Adaptive on-chip optical coherence beam combiner and optical coherence beam combining method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a self-adaptive on-chip optical coherence beam combiner and a method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of integrated photonics and optical coherence combination. Aiming at the problems of difficult phase matching, high system complexity, insufficient stability and the like in the prior art, the invention provides an efficient solution based on an intelligent optimization algorithm and a closed-loop feedback mechanism. The optimal voltage setting is quickly found through an intelligent optimization algorithm, and accurate phase and amplitude adjustment of the multi-path input light field is realized; based on a closed-loop feedback mechanism, the phase and amplitude of the beam combining unit are monitored in real time and dynamically adjusted, and the stability and reliability of the system are ensured. The high-integration-level on-chip optical system is realized, the complexity and the operation difficulty of the system are remarkably reduced, and meanwhile, the performance of each beam combining unit is ensured to be optimal through step-by-step optimization, so that the output power of a beam combining port is maximized. The method can be applied to the fields of optical communication, optical sensing and the like, and a new solution is provided for development of the optical coherent combination technology.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of optical communication technology, and in particular to optical coherent beam combining technology in free-space optical communication, specifically to an adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combiner and an adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combining method. Background Art

[0002] In the field of satellite communication systems, free-space optical communication, with its many significant advantages, has become one of the most promising technologies. Compared with traditional microwave communications, it offers higher data rates, meeting the current demand for rapid transmission of massive amounts of data; it also offers enhanced security, providing a strong guarantee for information security; and it can effectively alleviate the increasing shortage of spectrum resources and expand spectrum utilization for communications.

[0003] However, practical applications of free-space optical communications face significant challenges. Atmospheric turbulence is particularly detrimental to signal transmission, significantly reducing the coupling efficiency of single-mode fiber receivers. Turbulence caused by factors such as temperature and humidity in the atmosphere causes optical signals to scatter, refract, and flicker during transmission. This makes it difficult for optical signals to be stably and efficiently coupled into single-mode fibers, severely impacting communication quality and transmission reliability.

[0004] To address this problem, researchers have proposed a variety of solutions. Multi-channel spatial optical receiver solutions, such as multi-aperture receivers and few-mode fiber receivers, have emerged. Multi-aperture receivers use aperture arrays to sample the input wavefront and combine the energy at different positions; few-mode fiber receivers couple light into few-mode fibers, project it onto the fiber mode basis using a spatial demultiplexer, and then combine the signals through independent single-mode fiber coupling and digital signal processing, with the ability to quickly recover electronic signals. However, these solutions require independent coherent receivers for each aperture or mode, which not only limits the scalability of the system, but also significantly increases costs as the scale expands, making it difficult to meet the needs of large-scale, low-cost applications.

[0005] Existing optical combiners also play a key role in free-space optical communications, but they also have drawbacks that cannot be ignored. Optical combiners based on fiber optic devices usually rely on components such as fiber couplers and fiber splitters to achieve beam merging, which has limitations in beam combining efficiency and integration. In multi-channel high-efficiency beam combining scenarios, the system is bulky and suffers from severe optical loss, which greatly limits its scope of application. Optical combiners based on photonic waveguide devices, especially those using Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) as the main beam combining unit, perform well in small-scale beam combining applications and have high integration and flexible controllability. However, as the number of beam combining channels increases, the feedback algorithm faces challenges. When the number of channels exceeds a certain threshold, the algorithm convergence deteriorates and the beam combining efficiency drops significantly, which in turn affects the performance of the entire system. These problems need to be solved urgently to promote the further development of free-space optical communication technology. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner, comprising: a multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module, which is composed of a plurality of cascaded beam combining units with the same structure, and is divided into a primary beam combining unit, an intermediate beam combining unit and a final beam combining unit, wherein the beam combining units are connected in sequence, receive the previous optical signal, perform interference coupling processing and output it to the next stage; each of the beam combining units comprises: a dual-path input port, one of which integrates a first phase modulator to adjust the phase of the optical signal, and the other directly transmits the optical signal for interference; a coupling structure, based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, comprises two interference arms, one of which has a built-in second phase modulator and the other is a reference arm; a dual-path output port, a detection port monitors the interference intensity to generate a feedback signal, and the beam combining port is a complementary port of the detection port and outputs a high-power optical signal; a photodetector, integrated in the detection port, converts the optical signal into an electrical signal to generate a feedback signal; the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner also comprises: a controller, which controls the beam combining unit at each stage through an intelligent optimization algorithm to realize real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal, thereby ensuring that a high-power optical beam is output at the final beam combining unit.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dual-path input port of the primary beam combining unit receives dynamic turbulent light, performs interference coupling processing, and then outputs the primary optimized interference combined beam light after interference coupling processing from its beam combining port to the next-stage beam combining unit.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dual input ports of the intermediate-stage beam combining unit are respectively connected to the beam combining ports of different previous-stage beam combining units. After receiving the optical signal and performing interference coupling processing, the intermediate-stage phase cooperative interference beam combining light after the interference coupling processing is output from its beam combining port to the next-stage beam combining unit.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dual input ports of the final-stage beam combining unit are respectively connected to the beam combining ports of different previous-stage beam combining units. After receiving the optical signal and performing interference coupling processing, the ultimate high-efficiency coherent synthesis light after the interference coupling processing is output from its beam combining port as the output of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the process of performing the interference coupling processing is as follows: the intelligent optimization algorithm module of the controller receives the feedback signal transmitted by the photodetector of the beam combining unit, uses the gradient descent algorithm to calculate the optimal driving voltage values required by the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in the beam combining unit, and outputs a voltage instruction containing these optimal driving voltage values to the controller; the controller receives the voltage instruction and applies it to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator of the beam combining unit through the voltage driving circuit, so that the two phase modulators respectively reach their respective optimal driving voltage values, thereby achieving phase adjustment of the two input optical signals; the two input optical signals after the phase adjustment interfere with each other in the coupling structure based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer; during this process, the intelligent optimization algorithm module uses the feedback signal of the photodetector to calculate the optimal driving voltage values of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in real time, and the controller uses the voltage driving circuit to enable the two phase modulators to continuously maintain their respective optimal driving voltage values; through this real-time adjustment process, the phase and amplitude of the two input optical signals are continuously optimized until the power of the beam combining port reaches a maximum value.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the steps of the intelligent optimization algorithm are as follows: the intelligent optimization algorithm module receives the feedback signal from the photoelectric detector; sets the initial phase value and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; Generate perturbation vector ; Among them, when the number of iterations is the first, the initial value of the phase is used and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; When the iteration number is not the first, the phase value generated by the previous iteration is used and the perturbation vector ; In the current iteration cycle , generate random voltage disturbance vector ,in For the The random voltage perturbation vector generated in the iteration; represents the number of phase modulators in the phase modulator array; The first voltage disturbance vector components; evaluate the parallel disturbance, and transform the random voltage disturbance vector Superimposed on the current voltage setting On , generate the forward perturbation vector: And a negative perturbation vector: Applying the generated positive disturbance vector and the generated negative disturbance vector to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator at the same time, respectively obtaining the corresponding detected positive power performance evaluation function and negative power performance evaluation function ,in, is the optical power of the detection port contained in the feedback signal; is the current voltage setting; is the random voltage disturbance vector; calculate the voltage gradient, according to the change of the positive performance evaluation function and the negative performance evaluation function , calculate the voltage gradient ,in, is the gain coefficient; update the voltage, update the voltage setting according to the voltage gradient, and the voltage iteration formula is: ; Generate a perturbation vector from the The above iterative process is repeated until one of the following conditions is met: the preset maximum number of iterations is reached; the relative change of the performance evaluation function is lower than the threshold; the optimization process is actively interrupted.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the controller controls each level of the beam combining unit through an intelligent optimization algorithm to achieve real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal to ensure that a high-power light beam is output at the final beam combining unit. The process includes: the controller receives a voltage instruction output by the intelligent optimization algorithm module; the voltage instruction includes the optimal driving voltage value information required by the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each of the beam combining units; the controller parses the voltage instruction, identifies the optimal driving voltage value information in the instruction and the corresponding beam combining unit and phase modulator number; after receiving the voltage instruction from the controller, the voltage driving circuit converts it into an electrical signal suitable for applying to the corresponding phase modulator of the corresponding beam combining unit; the converted electrical signal passes through the circuit The transmission path is accurately transmitted to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each of the beam combining units; the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each level of the beam combining unit adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time after receiving the electrical signal; the photodetector continuously monitors the optical power of the detection port and converts it into an electrical signal to feed back to the controller; when the feedback signal shows that the optical power of the detection port has not reached the ideal state, the intelligent optimization algorithm module recalculates the optimal driving voltage value, and the controller sends the new voltage instruction to the corresponding phase modulator through the voltage driving circuit, so that it adjusts the phase in time; by continuously adjusting the phase according to the feedback signal, the beam combining units at each level achieve precise matching and optimization of the phase of the optical signal during the interference coupling process.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the process of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each stage of the beam combining unit adjusting the phase of the input optical signal in real time after receiving the electrical signal includes: the photodetector in each stage of the beam combining unit detects the optical power change of the detection port in real time and accurately, and converts the change of the optical signal into an electrical signal; the photodetector includes the converted electrical signal into a feedback signal and transmits it to the controller; after receiving the feedback signal, the controller transmits the feedback signal to the intelligent optimization algorithm module; the intelligent optimization algorithm module extracts the optical power and phase parameters from the feedback signal, and determines the deviation between the phase state of the current optical signal and the ideal state by calculation; the intelligent The intelligent optimization algorithm module calculates the optimal driving voltage value required to eliminate the phase deviation based on the calculated phase deviation using a gradient descent algorithm in combination with the voltage-phase response characteristics of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator; the intelligent optimization algorithm module sends the calculated optimal driving voltage value to the controller; after receiving the instruction, the controller transmits it to the voltage driving circuit; the voltage driving circuit adjusts the driving voltage applied to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator according to the received voltage signal; by adjusting the driving voltage, the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator change the refractive index of the waveguide to achieve real-time adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal.

