A multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device and method

Abstract

This application discloses a multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device and method, relating to the field of optical signal monitoring. In the device, a fiber splitter group and a fiber combiner group are disposed between a laser group and a photodetector group to split and recombine the optical signals fed back by the laser group, and then transmit them to the photodetector group. The photodetector group receives the recombined optical signals and determines a binary multi-bit output signal based on binary coding rules. Different binary multi-bit output signals correspond to different operating states of each laser in the laser group. The number of photodetectors in the photodetector group is smaller than the number of lasers in the laser group. This application can reduce the number of PDs used and effectively monitor a large number of optical signals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical signal monitoring, and in particular to a device and method for comprehensive monitoring of multi-light source optical signals. Background Art

[0002] Due to limitations of physical effects such as mode instability, stimulated Brillouin scattering, and thermal lensing, the maximum output power of a single fiber laser can only reach the tens of thousands of watts. To achieve higher-power laser output, multi-laser beamlet synthesis is often used. Common spectral synthesis and coherent synthesis techniques both require the use of narrow-linewidth lasers as synthesized beamlets. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is one of the main factors limiting the power increase of narrow-linewidth fiber lasers. When the SBS threshold is reached, reverse-propagating pulse light will randomly be generated in the fiber laser. If the light source is not shut down in time, the high-peak power pulses will damage the fiber components and, in severe cases, may even directly cause the laser to burn out. Therefore, monitoring of SBS pulse light is particularly important.

[0003] SBS pulses have pulse widths on the order of microseconds. A common monitoring method involves connecting the laser's return light port to a highly sensitive photodetector (PD). An oscilloscope or other device then monitors and analyzes the characteristics of the return light in real time. When a high-peak-power pulse is detected, a command is issued to shut down the light source, protecting it. However, spectral or coherent combining typically requires dozens or even hundreds of lasers. If each laser were equipped with a highly sensitive PD to monitor the SBS pulse signal, this would require numerous PDs, resulting in significant costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device and method, which can reduce the number of PDs used and effectively monitor a large number of optical signals.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device, comprising a fiber splitter group, a fiber combiner group, and a photoelectric detector group;

[0007] The optical fiber splitter group and the optical fiber combiner group are arranged between the laser group and the photodetector group to split and recombine the optical signals fed back by the laser group and then transmit them to the photodetector group;

[0008] The photodetector group is used to receive the recombined optical signal and determine a binary multi-bit output signal according to a binary coding rule; different binary multi-bit output signals correspond to different working states of each laser in the laser group; wherein the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group is less than the number of lasers in the laser group.

[0009] In a second aspect, the present application provides a method for comprehensive monitoring of optical signals from multiple light sources, comprising:

[0010] Calculate the number of photodetectors based on the number of lasers in the laser group;

[0011] Determining the number of optical fiber splitters and the number of optical fiber combiners based on the number of the photodetectors;

[0012] According to the multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device, multiple photoelectric detectors, multiple fiber combiners, multiple fiber splitters and multiple lasers are connected;

[0013] The binary multi-bit output signals determined by the plurality of photodetectors are collected to match the working state of each laser in the laser group.

[0014] According to the specific embodiments provided by the present application, the present application has the following technical effects: the present application sets a fiber optic splitter group and a fiber optic combiner group between the laser group and the photodetector group, so that the optical signal fed back by the laser group is split and recombined by the fiber optic splitter and the fiber optic combiner and then transmitted to the photodetector group, so as to avoid the situation where one laser is directly connected to one photodetector. The present application receives the recombined optical signal through the photodetector group and determines the binary multi-bit output signal. Since different binary multi-bit output signals correspond to different working states of each laser in the laser group, the working state of each laser can be directly determined according to the binary multi-bit output signal obtained by the photodetector group, thereby realizing the monitoring of the optical signal fed back by the laser. Through the above-mentioned splitting, combining and binary coding processing of the present application, a small number of photodetectors can be used to realize the effective monitoring of the optical signals fed back by a large number of lasers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0016] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device in one embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device when the number of photoelectric detectors is 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0019] To protect the safety of the laser and its synthetic components, each laser needs to be equipped with a highly sensitive PD to monitor the SBS pulse signal. Therefore, the present application provides a multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device and method, which uses as few PDs as possible to monitor the status of all optical signals.

