116 and the top second coupler 120), and provide a second portion of the first combined laser beam to a second second coupler of the second couplers 120 (e.g., the bottom second coupler 120) via a second intermediate waveguide 118 (e.g., which is connected to the top first coupler 116 and the bottom second coupler 120). As another example, a second first coupler (e.g., the bottom first coupler 116) among the first couplers 116 can be configured to combine the second group of laser beams into a second combined laser beam, and provide a first portion of the second combined laser beam to a first second coupler (e.g., the top second coupler 120) among the second couplers 120 via a third intermediate waveguide 118 (e.g., connected to the bottom first coupler 116 and the top second coupler 120), and provide a second portion of the second combined laser beam to a second second coupler (e.g., the bottom second coupler 120) among the second couplers 120 via a fourth intermediate waveguide 118 (e.g., connected to the bottom first coupler 116 and the bottom second coupler 120).

[0047] Each second coupler 120 can be configured to combine the portions of the combined laser beams received by the second coupler 120 into an additional combined laser beam, and provide the portions of the additional combined laser beams for output (e.g., from the PLC 108) via a corresponding output waveguide 122. Thus, the plurality of output waveguides 122 can be configured to propagate the portions of the additional combined laser beams out of the PLC 108.

[0048] For example, a first second coupler (e.g., the top second coupler 120) of the second couplers 120 can be configured to combine the first portion of the first combined laser beam and the first portion of the second combined laser beam into a first additional combined laser beam, and provide the first portion of the first additional combined laser beam for output via a first output waveguide 122 (e.g., which is connected to the top second coupler 120), and provide the second portion of the first additional combined laser beam for output via a second output waveguide 122 (e.g., which is connected to the top second coupler 120). As another example, a second second coupler (e.g., the bottom second coupler 120) of the second couplers 120 can be configured to combine the second portion of the first combined laser beam and the second portion of the second combined laser beam into a second additional combined laser beam, and provide the first portion of the second additional combined laser beam for output via a third output waveguide 122 (e.g., which is connected to the bottom second coupler 120), and provide the second portion of the second additional combined laser beam for output via a fourth output waveguide 122 (e.g., which is connected to the bottom second coupler 120).

[0049] In this manner, each of the portions of the additional combined laser beam (e.g., each output laser beam) may include at least a portion of each laser beam emitted by the plurality of lasers 110. For example, when each of the plurality of first couplers 116 and second couplers 120 has an equal splitting ratio (e.g., Figure 1 When the plurality of output waveguides 122 have a “50 / 50” splitting ratio (e.g., a “50 / 50” splitting ratio of the 2×2 coupler shown), each portion of the additional combined laser beams output via the plurality of output waveguides 122 (also referred to as output laser beams) may include an equal amount (or nearly equal amount) of each of the plurality of laser beams emitted by the plurality of lasers 110. Thus, if a particular laser 110 encounters a performance problem and stops emitting a laser beam, each output laser beam will include a combination of the other laser beams in the plurality of beams that are still emitted by the other lasers 110 in the plurality of lasers 110.

[0050] like Figure 1 As further shown, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to connect to the fiber array 124. For example, the output of the laser redundancy device 102 (eg, including the output of the PLC 108) can be configured to connect to the input of the fiber array 124.

[0051] The optical fiber array 124 may include a plurality of optical fibers 126 (shown as rectangles with a diagonal pattern). For example, each optical fiber 126 may include a core, and optionally one or more claddings. Each optical fiber 126 may be configured to propagate an output laser beam (e.g., away from the laser redundancy device 102), such as via the core of the optical fiber 126. The plurality of optical fibers 126 may be arranged in a one-dimensional array within the optical fiber array 124.

[0052] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to be connected to the optical fiber array 124 such that the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108 are aligned with the plurality of optical fibers 126 of the optical fiber array 124. That is, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to be connected to the optical fiber array 124 to allow output laser beams provided by the laser redundancy device 102 (e.g., via the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108) to be coupled into corresponding optical fibers 126 of the optical fiber array 124 (e.g., coupled into respective cores of corresponding optical fibers 126).