[0014] The present invention also provides an adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combining method, which is applied to an adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combiner to achieve optical coherent beam combining and output a high-power light beam. The adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combiner comprises: a multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module, which is composed of a plurality of beam combining units with the same structure in cascade, and is divided into a primary beam combining unit, an intermediate beam combining unit and a final beam combining unit. Each beam combining unit is connected in sequence, receives a previous optical signal for interference coupling processing and outputs it to the next stage; each beam combining unit comprises: a dual-path input port, one of which integrates a first phase modulator to adjust the phase of the optical signal, and the other directly transmits the optical signal for The invention relates to interference; a coupling structure based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, comprising two interference arms, one of which has a built-in second phase modulator and the other being a reference arm; a dual-path output port, wherein the detection port monitors the interference intensity to generate a feedback signal, and the beam combining port is a complementary port of the detection port and outputs a high-power optical signal; a photodetector integrated in the detection port converts the optical signal into an electrical signal to generate a feedback signal; the adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner also includes: a controller, which controls the beam combining unit at each stage through an intelligent optimization algorithm to realize real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal, thereby ensuring that a high-power optical beam is output at the final beam combining unit.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the steps of the intelligent optimization algorithm are as follows: receiving the feedback signal from the photodetector; setting the initial phase value and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; Generate perturbation vector ; Among them, when the number of iterations is the first, the initial value of the phase is used and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; When the iteration number is not the first, the phase value generated by the previous iteration is used and the perturbation vector ; In the current iteration cycle , generate random voltage disturbance vector ,in For the The random voltage perturbation vector generated in the iteration; represents the number of phase modulators in the phase modulator array; The first voltage disturbance vector components; evaluate the parallel disturbance, and transform the random voltage disturbance vector Superimposed on the current voltage setting On , generate the forward perturbation vector: And a negative perturbation vector: Applying the generated positive disturbance vector and the generated negative disturbance vector to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator at the same time, respectively obtaining the corresponding detected positive power performance evaluation function and negative power performance evaluation function ,in, is the optical power of the detection port contained in the feedback signal; is the current voltage setting; is the random voltage disturbance vector; calculate the voltage gradient, according to the change of the positive performance evaluation function and the negative performance evaluation function , calculate the voltage gradient ,in, is the gain coefficient; update the voltage, update the voltage setting according to the voltage gradient, and the voltage iteration formula is: ; Generate a perturbation vector from the The above iterative process is repeated until one of the following conditions is met: the preset maximum number of iterations is reached; the relative change of the performance evaluation function is lower than the threshold; the optimization process is actively interrupted.

[0016] The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner and method provided by the present invention achieve the following effects through a multi-stage adaptive optical coherence cascade module and an intelligent closed-loop control mechanism: the multi-stage combining unit dynamically adjusts the phase of the optical signal through a hierarchical mechanism of primary coarse adjustment, intermediate-stage coordination, and final-stage fine adjustment, combined with an intelligent optimization algorithm and real-time feedback from a photodetector, to ensure that the final stage outputs a high-power light beam. Among them, the combining unit is based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure, forming a closed loop through a dual-phase modulator and a photodetector, and the controller uses a gradient descent algorithm to calculate the optimal driving voltage to achieve real-time optimization of the optical signal phase. This solution solves the problems of difficult phase matching, complex system, and insufficient stability in traditional optical combining. It can be applied to optical communications, optical sensing and other fields, and provides an integrated and intelligent solution for optical coherence synthesis technology. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, a brief introduction is given below to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the optical architecture of an adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 4 is a structural diagram of a beam combining unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 Flowchart of the intelligent optimization algorithm of an embodiment of the present invention - a gradient optimization algorithm.

[0021] Description of reference numerals: 100. Adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner; 101. Primary beam combining unit; 102. Intermediate beam combining unit; 103. Final beam combining unit; 200. Beam combining unit; 201. Input port; 202. Output port; 203. First phase modulator; 204. Second phase modulator; 205. Coupling structure; 206. Photodetector; 207. First multimode interference coupler; 208. Second multimode interference coupler; 209. Detection port; 210. Beam combining port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] The following combination Figure 1-Figure 3 The adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combiner and the adaptive on-chip coherent beam combining method of the present invention are described.