[0020] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0021] In an exemplary embodiment, Figure 1 As shown, a multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device is provided, including a fiber optic splitter group, a fiber optic combiner group and a photoelectric detector group; wherein the fiber optic splitter group and the fiber optic combiner group are arranged between the laser group and the photoelectric detector group to split and recombine the optical signal fed back by the laser group, and then transmit it to the photoelectric detector group.

[0022] The photodetector group is used to receive the recombined optical signal and determine a binary multi-bit output signal according to a binary coding rule; different binary multi-bit output signals correspond to different working states of each laser in the laser group; wherein the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group is less than the number of lasers in the laser group.

[0023] In short, this application re-splits and combines the optical signal feedback end of the laser through a fiber splitter and a fiber combiner, and then infers the state of the laser from the states of multiple PDs according to a binary coding rule.

[0024] In a specific application example, the number of optical fiber splitters in the optical fiber splitter group, the number of optical fiber combiners in the optical fiber combiner group, and the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group are the same. The input end of one optical fiber splitter is connected to the optical signal feedback end of one laser; the input end of one optical fiber combiner is respectively connected to the output ends of multiple optical fiber splitters and the optical signal feedback end of one laser; the output end of one optical fiber combiner is connected to the input end of one photodetector; and the output end of one photodetector is used to output a single-bit digital signal of the binary multi-bit output signal.

[0025] The present application also provides an application scenario, in which when the number of photoelectric detectors in the photoelectric detector group is 3, the number of lasers in the laser group is 6, such as Figure 2 As shown, the situation of monitoring 6 lasers through 3 PDs is realized, and the connection relationship of each component is shown below.

[0026] The optical signal feedback end of the first laser is connected to the first photodetector via the first fiber combiner. When an optical signal is emitted from the first laser, only the first photodetector detects this signal. At this time, the PD state is marked as "1". The second and third photodetectors cannot detect this signal. Correspondingly, the PD states are both marked as "0". Therefore, the resulting binary multi-bit output signal is 001. The operating state of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: the first laser is in an alarm state. In other words, the first laser has emitted an alarm optical signal.

[0027] The optical signal feedback end of the second laser is connected to the input end of the first fiber optic beam splitter. The first output end of the first fiber optic beam splitter is connected to the first photodetector via the first fiber optic beam combiner. The second output end of the first fiber optic beam splitter is connected to the second photodetector via the second fiber optic beam combiner. The PD status marking process of the three photodetectors is the same as above. When the binary multi-bit output signal is 011, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: the second laser is in an alarm state.

[0028] The optical signal feedback end of the third laser is connected to the input end of the second fiber optic beam splitter. The first output end of the second fiber optic beam splitter is connected to the first photodetector via the first fiber optic combiner. The second output end of the second fiber optic beam splitter is connected to the third photodetector via the third fiber optic combiner. The PD status marking process of the three photodetectors is the same as above. If the binary multi-bit output signal is 101, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: the third laser is in an alarm state.

[0029] The optical signal feedback end of the fourth laser is connected to the second photodetector via the second fiber combiner. The PD status marking process of the three photodetectors is the same as above. If the binary multi-bit output signal is 010, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: the fourth laser is in the alarm state.

[0030] The optical signal feedback end of the fifth laser is connected to the input end of the third fiber optic beam splitter. The first output end of the third fiber optic beam splitter is connected to the second photodetector via the second fiber optic combiner. The second output end of the third fiber optic beam splitter is connected to the third photodetector via the third fiber optic combiner. The PD status marking process of the three photodetectors is the same as above. If the binary multi-bit output signal is 110, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: the fifth laser is in an alarm state.

[0031] The optical signal feedback end of the sixth laser is connected to the third photodetector via the third fiber combiner. The PD status marking process of the three photodetectors is the same as above. If the binary multi-bit output signal is 100, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: the sixth laser is in an alarm state.