[0053] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to have a first distance 128 measured from an emission end of the laser array 104 to an input end of the PLC 108. For example, the first distance 128 can be between 3 millimeters (mm) and 5 mm (e.g., greater than or equal to 3 mm and less than 5 mm), such as for a "compact" design, or between 5 mm and 20 mm, such as for a "non-compact" design. The first distance 128 can allow the optical assembly 106 to be positioned between the laser array 104 and the PLC 108, and allow the one or more optical elements 112 to receive the multiple laser beams emitted by the multiple lasers 110 and guide the multiple laser beams to the multiple input waveguides 114 of the PLC 108 (e.g., allow the multiple laser beams to be coupled into the multiple input waveguides 114). In addition, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to have a second distance 130 (e.g., the length of the PLC 108) measured from the input end of the PLC 108 to the output end of the PLC 108. For example, the second distance 130 can be between 3 mm and 5 mm, such as for a compact design, or between 6 mm and 20 mm, such as for a non-compact design. As described herein, the second distance 130 can facilitate combining of multiple laser beams.

[0054] As indicated above, Figure 1 Other examples can be found in the Figure 1 Different from what is described. Figure 1 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples only. Figure 1There may be more components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than shown. Figure 1 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Figure 1 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 1 The illustrated set of components (e.g., one or more components) may perform the operations described as being performed by Figure 1 Another group of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0055] Figure 2A-2B is a diagram of an example implementation 200 described herein. Figure 2A-2B FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a laser redundancy device 202. Figure 2A-2B As shown, the laser redundancy device 202 may include Figure 1 The laser array 104 (e.g., including a plurality of lasers 110) and the PLC 108 (e.g., including a plurality of input waveguides 114, a plurality of first couplers 116, a plurality of intermediate waveguides 118, a plurality of second couplers 120, and / or a plurality of output waveguides 122) are described. The laser redundancy device 202 may further include an optical assembly 204 (e.g., in place of the optical assembly 106), which may include one or more first optical elements 206, one or more optical isolators 208, and / or one or more second optical elements 210.

[0056] For example, each first optical element 206 may include a lens (e.g., a collimating lens), a reflective element, a refractive element, and / or another type of optical element, and may be configured to receive at least one laser beam (e.g., from at least one laser 110 of laser array 104) and transmit the laser beam in a particular direction (e.g., a right direction, such as Figure 2A-2B ) to guide at least one laser beam, such as to a corresponding optical isolator 208. For example, each optical isolator 208 may include a Faraday rotator and a plurality of birefringent crystal plates, and may be configured to receive at least one laser beam (e.g., from the first optical element 206), and may be configured to transmit the laser beam in a specific direction (e.g., a right direction, such as Figure 2A-2BAs shown in the figure, the at least one laser beam is directed to the corresponding second optical element 210. In addition, the optical isolator 208 can be configured to prevent (or minimize) the back reflection of the at least one laser beam (e.g., to the at least one laser 110 that emits the at least one laser beam, which protects the at least one laser 110 from being impaired in performance). For example, each second optical element 210 may include a lens (e.g., a focusing lens), a reflective element, a refractive element, and / or another type of optical element, and may be configured to receive the at least one laser beam (e.g., from the optical isolator 208) and transmit the at least one laser beam in a specific direction (e.g., a right direction, as shown in the figure). Figure 2A-2B ) to direct at least one laser beam, such as to a corresponding input waveguide 114 of the PLC 108.