[0024] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the optical architecture of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides an adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100, comprising: a multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module, which is composed of a plurality of beam combining units 200 of the same structure cascaded, and is divided into a primary beam combining unit 101, an intermediate beam combining unit 102 and a final beam combining unit 103, each beam combining unit 200 is connected in sequence, receives the previous stage optical signal for interference coupling processing and outputs it to the next stage; each beam combining unit 200 comprises: a dual-path input port 201, one of which integrates a first phase modulator 203 to adjust the phase of the optical signal, and the other directly transmits the optical signal for interference; a coupling structure 205, based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, includes It contains two interferometer arms, one of which has a built-in second phase modulator 204, and the other is a reference arm; a dual-path output port 202, a detection port 209 monitors the interference intensity to generate a feedback signal, and a beam combining port 210 is a complementary port of the detection port 209, outputting a high-power optical signal; a photodetector 206, integrated in the detection port 209, converts the optical signal into an electrical signal to generate a feedback signal; the adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner 100 also includes: a controller, which controls each stage of the beam combining unit 200 through an intelligent optimization algorithm to achieve real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal, ensuring that a high-power light beam is output at the final stage of the beam combining unit 103.

[0026] Specifically, the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100, based on silicon-based photonic integration technology, integrates a multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module on a single chip, achieving high-density, low-loss optical combining. The combiner primarily consists of a multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module and a controller. The multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module is composed of a cascade of multiple identically structured combining units 200, including a primary combining unit 101, an intermediate combining unit 102, and a final combining unit 103. Each combining unit 200 is sequentially connected to perform step-by-step interference coupling processing of optical signals.

[0027] The primary beam combiner 101 is the "entry-level quality inspector" of turbulence signals, specifically receiving raw optical signals (dynamic turbulent light) disrupted by atmospheric turbulence. These optical signals experience random phase distortion and intensity fluctuations due to atmospheric turbulence, resulting in a high degree of phase disorder, resembling a group of people lining up in a disordered queue. The primary beam combiner 101 preliminarily adjusts the phase of one of the light beams using the first phase modulator 203. This is then "interfered" with the other light beam in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure 205, producing a preliminarily optimized "primary combined beam." This effectively organizes the "disordered queue" into a relatively orderly group.

[0028] The intermediate-stage beam-combining unit 102 acts as the "coordinator" for multi-beam coordination. It connects to the outputs of multiple preceding units (e.g., the beam-combining ports 210 of two primary beam-combining units 101) and simultaneously receives multiple, preliminarily optimized optical signals. At this point, each light path is initially ordered, but phase deviations may still exist between them, much like the inconsistent marching rhythms of different "teams." The intermediate-stage beam-combining unit 102 fine-tunes the phase of one of the interferometer arms using a second phase modulator 204, aligning the two light paths and outputting a "mid-level coordinated combined beam," effectively integrating multiple "teams" into a neat array.

[0029] The final beam-combining unit 103 is the ultimate optimized "assembly workshop." It gathers the output light from all preceding beam-combining units 200 (e.g., the beam-combining ports 210 of multiple intermediate beam-combining units 102) for the final phase calibration and power addition. At this point, the optical signal is nearing its ideal state. The final beam-combining unit 103 precisely adjusts the phase through real-time feedback, ultimately outputting a "high-power combined beam" from beam-combining port 210. This is like integrating a neat array of beams into a powerful corps, ready for direct communication or sensing.

[0030] The controller is the "brain" of the entire system. It uses intelligent optimization algorithms (such as gradient descent) and a closed-loop feedback mechanism to achieve real-time control of all beam-combining units. Its core task is to receive feedback signals from the photodetector 206, calculate the optimal driving voltage value for each phase modulator, and send voltage commands to the phase modulators, enabling each beam-combining unit 200 to dynamically adjust the optical signal phase to ensure maximum output power at the final beam-combining unit 103.

[0031] Figure 2 2 is a structural diagram of a beam combining unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] like Figure 2 As shown, the beam combining unit 200 of this embodiment adopts a standardized design. Whether it is the primary beam combining unit 101, the intermediate beam combining unit 102 or the final beam combining unit 103, their internal structures are completely consistent, reflecting the flexibility of modular cascading. The following is a detailed description from the perspective of functional modules.

[0033] The coupling structure 205 is an optical "interference stage," based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer principle and consisting of two interferometer arms. The adjustable arm houses a second phase modulator 204, which further fine-tunes the phase to ensure the two beams resonate at the same frequency. The reference arm, with its fixed phase, serves as the reference for interference. The two beams race within the interferometer arms. When their phases align, they combine and enhance (maximum power at the combining port), while when their phases deviate, they cancel each other out (maximum power at the detection port).

[0034] The dual-channel output port 202 serves as an "observation window" for the results and an "export point for finished products." The detection port 209 integrates a photodetector 206, which monitors the optical power after interference in real time. It acts like a "quality tester," converting the optical signal into an electrical signal and feeding it back to the controller, informing the system of the current adjustment effect. The beam combining port 210, serving as a "complementary port" to the detection port, outputs the high-power optical signal after interference (when the detection port power is low, the beam combining port power is high, and vice versa), representing the "qualified finished product."

[0035] By constructing the adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner 100 of the present invention in the above manner, a high-density, intelligent optical coherence synthesis system can be built on a silicon-based chip. By relying on the cascade architecture of the multi-stage standardized beam combining unit 200 and the closed-loop control of the intelligent optimization algorithm, full-process automated processing from primary turbulence signal calibration to final high-power light beam output is achieved, breaking through the bottlenecks of traditional optical beam combining technology in phase matching accuracy, system complexity and scalability, providing low-power, highly reliable on-chip solutions for optical communications, optical sensing, quantum information and other fields, and promoting the leapfrog development of optical coherence synthesis technology towards integration and intelligence.

[0036] Preferably, the dual-path input port 201 of the primary beam combining unit 101 receives the dynamic turbulent light, performs interference coupling processing, and then outputs the primary optimized interference combined light after the interference coupling processing from its beam combining port 210 to the next-stage beam combining unit 200.

[0037] Dynamic turbulent light experiences random phase distortion and intensity fluctuations due to atmospheric turbulence. The dual input ports 201 of the primary beam-combining unit 101 receive two turbulently disturbed optical signals. One input port integrates a first phase modulator 203 to perform preliminary phase adjustment on the optical signal; the other input port directly transmits the optical signal, serving as a reference for the interference process. The two optical signals converge in a coupling structure 205 based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and enter two interferometer arms (including the adjustable arm and reference arm of the second phase modulator 204) for phase alignment and interference superposition.

[0038] After processing by the primary beam combining unit 101, the output primary optimized interference combined light has significantly reduced phase error, improved intensity stability, and a purified beam pattern. The primary optimized interference combined light is transmitted through the beam combining port 210 to the next-stage beam combining unit (such as the intermediate-stage beam combining unit 102). Its low phase error and high power stability lay the foundation for subsequent processing. Through this mechanism, the primary beam combining unit 101 becomes the "turbulence pre-processing core" of the adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner 100, providing key support for improving the overall performance of the multi-stage beam combining system.