[0032] Through the PD status marking process of the three photodetectors described above, when a laser generates an optical signal, the three PD status marks can be used to locate the laser that has issued an alarm, allowing further debugging and maintenance of the laser. If the binary multi-bit output signal is 000, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: all lasers are in a normal state; if the binary multi-bit output signal is 111, the operating status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: multiple lasers are in an alarm state. In this case, all lasers need to be checked to determine which lasers have an abnormality.

[0033] The above content illustrates the connection of various components and the corresponding operating status of each laser when there are three photodetectors. When there are four or more photodetectors, the correspondence between the binary multi-bit output signal and the operating status of each laser can be set one-to-one by technicians.

[0034] In one application example, the optical signal fed back by the laser group is a pulsed optical signal or spatial light. Specifically, the pulsed optical signal is split, recombined, and encoded in the optical fiber by a beam splitter and a beam combiner. In addition to monitoring SBS pulsed optical signals, this system can also be applied to other pulsed optical alarms, such as monitoring pulses generated by ASE. The spatial light is split, recombined, and encoded by beam splitters and beam combiners.

[0035] In an application example, in the binary multi-bit output signal, digital signal 0 represents no light signal, and digital signal 1 represents a light signal. The monitoring of the light signal achieved by the device of the present application can be: monitoring the state jump of the light signal from no light signal (0) to light signal (1); or monitoring the state jump of the light signal from light signal (1) to no light signal (0). For example, it is used to monitor the laser output state. When the light signal changes from light signal (1) to no light signal (0), an alarm can be issued and the abnormal laser can be located. As for the "state jump from no light signal (0) to light signal (1)" or "state jump from light signal (1) to no light signal (0)", both can be directly displayed by the optical fiber at the connection of the components by the light on and off change. This process can be observed by the human eye, or a photoelectric sensor can be set to automatically monitor and judge.

[0036] In summary, this application can split, recombine, and encode the optical signals of multiple lasers, allowing for efficient monitoring of a large number of sub-beams using a small number of photodetectors. The number of photodetectors required is exponentially related to the number of lasers; the greater the number of lasers, the higher the benefits of this device.

[0037] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application also provides a method for comprehensive monitoring of optical signals from multiple light sources. The solution provided by this method is similar to the solution described in the aforementioned device. Therefore, the specific limitations of one or more method embodiments provided below can be found in the above-described device limitations and will not be further elaborated here. In one exemplary application, the method for comprehensive monitoring of optical signals from multiple light sources includes steps 100 to 400.

[0038] Step 100: Calculate the number of photodetectors according to the number of lasers in the laser group.

[0039] Specifically, step 100 is implemented using the following calculation formula: m= ; Where m is the number of lasers in the laser group and n is the number of photodetectors.

[0040] From the above formula, we can know that this application uses n photodetectors to monitor In practical applications, as long as the number of lasers is less than Taiwan, and greater than Each laser can be equipped with n photodetectors to ensure that all lasers can be monitored. Since the number of PDs is exponentially related to the number of lasers, the more lasers there are, the more PDs can be saved and the higher the profit.

[0041] Step 200: Determine the number of optical fiber splitters and the number of optical fiber combiners based on the number of the photodetectors.

[0042] Step 300: Connect the plurality of photoelectric detectors, the plurality of fiber combiners, the plurality of fiber splitters, and the plurality of lasers according to the multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device described above.

[0043] Step 400: Collect binary multi-bit output signals determined by the plurality of photodetectors to match the working state of each laser in the laser group, wherein the digital signal 0 represents no light signal and the digital signal 1 represents a light signal.

[0044] In an application example, after step 400, the method further includes: performing laser positioning and issuing an alarm according to the working status of each laser in the laser group.

[0045] In summary, the present application reduces the number of high-sensitivity PDs required, reduces the cost of use, and does not affect the pulse light monitoring effect. It can locate the sub-beam corresponding to the source of the pulse signal according to the code.

[0046] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0047] This document uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The description of the above examples is only intended to help understand the method and core concept of this application. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, based on the concept of this application, there may be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting this application.