[0057] Figure 2A-2B Also shown are example propagation paths (indicated by dashed lines) of laser beams (and portions of laser beams) through laser redundancy device 202. Figure 2A-2B As shown, the optical assembly 204 can be positioned relative to the laser array 104 so that the one or more first optical elements 206 are positioned to receive the multiple laser beams emitted by the multiple lasers 110. That is, the optical assembly 106 can be positioned so that the one or more first optical elements 206 are positioned within the optical paths of the multiple laser beams. Therefore, the multiple laser beams can be propagated to the multiple input waveguides 114 of the PLC 108 via the one or more first optical elements 206, the one or more optical isolators 208, and / or the one or more second optical elements 210 of the optical assembly 204. In this way, the multiple lasers 110 can be configured to couple the multiple laser beams into the multiple input waveguides 114 (e.g., each laser 110 can be configured to couple the laser beam into the corresponding input waveguide 114). The plurality of laser beams may then propagate and may be coupled by the PLC 108 (e.g., by the plurality of input waveguides 114, the plurality of first couplers 116, the plurality of intermediate waveguides 118, the plurality of second couplers 120, and / or the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108) in a manner similar to that described herein with respect to Figure 1 The PLC 108 can thereby provide a plurality of output laser beams (eg, each output laser beam comprising at least a portion of each laser beam emitted by the plurality of lasers 110).

[0058] like Figure 2A As further shown, the laser redundancy device 202 can be configured to be connected to the fiber array 124. For example, the output of the laser redundancy device 202 (e.g., which includes the output of the PLC 108) can be configured to be connected to the input of the fiber array 124, such as in the manner described herein with respect to Figure 1 In a similar manner as described above.

[0059] Alternatively, if Figure 2B As shown, the laser redundancy device 202 can be configured to be connected to a multi-core optical fiber 212. The multi-core optical fiber 212 can include a plurality of cores 214 (shown as rectangles with a diamond pattern). Each core 214 can be configured to propagate an output laser beam (e.g., away from the laser redundancy device 102). The plurality of cores 214 can be arranged in a one-dimensional array (e.g., a vertical array, such as Figure 1 shown).

[0060] In some implementations, the output end of the laser redundancy device 202 (e.g., which includes the output end of the PLC 108) can be configured to be connected to the input end of the multi-core optical fiber 212. In this manner, the laser redundancy device 202 can be configured to be connected to the multi-core optical fiber 212 so that the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108 are aligned with the plurality of cores 214 of the multi-core optical fiber 212. In other words, the laser redundancy device 202 can be configured to be connected to the optical fiber array 124 to allow the output laser beams provided by the laser redundancy device 202 (e.g., via the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108) to be coupled into the corresponding cores 214 of the multi-core optical fiber 212.

[0061] In some implementations, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to have a first distance 216 measured from the emission end of the laser array 104 to the input end of the PLC 108. For example, the first distance 128 can be between 5 mm and 6 mm, such as for a compact design, or between 6 mm and 20 mm, such as for a non-compact design. The first distance 216 can allow the optical assembly 204 to be positioned between the laser array 104 and the PLC 108, and allow the optical assembly 204 to receive the multiple laser beams emitted by the multiple lasers 110 and guide the multiple laser beams to the multiple input waveguides 114 of the PLC 108 (e.g., allow the multiple laser beams to be coupled into the multiple input waveguides 114). In addition, the laser redundancy device 102 can be configured to have a second distance 218 measured from the input end of the PLC 108 to the output end of the PLC 108 (e.g., the length of the PLC 108). For example, second distance 218 may be between 3 mm and 5 mm, such as for a compact design, or between 6 mm and 20 mm, such as for a non-compact design. As described herein, second distance 218 may facilitate combining of multiple laser beams.

[0062] As indicated above, Figure 2A-2B Provided as an example only. Other examples may be found in Figure 2A-2B Different from what is described. Figure 2A-2B The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples only. Figure 2A-2BThere may be more components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than shown. Figure 2B Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or 2A- Figure 2B The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, 2A- Figure 2B The set of components (e.g., one or more components) shown may perform the operations described as being performed by 2A- Figure 2B Another group of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0063] Figure 3 is a diagram of an example implementation 300 described herein. Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a multi-core fiber amplifier 302 is shown. Figure 3 As shown, the multi-core fiber amplifier 302 may include a laser redundancy device 304 , a fiber bundle array converter 306 , and / or a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) combiner 308 .