[0039] Preferably, the dual input ports 201 of the intermediate-stage combining unit 102 are respectively connected to the combining ports 210 of different preceding-stage combining units 200, and after receiving the optical signal and performing interference coupling processing, the intermediate-stage phase cooperative interference combined light after the interference coupling processing is output from its combining port 210 to the next-stage combining unit 200.

[0040] The dual input ports 201 of the intermediate-stage beam-combining unit 102 are connected to the beam-combining ports 210 of different preceding beam-combining units 200 (e.g., the primary beam-combining unit 101 or another intermediate-stage beam-combining unit), respectively, to receive the optical signals after the preceding processing. These optical signals have undergone preliminary phase optimization, but residual relative phase errors and amplitude differences still exist between the different beams. The intermediate-stage beam-combining unit 102 uses the same standardized structure as the primary unit (dual input ports, Mach-Zehnder interferometer coupling structure, dual output ports, and photodetectors) to perform interferometric coupling processing on the two optical signals.

[0041] After being processed by the intermediate-stage beam combining unit 102, the phase coordination accuracy of the output intermediate-stage phase cooperative interference combined light is improved, meeting the high-precision requirements of the final-stage beam combining for phase matching; the power superposition efficiency is improved, and the optical power density is significantly improved; the mode consistency is improved, and the Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure filters out non-common-mode high-order modes. The output light is mainly in the fundamental mode, and the mode field matching efficiency is improved, which facilitates efficient coupling in the next-stage beam combining unit.

[0042] Through the above mechanism, the intermediate-stage beam-combining unit 102 becomes the phase coordination core that connects the upper and lower stages in the multi-stage beam-combining system, ensuring that the multiple light beams achieve precise phase matching and efficient power superposition during the step-by-step beam-combining process, and ultimately output a high-power, highly coherent composite light beam at the final stage.

[0043] Preferably, the dual input ports 201 of the final-stage combining unit 103 are respectively connected to the combining ports 210 of different previous-stage combining units 200. After receiving the optical signal and performing interference coupling processing, the ultimate high-efficiency coherent combined light after the interference coupling processing is output from its combining port 210 as the output of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100.

[0044] The dual input ports 201 of the final-stage combining unit 103 are connected to the combining ports 210 of different preceding-stage combining units 200. The preceding-stage combining unit 200 can be the output of the primary combining unit 101 after processing by the intermediate-stage combining unit 102, or it can be the result of combining between the intermediate-stage combining units 102. This connection method fully utilizes the processing results of the preceding combining units, introducing the optical signal that has undergone preliminary phase coordination and power addition into the final-stage combining unit 103 for final processing.

[0045] After the interference coupling processing, the final beam combining unit 103 outputs the ultimate high-efficiency coherent synthesis light after the interference coupling processing from its beam combining port 210 as the output of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100. This ultimate high-efficiency coherent synthesis light has the following significant characteristics. Through precise interference coupling processing, the final beam combining unit 103 can effectively superimpose and enhance the power of the optical signal output by the previous beam combining unit. This high-power output gives the combiner great advantages in some application scenarios with high optical power requirements, such as laser communications, laser processing and other fields. The final beam combining unit 103 precisely controls and adjusts the phase of the optical signal so that the output ultimate high-efficiency coherent synthesis light has high coherence. Highly coherent optical signals exhibit better characteristics in optical phenomena such as interference and diffraction, and can improve the resolution and sensitivity of the optical system. During the interference coupling processing, the final beam combining unit 103 can also effectively suppress the noise in the optical signal. Through real-time monitoring and feedback adjustment, it can reduce the impact of environmental factors and system internal noise on optical signals, so that the output ultimate high-efficiency coherent synthesis light has a lower noise level and good stability.

[0046] The precise control and adjustment capabilities of the final beam combiner 103 improve the stability and reliability of the entire combiner. Under complex environmental conditions, it can monitor and compensate for changes in the optical signal in real time, ensuring that the quality of the output light is not affected.

[0047] Preferably, the process of performing the interference coupling processing is as follows: the intelligent optimization algorithm module of the controller receives the feedback signal from the photodetector 206 of the beam combining unit 200, uses the gradient descent algorithm to calculate the optimal driving voltage values required by the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in the beam combining unit 200, and outputs a voltage instruction containing these optimal driving voltage values to the controller; the controller receives the voltage instruction and applies it to the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 of the beam combining unit 200 through the voltage driving circuit, so that the two phase modulators respectively reach their respective optimal driving voltage values. voltage value, to achieve phase adjustment of the two input optical signals; the two input optical signals after phase adjustment interfere with each other in the coupling structure 205 based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer; during this process, the intelligent optimization algorithm module uses the feedback signal of the photodetector 206 to calculate the optimal driving voltage values of the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in real time, and the controller uses the voltage driving circuit to enable the two phase modulators to continuously maintain their respective optimal driving voltage values; through this real-time adjustment process, the phase and amplitude of the two input optical signals are continuously optimized until the power of the beam combining port 210 reaches the maximum value.

[0048] Interference coupling processing is the core link for the beam combining unit to achieve precise phase control. Its process strictly follows the closed-loop logic of "feedback acquisition - algorithm calculation - hardware adjustment - dynamic optimization", as shown below.

[0049] The controller's intelligent optimization algorithm module receives real-time feedback signals from the photodetector 206 of the beam combiner 200. This signal contains optical power data at the detection port 209, directly reflecting the degree of phase matching between the two input beams. The algorithm module uses a gradient descent algorithm to calculate the optimal drive voltage value for the phase modulator based on the feedback signals. The detailed process will be described later.

[0050] The voltage drive circuit converts the voltage command from the controller into an analog electrical signal and transmits it to the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204, respectively. Both phase modulators have dedicated signal receiving interfaces that accurately identify and receive analog electrical signals. To ensure stable and accurate signal transmission, the transmission lines utilize a low-noise, high-bandwidth design to minimize signal attenuation and interference during transmission. Furthermore, the phase modulators are equipped with signal adaptation circuits to pre-process the received analog electrical signals, ensuring they are optimally aligned with the phase modulator's operating mechanism.

[0051] The first phase modulator 203 is located at the input port of the beam combining unit 200 and is mainly used to perform preliminary phase adjustment on the input optical signal. It uses electro-optical effect or thermo-optical effect to achieve phase adjustment.

[0052] The second phase modulator 204 is built into a coupling structure based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and is used to perform more precise phase adjustment on the optical signal. Its operating principle is similar to that of the first phase modulator 203, but it has higher requirements on adjustment accuracy and response speed.

[0053] To achieve high-precision phase adjustment, the second phase modulator 204 typically utilizes more advanced materials and manufacturing processes. For example, materials with high electro-optical coefficients are used, or the sensitivity of phase modulation is improved by optimizing the optical waveguide structure. This allows for larger phase adjustments with smaller analog electrical signal changes, thus meeting the need for precise control of the optical signal phase.

[0054] During the operation of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100 , the two input optical signals, which have undergone phase modulation by the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 , enter the coupling structure 205 based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and interfere with each other.