Claims

1. A multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device, characterized in that: The device includes a fiber optic splitter group, a fiber optic combiner group and a photoelectric detector group; The optical fiber splitter group and the optical fiber combiner group are arranged between the laser group and the photodetector group to split and recombine the optical signals fed back by the laser group and then transmit them to the photodetector group; The photodetector group is used to receive the recombined optical signal and determine a binary multi-bit output signal according to a binary coding rule; different binary multi-bit output signals correspond to different working states of each laser in the laser group; wherein the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group is less than the number of lasers in the laser group.

2. The multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of optical fiber splitters in the optical fiber splitter group, the number of optical fiber combiners in the optical fiber combiner group, and the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group are the same; An input end of the optical fiber beam splitter is connected to an optical signal feedback end of the laser; An input end of the optical fiber combiner is respectively connected to the output ends of the plurality of optical fiber splitters and an optical signal feedback end of the laser; An output end of the optical fiber combiner is connected to an input end of the photodetector; An output terminal of the photodetector is used to output a digital signal of the binary multi-bit output signal.

3. The multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group is 3, the number of lasers in the laser group is 6; The optical signal feedback end of the first laser is connected to the first photodetector via the first optical fiber combiner; The optical signal feedback end of the second laser is connected to the input end of the first optical fiber beam splitter, the first output end of the first optical fiber beam splitter is connected to the first photodetector via the first optical fiber beam combiner; the second output end of the first optical fiber beam splitter is connected to the second photodetector via the second optical fiber beam combiner; The optical signal feedback end of the third laser is connected to the input end of the second optical fiber beam splitter, the first output end of the second optical fiber beam splitter is connected to the first photodetector via the first optical fiber combiner; the second output end of the second optical fiber beam splitter is connected to the third photodetector via the third optical fiber combiner; The optical signal feedback end of the fourth laser is connected to the second photodetector via the second optical fiber combiner; The optical signal feedback end of the fifth laser is connected to the input end of the third optical fiber beam splitter, the first output end of the third optical fiber beam splitter is connected to the second photodetector via the second optical fiber combiner; the second output end of the third optical fiber beam splitter is connected to the third photodetector via the third optical fiber combiner; The optical signal feedback end of the sixth laser is connected to the third photodetector via the third optical fiber combiner.

4. The multi-light source optical signal integrated monitoring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the number of photodetectors in the photodetector group is 3, if the binary multi-bit output signal is 000, the working state of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: all lasers are in a normal state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 001, the working status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as follows: the first laser is in an alarm state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 011, the working state of each laser in the laser group is characterized as follows: the second laser is in an alarm state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 101, the working status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as follows: the third laser is in an alarm state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 010, the working status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as follows: the fourth laser is in an alarm state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 110, the working status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as follows: the fifth laser is in an alarm state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 100, the working status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as follows: the sixth laser is in an alarm state; If the binary multi-bit output signal is 111, the working status of each laser in the laser group is characterized as: multiple lasers are in an alarm state.

5. The multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical signal fed back by the laser group is a pulsed optical signal or spatial light.

6. A method for comprehensive monitoring of multi-light source optical signals, characterized in that the method include: Calculate the number of photodetectors based on the number of lasers in the laser group using the following formula: m= ； Where m is the number of lasers in the laser group, and n is the number of photodetectors; as long as the number of lasers is less than or equal to Taiwan, and greater than Each platform can be equipped with n photoelectric detectors; Determining the number of optical fiber splitters and the number of optical fiber combiners based on the number of the photodetectors; According to the multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a plurality of the photoelectric detectors, a plurality of the fiber combiners, a plurality of the fiber splitters and a plurality of the lasers are connected; The binary multi-bit output signals determined by the plurality of photodetectors are collected to match the working state of each laser in the laser group.

7. The multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The method further includes: performing laser positioning and issuing an alarm according to the working status of each laser in the laser group.

8. The multi-light source optical signal comprehensive monitoring method according to claim 6, characterized in that: In the binary multi-bit output signal, digital signal 0 represents no light signal, and digital signal 1 represents the presence of a light signal.

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