[0064] The laser redundancy device 304 may be used in conjunction with Figure 1 and Figure 2A-2B The laser redundancy device 102 and / or the laser redundancy device 202 are the same or similar. Figure 3 As shown, the laser redundancy device 304 may include Figure 1 and Figure 2A-2B The laser array 104 (e.g., including a plurality of lasers 110), the optical component 106 (e.g., including one or more optical elements 112), and the PLC 108 (e.g., including a plurality of input waveguides 114, a plurality of first couplers 116, a plurality of intermediate waveguides 118, a plurality of second couplers 120, and / or a plurality of output waveguides 122).

[0065] The fiber bundle array converter 306 may include the fiber array 124 (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 2A-2B Thus, the laser redundancy device 304 may be configured to connect to the optical fiber array 124, such as in the manner described herein with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 2A-2B For example, the output end of the laser redundancy device 304 (e.g., which includes the output end of the PLC 108) can be configured to be connected to the input end of the optical fiber array 124 (e.g., which is also the input end of the optical fiber bundle array converter 306), which can allow the multiple output laser beams provided by the laser redundancy device 304 (e.g., via the multiple output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108) to be coupled into the corresponding optical fibers 126 of the optical fiber array 124 (e.g., coupled into the corresponding cores of the corresponding optical fibers 126).

[0066] Therefore, since the plurality of optical fibers 126 can be arranged in a one-dimensional array at the input end of the optical fiber array 124 within the optical fiber array 124, the plurality of output laser beams can be coupled into the optical fibers 126 of the optical fiber array 124 in a one-dimensional array, such as Figure 3 and 310. In addition, Figure 3 As further shown in FIG. 312 , the plurality of optical fibers 126 of the optical fiber array 124 may be arranged in a two-dimensional array (e.g., a 2×2 array, where each optical fiber 126 includes a core and a cladding) at the output end of the optical fiber array 124 (e.g., which is also the output end of the optical fiber bundle array converter 306). Therefore, the plurality of output laser beams may be arranged in a two-dimensional array (shown as a 2×2 array) at the output end of the optical fiber array 124, and thereby propagate to the WDM combiner 308 (e.g., arranged in a two-dimensional array).

[0067] The WDM combiner 308 may include an input multi-core fiber 314, an output multi-core fiber 316, and / or one or more optical elements 318. The input multi-core fiber 314 may be configured to receive a plurality of transmission laser beams (e.g., which may be "signal" laser beams) from a transmission source fiber 320 (e.g., via a plurality of cores of the input multi-core fiber 314 arranged in a two-dimensional array). For example, the transmission source fiber 320 may be a multi-core fiber including a plurality of cores (e.g., in a common cladding) arranged in a two-dimensional array (shown as a 2×2 array), and thus the plurality of transmission laser beams may be propagated to the input multi-core fiber 314 in a two-dimensional array arrangement (e.g., via an optical isolator 322). The input multi-core fiber 314 may also be configured to propagate the plurality of transmission laser beams to the one or more optical elements 318.

[0068] For example, the one or more optical elements 318 may include one or more lenses, one or more reflective elements, one or more refractive elements, one or more filters, and one or more other types of optical elements, and may be configured to receive multiple output laser beams from the fiber bundle array converter 306 and multiple transmission laser beams from the input multi-core optical fiber 314; combine the multiple output laser beams and the multiple transmission laser beams (e.g., using WDM technology) into multiple multiplexed laser beams; and provide the multiple multiplexed laser beams to the output multi-core optical fiber 316.

[0069] The output multi-core optical fiber 316 can be configured to receive and propagate a plurality of multiplexed laser beams from one or more optical elements 318. For example, the output multi-core optical fiber 316 can include a plurality of cores arranged in a two-dimensional array (e.g., as a 2×2 array), and thus a plurality of multiplexed laser beams can be propagated in a two-dimensional array arrangement (via the output multi-core optical fiber 316), such as to a transmission output optical fiber 324 (e.g., via a multi-core amplifier optical fiber 326 and / or an optical isolator 328).