[0055] The coupling structure 205 of the present invention is designed based on the principle of Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and adopts silicon-based integrated photonic technology to realize interference coupling of optical signals. In the beam combining unit 200, the two input optical signals adjusted by the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 enter the two interference arms of the coupling structure 205 through the waveguide structure: the adjustable interferometer arm has a built-in second phase modulator 204, which changes the refractive index of the waveguide through voltage drive to realize dynamic adjustment of the phase of the optical signal; in the reference interferometer arm, as a phase reference, the optical signal is directly transmitted through a waveguide of fixed length. The two optical signals converge at the multimode interference coupler at the end of the coupling structure, and interference is generated based on the wave nature of light. The interference result is directly related to the phase difference between the two optical signals: when the phase difference is 0 or When the phase difference is an integer multiple, constructive interference occurs and the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 is maximized. When the power is an odd multiple, destructive interference occurs, maximizing the optical power at the detection port 209. The optical power at the detection port 209 is monitored in real time by the photodetector 206, and the intelligent optimization algorithm dynamically adjusts the phase modulator drive voltage to ensure that the beam combining port 210 always outputs a high-power coherent optical signal.

[0056] During the interference process, the electric field strengths of the two optical signals will be superimposed on each other. Assume that the electric field strengths of the two optical signals are and , and their phases are and , then the total electric field intensity at the beam combining port 210 is It can be expressed as According to the relationship that optical power is proportional to the square of electric field intensity, the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 is It can be expressed as: .

[0057] It can be seen that the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 is not only related to the intensity of the two optical signals, but also to their phase difference. By adjusting the phase difference , the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 can be controlled.

[0058] Photodetector 206 monitors the optical power output of beam combining port 210 in real time, converts the monitored optical power information into an electrical signal, and sends it as a feedback signal to the intelligent optimization algorithm module. By analyzing the feedback signal, the intelligent optimization algorithm module determines whether the optical power output of beam combining port 210 has reached its maximum value and how to adjust the driving voltages of first phase modulator 203 and second phase modulator 204 to optimize phase and amplitude.

[0059] The intelligent optimization algorithm module uses a gradient descent algorithm to calculate the optimal driving voltage values for the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204. In this beam combiner, the intelligent optimization algorithm module uses the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 as the objective function and continuously adjusts the driving voltages of the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 to maximize the objective function (i.e., the output optical power of the beam combining port 210). The gradient descent algorithm of the intelligent optimization algorithm module will be described in detail later.

[0060] The controller receives the optimal drive voltage value calculated by the intelligent optimization algorithm module and converts it into a voltage command, which is then sent to the voltage drive circuit. The voltage drive circuit converts the voltage command into analog electrical signals suitable for the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204, and applies these analog electrical signals to the corresponding phase modulators.

[0061] The first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 perform phase adjustment based on the analog electrical signal transmitted by the voltage drive circuit. Throughout the real-time adjustment process, the intelligent optimization algorithm module continuously utilizes the feedback signal from the photodetector 206 for calculations. The controller continuously adjusts the drive voltages of the first and second phase modulators 203 and 204 through the voltage drive circuit, ensuring that the two phase modulators maintain their respective optimal drive voltage values. This continuous optimization process ensures that the phase matching of the two optical signals is maintained despite changes in the external environment or fluctuations in system parameters, thereby improving beam combining efficiency.

[0062] Through the above real-time adjustment process, the intelligent optimization algorithm module continuously calculates the optimal driving voltage value, and the controller continuously adjusts the driving voltage of the phase modulator, so that the phase and amplitude of the two optical signals are continuously optimized. As the number of iterations increases, the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 will gradually increase until it reaches the maximum value. When the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 no longer increases with the adjustment of the driving voltage, it means that the real-time adjustment process has converged. At this time, the phase difference between the two optical signals is Approaching zero or The optimal constructive interference is achieved, and the output optical power of the beam combining port 210 reaches the maximum value.

[0063] In summary, the two phase-adjusted input optical signals interfere with each other in the coupling structure based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The intelligent optimization algorithm module uses the feedback signal of the photodetector to calculate the optimal driving voltage value in real time. The controller uses the voltage driving circuit to enable the phase modulator to continuously maintain the optimal driving voltage value. Through this real-time adjustment process, the phase and amplitude of the two input optical signals are continuously optimized, and ultimately the power of the combined port is maximized, providing a strong guarantee for the efficient operation of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100.

[0064] Preferably, the steps of the intelligent optimization algorithm are as follows: the intelligent optimization algorithm module receives the feedback signal from the photodetector; sets the initial phase value and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; Generate perturbation vector ; Among them, when the number of iterations is the first, the initial value of the phase is used and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; When the iteration number is not the first, the phase value generated by the previous iteration is used and the perturbation vector ; In the current iteration cycle , generate random voltage disturbance vector ,in For the The random voltage perturbation vector generated in the iteration; represents the number of phase modulators in the phase modulator array; The first voltage disturbance vector components; evaluate the parallel disturbance, and transform the random voltage disturbance vector Superimposed on the current voltage setting On , generate the forward perturbation vector: And a negative perturbation vector: ; Apply the generated positive perturbation vector and negative perturbation vector to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator at the same time, and obtain the corresponding detected positive power performance evaluation function and negative power performance evaluation function in, is the optical power of the detection port contained in the feedback signal; is the current voltage setting; is a random voltage disturbance vector; calculate the voltage gradient, according to the change of the positive performance evaluation function and the negative performance evaluation function , calculate the voltage gradient ,in, is the gain coefficient; update the voltage, update the voltage setting according to the voltage gradient, and the voltage iteration formula is: ; Generate perturbation vector from The above iterative process is repeated until one of the following conditions is met: the preset maximum number of iterations is reached; the relative change of the performance evaluation function is lower than the threshold; the optimization process is actively interrupted.

[0065] Figure 3 Flowchart of the intelligent optimization algorithm of an embodiment of the present invention - a gradient optimization algorithm.

[0066] like Figure 3 As shown, in step S301, the intelligent optimization algorithm module first receives the feedback signal from the photodetector 206, which contains the real-time optical power data of the detection port, directly reflecting the current phase matching degree of the two optical signals. At this time, the system enters the initialization stage, and the algorithm module automatically calls the preset initial phase value. and the initial value of the perturbation vector .

[0067] In step S302, a disturbance vector is generated In the first iteration When the algorithm module generates a random voltage disturbance vector according to the initial value For a dual-phase modulator system (n=2), is a two-dimensional vector, and the sign and amplitude of each component are determined by a pseudo-random number generator to ensure that the perturbation direction covers the parameter space evenly. , then directly call the phase value of the previous iteration and the perturbation vector , and on this basis superimpose new random perturbations (such as ,in is the perturbation step size scaling factor, is a standard normal distribution random number) to avoid falling into the local optimal solution.

[0068] In step S303, the parallel disturbance is evaluated. The algorithm module sets the current voltage to With the perturbation vector Superposition to generate a forward perturbation vector and the negative perturbation vector And it is synchronously applied to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator through the voltage driving circuit. At this time, the photodetector synchronously collects the detection port power under the two disturbance states and obtains the forward performance evaluation function and negative performance evaluation function Since the detection port power is inversely correlated with the beam combining port power (the smaller the detection power, the greater the beam combining power), the algorithm compares and The size of is used to determine whether the current disturbance direction is close to the optimal solution.

[0069] In step S304, the voltage gradient is calculated. , the algorithm module calculates the voltage gradient Among them, the gain coefficient is a key parameter, and its value needs to balance the convergence speed and stability: when When the absolute value is large (such as in the initial iteration stage), Take a larger value to accelerate the gradient descent; when When it approaches zero (such as approaching the optimal solution), Automatically switch to a smaller value to avoid oscillation caused by too large a step size.

[0070] In step S305, the voltage setting is updated. According to the voltage iteration formula , the algorithm module updates the driving voltage of the phase modulator.

[0071] In step S306, the termination condition is determined. The algorithm module determines in real time whether the termination condition is met: Preset maximum number of iterations (such as ): Prevent the algorithm from looping infinitely in complex scenarios. In typical applications, 80-150 iterations are enough to converge. The performance evaluation function is based on normalization processing (such as ):when When , it is considered that the combined beam power has approached the maximum value and the iteration is terminated; Active interrupt signal: Forces optimization to stop through external instructions (such as triggering the system low-power mode) and saves the current voltage settings for continued operation after restart.

[0072] If the termination condition is not met, the algorithm returns to step S302, generates a new perturbation vector, and iterates again. Through this closed-loop process of "perturbation-evaluation-gradient calculation-update," the intelligent optimization algorithm can achieve rapid convergence of phase error within microsecond timescales, ultimately outputting a high-power, highly coherent composite beam in the final beam-combining unit.

[0073] This algorithm solves the problems of slow convergence and susceptibility to interference of traditional gradient descent algorithms in optical beam combining scenarios through three core mechanisms: parallel perturbation evaluation, adaptive gradient adjustment, and hierarchical cascade optimization.

[0074] Preferably, the controller controls each stage of the beam combining unit 200 through an intelligent optimization algorithm to achieve real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal to ensure that the high-power light beam is output in the final stage beam combining unit 103. The process includes: the controller receives the voltage instruction output by the intelligent optimization algorithm module; the voltage instruction includes the optimal driving voltage value information required by the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each beam combining unit 200; the controller parses the voltage instruction, identifies the optimal driving voltage value information in the instruction and the corresponding beam combining unit 200 and phase modulator number; after receiving the voltage instruction from the controller, the voltage driving circuit converts it into an electrical signal suitable for applying to the corresponding phase modulator of the corresponding beam combining unit 200; the converted electrical signal is accurately transmitted through the circuit transmission path. The optical power of the optical signal is transmitted to the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each beam combining unit 200; the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each beam combining unit 200 adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time after receiving the electrical signal; the photodetector 206 continuously monitors the optical power of the detection port 209, and converts it into an electrical signal to feed back to the controller; when the feedback signal shows that the optical power of the detection port 209 has not reached the ideal state, the intelligent optimization algorithm module recalculates the optimal driving voltage value, and the controller sends the new voltage instruction to the corresponding phase modulator through the voltage driving circuit, so that it adjusts the phase in time; by continuously adjusting the phase according to the feedback signal, the beam combining units 200 at each level achieve precise matching and optimization of the phase of the optical signal in the interference coupling process.

[0075] After calculating the optimal drive voltage, the intelligent optimization algorithm module sends the voltage command as a digital signal to the controller according to a pre-set communication protocol. The controller monitors the communication interface in real time. Once it detects incoming data, it immediately initiates the receiving process and stores the complete voltage command in its internal buffer.

[0076] The voltage command contains several key pieces of information, such as the optimal drive voltage required by the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each beam combiner 200, as well as the corresponding beam combiner unit number and phase modulator number. The controller decodes the voltage command using a specialized parsing algorithm. First, it identifies the start and end flags of the command to ensure it is a complete command. Then, according to a pre-set format, it extracts the optimal drive voltage value information from the command and associates it with the corresponding beam combiner unit number and phase modulator number. The controller parses the format bit by bit, extracting the different pieces of information and storing them in corresponding data structures.

[0077] The voltage drive circuit is the key link between the controller and the phase modulator. Its main function is to convert the digital voltage command from the controller into an analog electrical signal suitable for applying to the phase modulator.

[0078] The converted analog electrical signal needs to be accurately transmitted through the circuit transmission path to the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each beam combining unit 200. Each beam combining unit and phase modulator has an independent transmission line to avoid crosstalk between signals.

[0079] Upon receiving an electrical signal, the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each beam combining unit 200 immediately adjust the phase of the input optical signal based on the magnitude and direction of the electrical signal. Because the electrical signal is generated based on the optimal drive voltage value calculated by an intelligent optimization algorithm, the phase modulator adjustments can shift the optical signal toward achieving precise phase matching. This real-time adjustment enables rapid response to changes in the external environment and the dynamic needs of the system.

[0080] The photodetector 206 continuously monitors the optical power of the detection port 209 and converts it into an electrical signal and feeds it back to the controller. The controller processes the feedback signal in real time and analyzes whether the optical power of the detection port 209 reaches the ideal state.

[0081] If the feedback signal indicates that the optical power at detection port 209 is not ideal, the intelligent optimization algorithm module recalculates the optimal drive voltage value based on the current feedback signal. Based on the feedback signal, the intelligent optimization algorithm module calculates how to adjust the drive voltage of the phase modulator to increase the optical power. The controller sends the new voltage command through the voltage drive circuit to the corresponding phase modulator, causing it to adjust the phase in a timely manner. This process is repeated until the feedback signal indicates that the optical power at detection port 209 has reached the ideal state, indicating that each stage of the beam combining unit 200 has achieved precise phase matching and optimization of the optical signal during the interferometric coupling process.

[0082] Through the coordinated work of the above links, the controller can control each stage of the beam combining unit 200 through an intelligent optimization algorithm to achieve real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal, ensuring the output of a high-power light beam in the final stage beam combining unit 103 to meet the needs of various optical applications.

[0083] This solution, through the full-process collaboration of "precision controller analysis + low-noise conversion of the drive circuit + real-time modulator response + closed-loop algorithm optimization," transforms optical coherent beam combining from "manual debugging" to "intelligent autonomy." Its core value lies not only in improving physical indicators (such as phase error and beam combining efficiency), but also in building an intelligent optical system with self-sensing, self-learning, and self-repair capabilities. This provides a highly reliable and scalable solution for next-generation optical communications, optical sensing, and quantum technologies, propelling optical coherent combining technology into a new era of "on-chip intelligent control."

[0084] Preferably, the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 in each stage of the beam combining unit 200 adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time after receiving the electrical signal, which includes: the photodetector 206 in each stage of the beam combining unit 200 detects the optical power change of the detection port 209 in real time and accurately, and converts the change of the optical signal into an electrical signal; the photodetector 206 includes the converted electrical signal into a feedback signal and transmits it to the controller; after receiving the feedback signal, the controller transmits the feedback signal to the intelligent optimization algorithm module; the intelligent optimization algorithm module extracts the optical power and phase parameters from the feedback signal, and determines the deviation between the phase state of the current optical signal and the ideal state by calculation; the intelligent optimization algorithm module Based on the calculated phase deviation, the block uses a gradient descent algorithm and combines the voltage-phase response characteristics of the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 to calculate the optimal driving voltage value required to eliminate the phase deviation; the intelligent optimization algorithm module sends the calculated optimal driving voltage value to the controller; after receiving the instruction, the controller transmits it to the voltage driving circuit; the voltage driving circuit adjusts the driving voltage applied to the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 according to the received voltage signal; by adjusting the driving voltage, the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 change the refractive index of the waveguide to achieve real-time adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal.