[0070] As shown in the reference numeral 330, the transmission output optical fiber 324 can be a multi-core optical fiber that includes multiple cores (e.g., in a common cladding) arranged in a two-dimensional array (shown as a 2×2 array), and thus multiple multiplexed laser beams can be coupled into the transmission output optical fiber 324 and can propagate through the transmission output optical fiber 324 in a two-dimensional array arrangement (e.g., to the output end of the transmission output optical fiber 324).

[0071] As indicated above, Figure 3 Other examples can be found in the Figure 3 For example, the fiber bundle array converter 306 may have a multi-core optical fiber 212 (e.g., Figure 2B ) as input, and the output can be a two-dimensional array (e.g., 2×2) in a multi-core optical fiber (e.g., similar to the transmission source fiber 320 or the transmission output fiber 324).

[0072] Figure 3 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples only. Figure 3 There may be more components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than shown. Figure 3 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Figure 3 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 3 The illustrated set of components (e.g., one or more components) may perform the operations described as being performed by Figure 3 Another group of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0073] Figure 4 is a diagram of an example implementation 400 described herein. Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a co-packaged optical device (CPO) transmission source 402 (eg, configured to facilitate optical communication) is shown. Figure 4As shown, the CPO transmission source 402 may include a laser redundancy device 404, an integrated circuit (IC) 406, and a plurality of electro-optical (EO) modulators 408, each of which may be disposed on and / or integrated into a circuit board 410 (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)) of the CPO transmission source 402. Alternatively, the plurality of EO modulators 408 may be disposed on or integrated into the IC 406.

[0074] Laser redundancy device 404 may be used in conjunction with Figure 1 and Figure 2A-2B The laser redundancy device 102 and / or the laser redundancy device 202 are the same or similar. Figure 4 As shown, the laser redundancy device 404 may include Figure 1 and Figure 2A-2B The laser array 104 (e.g., including a plurality of lasers 110), the optical component 106 (e.g., including one or more optical elements 112), and the PLC 108 (e.g., including a plurality of input waveguides 114, a plurality of first couplers 116, a plurality of intermediate waveguides 118, a plurality of second couplers 120, and / or a plurality of output waveguides 122).

[0075] The laser redundancy device 404 may be configured to be connected to the plurality of EO modulators 408. For example, the laser redundancy device 404 may be configured to be connected to the plurality of EO modulators 408 such that the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108 are aligned with or linked to the plurality of EO modulators 408. That is, the laser redundancy device 404 may be configured to be connected to the plurality of EO modulators 408 to allow output laser beams provided by the laser redundancy device 404 (e.g., via the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108) to be coupled into corresponding EO modulators 408.

[0076] Each EO modulator 408 (in Figure 4 406) can be configured to modify one or more properties of an output laser beam (e.g., provided to the EO modulator 408 by the output waveguide 122 of the PLC 108 of the laser redundancy device 404). For example, each EO modulator 408 can be a silicon photonic device that is configured to modify the intensity, phase, polarization, and / or other properties of the output laser beam, such as in response to an electrical signal (e.g., an applied voltage) provided by the IC 406.

[0077] IC 406 may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip, a central processing unit (CPU), an electronic switch, or other type of chip. IC 406 may be configured (e.g., may include a driver circuit) to generate and / or provide an electrical signal (e.g., shown as a dashed line) to each of a plurality of EO modulators 408. In this manner, IC 406 may be configured to control the plurality of EO modulators 408 to cause corresponding properties of the plurality of output laser beams to be modified.

[0078] Figure 4 Further illustrated are example propagation paths (indicated by arrows) of the output laser beams through the CPO transmission source 402. Multiple output laser beams (shown as arrows with solid lines) can be provided by the laser redundancy device 404 to multiple EO modulators 408. Thus, the IC 406 can control the multiple EO modulators 408 (e.g., by providing electrical signals to the multiple EO modulators 408) to modify the respective properties of the multiple output laser beams. Thus, the EO modulators 408 can respectively provide multiple modified output laser beams (shown as arrows with dashed and dotted lines), such as for output from the output end of the circuit board 410, which can be the output end of the CPO transmission source 402.

[0079] Therefore, if combined with Figure 1 , Figure 2A and Figure 2B As described above, the laser redundancy device 404 (e.g., via the plurality of output waveguides 122 of the PLC 108) can be configured to couple a plurality of output laser beams into each of the EO modulators 408, wherein each output laser beam includes at least a portion of a laser beam emitted by each of the plurality of laser beams 110 of the laser array 104. In this manner, even when one or more of the lasers 110 are unable to provide a laser beam, the PLC 108 can still provide the same number of output laser beams (where each output laser beam includes a portion of a laser beam provided by an operating laser 110).

[0080] As indicated above, Figure 4 Other examples can be found in the Figure 4 Different from what is described. Figure 4 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples only. Figure 4 There may be more components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than shown. Figure 4 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Figure 4 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 4The illustrated set of components (e.g., one or more components) may perform the operations described as being performed by Figure 4 Another group of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0081] The above disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementation to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made based on the above disclosure, or may be obtained from the practice of the implementation. In addition, any implementation described herein may be combined, unless the above disclosure explicitly provides reasons why one or more implementations cannot be combined.

[0082] Although specific combinations of features are cited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various implementations. In fact, many of these features can be combined in a manner that is not specifically cited in the claims and / or not disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below can only directly depend on one claim, the disclosure of various implementations includes the combination of each dependent claim with each other claim in the claim set. As used herein, the phrase "at least one" referring to a list of items refers to any combination of these items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc and abc, and multiple combinations of the same items.

[0083] When a component or one or more components (e.g., a laser emitter or one or more laser emitters) is described or claimed (either within a single claim or across multiple claims) as performing multiple operations or being configured to perform multiple operations, such language is intended to broadly cover a variety of architectures and environments. For example, unless otherwise expressly required (e.g., by use of "a first component" and "a second component" or other language in the claim that distinguishes between components), the language is intended to cover a single component that performs or is configured to perform all of these operations, a group of components that collectively perform or are configured to perform all of these operations, a first component that performs or is configured to perform a first operation and a second component that performs or is configured to perform a second operation, or any combination of components that perform or are configured to perform these operations. For example, when a claim is of the form "One or more components are configured to: perform X; perform Y; and perform Z," the claim should be interpreted as "One or more components are configured to perform X; one or more (possibly different) components are configured to perform Y; and one or more (possibly different) components are configured to perform Z."

[0084] Unless explicitly stated, any element, behavior or indication used in this article should not be interpreted as critical or essential. In addition, as used in this article, the articles "one" and "an" are intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used in the text, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items related to the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used in this article, the word "set" is intended to include one or more items (for example, a combination of related items, unrelated items, or related and unrelated items), and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If only one item is intended to be used, the phrase "only one" or similar language is used. In addition, as used in this article, the terms "have", "have", "contain" etc. are intended to become open terms. In addition, unless otherwise explicitly stated, the word "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on". In addition, as used in this article, the term "or" is intended to be inclusive when used in series, and can be used interchangeably with "and / or", unless otherwise explicitly stated (for example, if used in combination with "any one of ..." or "only one of ..."). Additionally, for ease of description, spatially relative terms (such as "below," "lower," "above," "upper," "left," "right," etc.) may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature shown in the figures. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device, equipment, and / or elements in use or operation in addition to the orientation shown in the figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

Claims

1. A laser redundancy device, comprising: A plurality of lasers are disposed on a common substrate; as well as A planar lightwave circuit (PLC) comprises a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers and a plurality of output waveguides, wherein: Each of the plurality of first couplers comprises a plurality of first input arms and a plurality of first output arms, Each of the plurality of second couplers comprises a plurality of second input arms and a plurality of second output arms, Each first coupler: connecting to two or more of the plurality of input waveguides via the plurality of first input arms of the first coupler, and connected to the plurality of second couplers via the plurality of first output arms of the first coupler, two or more of the plurality of intermediate waveguides, and respective second input arms of the plurality of second couplers, and Each second coupler is connected to two or more output waveguides of the plurality of output waveguides via the plurality of second output arms of the second coupler.

2. The laser redundancy device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of lasers are configured to couple a plurality of laser beams into the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC; and The plurality of output waveguides are configured to provide a plurality of output laser beams, Each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of laser beams.

3. The laser redundancy device according to claim 1, further comprising: An optical assembly includes one or more optical elements configured to facilitate the plurality of lasers coupling a plurality of laser beams into the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC.

4. The laser redundancy device of claim 3, wherein the optical assembly further comprises one or more optical isolators. 5 . The laser redundancy device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of first couplers and the plurality of second couplers is configured to have an adjustable splitting ratio.

6. The laser redundancy device of claim 1, wherein an output end of the laser redundancy device is configured to be connected to an input end of an optical fiber array. 7 . The laser redundancy device according to claim 1 , wherein an output end of the laser redundancy device is configured to be connected to an input end of a multi-core optical fiber.

8. A multi-core optical fiber amplifier, comprising: Laser redundancy equipment, including: multiple lasers; and A planar lightwave circuit (PLC) comprises a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers and a plurality of output waveguides, wherein: Each first coupler: connecting to two or more of the plurality of input waveguides via a plurality of first input arms of the first coupler, and connected to the plurality of second couplers via a plurality of first output arms of the first coupler, two or more of the plurality of intermediate waveguides, and respective second input arms of the plurality of second couplers, and Each second coupler is connected to two or more output waveguides of the plurality of output waveguides via a plurality of second output arms of the second coupler.

9. The multi-core optical fiber amplifier according to claim 8, wherein: The plurality of input waveguides of the PLC are configured to receive a plurality of laser beams emitted by the plurality of lasers; and The plurality of output waveguides of the PLC are configured to provide a plurality of output laser beams, Each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of laser beams.

10. The multi-core optical fiber amplifier according to claim 8, further comprising: Fiber bundle array converter; as well as Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) combiner.

11. The multi-core fiber amplifier according to claim 10, wherein an output end of the laser redundancy device is configured to be connected to an input end of the fiber array of the fiber bundle array converter.

12. The multi-core optical fiber amplifier according to claim 8, wherein the laser redundancy device further comprises: An optical assembly includes one or more optical elements configured to facilitate coupling of a plurality of laser beams emitted by the plurality of lasers into the plurality of input waveguides of the PLC.

13. The multi-core fiber amplifier of claim 12, wherein the optical assembly further comprises one or more optical isolators.

14. The multi-core fiber amplifier according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of first couplers and the plurality of second couplers is configured to have an adjustable splitting ratio.

15. A co-packaged optical device CPO transmission source, comprising: Laser redundancy equipment, including: multiple lasers; and A planar lightwave circuit (PLC) comprises a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of first couplers, a plurality of intermediate waveguides, a plurality of second couplers and a plurality of output waveguides, wherein: Each first coupler: connected to two or more of the plurality of input waveguides, and connected to the plurality of second couplers via two or more of the plurality of intermediate waveguides, and Each second coupler is connected to two or more output waveguides of the plurality of output waveguides.

16. The CPO transmission source according to claim 15, wherein: The PLC is configured to receive a plurality of laser beams emitted by the plurality of lasers; and The PLC is configured to provide a plurality of output laser beams, Each output laser beam includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of laser beams.

17. The CPO transmission source according to claim 15, further comprising: Integrated Circuit (IC); as well as A plurality of electro-optical (EO) modulators.

18. The CPO transmission source of claim 17, wherein the laser redundancy device is configured to be connected to the plurality of electro-optic modulators.

19. The CPO transmission source of claim 15, wherein the laser redundancy device further comprises: An optical assembly comprises one or more optical elements.

20. The CPO transmission source of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of first couplers and the plurality of second couplers is configured to have an adjustable splitting ratio.

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