[0085] After the photodetector 206 completes the conversion of the optical signal into an electrical signal, it is necessary to integrate the electrical signal into the feedback signal.

[0086] After receiving the feedback signal, the controller must first receive and analyze the signal.

[0087] Before passing the feedback signal to the intelligent optimization algorithm module, the controller needs to preprocess the data, which includes data filtering, normalization and other operations.

[0088] After preprocessing, the controller passes the feedback signal to the intelligent optimization algorithm module.

[0089] After receiving the feedback signal, the intelligent optimization algorithm module first extracts the optical power and phase parameters. For optical power, since the electrical signal value in the feedback signal is proportional to the optical power, the electrical signal value can be converted to optical power using previous calibration information.

[0090] Extracting phase parameters is relatively complex. In some systems, changes in optical power are related to phase differences. Phase parameters can be extracted by building a mathematical model of optical power and phase differences.

[0091] After obtaining the phase state of the current optical signal, the intelligent optimization algorithm module needs to determine the deviation between it and the ideal state. The phase value of the ideal state is usually pre-set and determined according to the design requirements and goals of the system. Assuming that the ideal phase value is , the current phase value is , then the phase deviation .

[0092] The voltage-phase response characteristics of the first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 need to be modeled. Different types of phase modulators have different response characteristics. For example, for a thermo-optical phase modulator, its phase change and driving voltage The relationship between can be approximated as ,in is a constant related to the modulator material and structure. For electro-optic phase modulators, it may have a linear relationship ,in is the modulation coefficient.

[0093] Combining the gradient descent algorithm and the voltage-phase response characteristics, the intelligent optimization algorithm module begins to iteratively calculate the optimal driving voltage value. First, initialize the driving voltage , then according to the objective function Calculate its gradient , and then update the driving voltage according to the gradient descent formula Then, according to the updated driving voltage The new phase value is calculated based on the voltage-phase response characteristics, and the new phase deviation is obtained. This process is repeated until the phase deviation meets certain accuracy requirements or the maximum number of iterations is reached.

[0094] After the intelligent optimization algorithm module calculates the optimal driving voltage value, it needs to be sent to the controller.

[0095] After receiving the data packet containing the optimal driving voltage value sent by the intelligent optimization algorithm module, the controller parses it and extracts the optimal driving voltage value.

[0096] After receiving the voltage signal from the controller, the voltage driving circuit adjusts the output voltage according to the signal.

[0097] The first phase modulator 203 and the second phase modulator 204 usually work based on the electro-optic effect or the thermo-optic effect. In the case of working based on the electro-optic effect, when a voltage is applied, the refractive index of the material changes. According to the principle of the electro-optic effect, the change of the refractive index With the applied electric field strength (proportional to the driving voltage), such as the linear electro-optic effect (Pockels effect), ,in is the electro-optic coefficient. In the case of thermo-optical effect, the temperature of the waveguide material is changed by heating or cooling it, which causes the refractive index to change. The driving voltage controls the power of the heating element (such as a resistor), which in turn controls the temperature change. With temperature changes Related, for example ,in is the thermo-optical coefficient.

[0098] Since the refractive index of the waveguide changes, the phase of light propagating in the waveguide will also change. According to the phase formula of light propagating in the medium ,in is the wavelength of light, is the refractive index of the waveguide, is the length that light travels in the waveguide. When the phase of the optical signal changes The phase of the input optical signal will also change accordingly, thereby achieving real-time adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal.

[0099] Each beam-combining unit uses a photodetector to accurately detect changes in optical power in real time and converts it into an electrical signal. This signal is then fed back to the controller and then passed to the intelligent optimization algorithm module. This module extracts optical power and phase parameters, calculates the deviation between the current phase and the ideal state, and uses a gradient descent algorithm combined with the modulator's voltage-phase response characteristics to calculate the optimal drive voltage value. The controller and voltage drive circuit adjust the modulator drive voltage, thereby changing the waveguide refractive index to adjust the optical signal phase in real time. This process achieves ultra-high phase control accuracy and microsecond-level dynamic response, significantly improving beam-combining efficiency, enhancing system stability and anti-interference capabilities, and possessing multi-scenario adaptability and good scalability, making it widely applicable to laser communications, radar, processing, and other fields.

[0100] On the other hand, the present invention further provides an adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combining method, which is applied to the adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combiner 100 of the first embodiment to achieve optical coherent beam combining and output a high-power light beam.

[0101] This method systematically solves the core bottlenecks of traditional optical beam combining in terms of phase matching, dynamic response, cost and volume through the deep integration of "multi-level cascade physical architecture + intelligent closed-loop algorithm + silicon-based integration process". It not only realizes the efficient synthesis and stable output of optical power, but also gives the system the intelligent ability of self-perception and self-optimization. It has become a key enabling technology in the fields of optical communication, optical sensing, quantum information, etc., and has promoted optical coherent combining into the "on-chip intelligence" era.

[0102] Preferably, the intelligent optimization algorithm of this method is consistent with that adopted by the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner 100, that is, starting from receiving the feedback signal and setting the initial value, through the steps of generating the disturbance vector, evaluating the parallel disturbance, calculating the voltage gradient, updating the voltage, etc., it is continuously iterated until the preset conditions are met.

[0103] This intelligent optimization algorithm, through a mechanism of "parallel perturbation evaluation + gradient direction guidance + adaptive parameter adjustment," transforms the optical power optimization problem into a real-time parameter adjustment process, achieving comprehensive improvements in phase control accuracy, beam combining efficiency, and dynamic response speed. Its core value lies in its deep collaboration with silicon-based photonic hardware (e.g., nanosecond-level modulator response and microsecond-level DAC update rate). This provides an efficient solution, from theory to engineering, for adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiners, driving breakthroughs in optical coherent combining technology towards intelligent and integrated development.

[0104] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner, characterized in that: include: The multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module is composed of a plurality of beam combining units with the same structure, which are divided into a primary beam combining unit, an intermediate beam combining unit and a final beam combining unit. The beam combining units are connected in sequence, receive the previous stage optical signal for interference coupling processing and output to the next stage; each beam combining unit includes: Dual input ports, one of which integrates a first phase modulator to adjust the phase of the optical signal, and the other directly transmits the optical signal for interference; The coupling structure is based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and consists of two interferometer arms, one of which has a built-in second phase modulator and the other is a reference arm. Dual-channel output port, the detection port monitors the interference intensity to generate a feedback signal, and the beam combining port is the complementary port of the detection port, outputting a high-power optical signal; A photodetector, integrated into the detection port, converts an optical signal into an electrical signal to generate a feedback signal; The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner further comprises: The controller controls the beam combining unit at each stage through an intelligent optimization algorithm to adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time and dynamically, thereby ensuring that a high-power light beam is output at the final beam combining unit.

2. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to claim 1, wherein: The dual-path input port of the primary beam combining unit receives dynamic turbulent light, performs interference coupling processing, and then outputs the primary optimized interference combined beam light after the interference coupling processing from its beam combining port to the next-stage beam combining unit.

3. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to claim 1, wherein: The dual input ports of the intermediate-stage beam combining unit are respectively connected to the beam combining ports of different previous-stage beam combining units. After receiving the optical signal and performing interference coupling processing, the intermediate-stage phase cooperative interference combined light after the interference coupling processing is output from its beam combining port to the next-stage beam combining unit.

4. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to claim 1, wherein: The dual input ports of the final-stage beam combining unit are respectively connected to the beam combining ports of different previous-stage beam combining units. After receiving the optical signal and performing interference coupling processing, the ultimate high-efficiency coherent combined light after the interference coupling processing is output from its beam combining port as the output of the adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner.

5. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The process of performing interference coupling processing is as follows: The intelligent optimization algorithm module of the controller receives the feedback signal from the photodetector of the beam combining unit, calculates the optimal driving voltage values required by the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in the beam combining unit using a gradient descent algorithm, and outputs voltage instructions containing these optimal driving voltage values to the controller; The controller receives the voltage instruction and applies it to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator of the beam combining unit through the voltage driving circuit, so that the two phase modulators respectively reach their respective optimal driving voltage values, thereby realizing phase adjustment of the two input optical signals; The two input optical signals after the phase adjustment interfere with each other in the coupling structure based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer; During this process, the intelligent optimization algorithm module uses the feedback signal of the photodetector to calculate the optimal driving voltage values of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in real time, and the controller uses the voltage driving circuit to enable the two phase modulators to continuously maintain their respective optimal driving voltage values; Through this real-time adjustment process, the phases and amplitudes of the two input optical signals are continuously optimized until the power of the beam combining port reaches a maximum value.

6. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to claim 1, wherein: The steps of the intelligent optimization algorithm are as follows: The intelligent optimization algorithm module receives the feedback signal from the photoelectric detector; Set the initial phase value and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; Generate perturbation vector ; Among them, when the number of iterations is the first, the initial value of the phase is used and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; When the iteration number is not the first, the phase value generated by the previous iteration is used and the perturbation vector ; In the current iteration cycle , generate random voltage disturbance vector ,in For the The random voltage perturbation vector generated in the iteration; represents the number of phase modulators in the phase modulator array; The first voltage disturbance vector Quantity To evaluate the parallel disturbance, the random voltage disturbance vector Superimposed on the current voltage setting On , generate the forward perturbation vector: And a negative perturbation vector: ; Apply the generated positive perturbation vector and the generated negative perturbation vector to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator at the same time, and obtain the corresponding detected positive power performance evaluation function respectively. and negative power performance evaluation function ,in, is the optical power of the detection port contained in the feedback signal; is the current voltage setting; is the random voltage disturbance vector; Calculate the voltage gradient based on the change in the positive performance evaluation function and the negative performance evaluation function , calculate the voltage gradient ,in, is the gain coefficient; Update the voltage. Update the voltage setting according to the voltage gradient. The voltage iteration formula is: ； Generate a perturbation vector from the The above iterative process is repeated until one of the following conditions is met: Reaching the preset maximum number of iterations; The relative change of the performance evaluation function is lower than the threshold; The optimization process was interrupted voluntarily.

7. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to claim 1, wherein: The controller controls each stage of the beam combining unit through an intelligent optimization algorithm to achieve real-time and dynamic adjustment of the phase of the input optical signal to ensure that a high-power light beam is output at the final stage of the beam combining unit. The process includes: The controller receives a voltage instruction output by the intelligent optimization algorithm module; the voltage instruction includes the optimal driving voltage value information required by the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each of the beam combining units; the controller parses the voltage instruction and identifies the optimal driving voltage value information and the corresponding beam combining unit and phase modulator numbers in the instruction; After receiving the voltage instruction from the controller, the voltage driving circuit converts the voltage instruction into an electrical signal suitable for applying to the corresponding phase modulator of the corresponding beam combining unit; the converted electrical signal is accurately transmitted to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each beam combining unit through a circuit transmission path; The first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each stage of the beam combining unit adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time after receiving the electrical signal; The photoelectric detector continuously monitors the optical power of the detection port and converts it into an electrical signal to feed back to the controller; When the feedback signal indicates that the optical power of the detection port has not reached an ideal state, the intelligent optimization algorithm module recalculates the optimal driving voltage value, and the controller sends the new voltage instruction to the corresponding phase modulator through the voltage driving circuit, so that the phase modulator adjusts the phase in time; By continuously adjusting the phase according to the feedback signal, the beam combining units at each level achieve precise phase matching and optimization of the optical signal during the interference coupling process.

8. The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner according to claim 7, wherein: The process of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator in each stage of the beam combining unit adjusting the phase of the input optical signal in real time after receiving the electrical signal includes: The photodetector in each level of the beam combining unit detects the optical power change of the detection port in real time and accurately, and converts the change of the optical signal into an electrical signal; The photoelectric detector includes the converted electrical signal into a feedback signal and transmits it to the controller; After receiving the feedback signal, the controller transmits the feedback signal to the intelligent optimization algorithm module; The intelligent optimization algorithm module extracts optical power and phase parameters from the feedback signal, and determines the deviation between the phase state of the current optical signal and the ideal state through calculation; The intelligent optimization algorithm module calculates the optimal driving voltage value required to eliminate the phase deviation based on the calculated phase deviation using a gradient descent algorithm and combining the voltage-phase response characteristics of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator; The intelligent optimization algorithm module sends the calculated optimal driving voltage value to the controller; After receiving the instruction, the controller transmits it to the voltage driving circuit; The voltage driving circuit adjusts the driving voltage applied to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator according to the received voltage signal; By adjusting the driving voltage, the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator change the refractive index of the waveguide, so as to adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time.

9. An adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combining method, characterized in that: It is applied to an adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner to achieve optical coherent beam combining and output a high-power light beam. The adaptive on-chip optical coherent combiner includes: The multi-stage adaptive optical coherent cascade module is composed of a plurality of beam combining units with the same structure, which are divided into a primary beam combining unit, an intermediate beam combining unit and a final beam combining unit. The beam combining units are connected in sequence, receive the previous stage optical signal for interference coupling processing and output to the next stage; each beam combining unit includes: Dual input ports, one of which integrates a first phase modulator to adjust the phase of the optical signal, and the other directly transmits the optical signal for interference; The coupling structure is based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and consists of two interferometer arms, one of which has a built-in second phase modulator and the other is a reference arm. Dual-channel output port, the detection port monitors the interference intensity to generate a feedback signal, and the beam combining port is the complementary port of the detection port, outputting a high-power optical signal; A photodetector, integrated into the detection port, converts an optical signal into an electrical signal to generate a feedback signal; The adaptive on-chip optical coherence combiner further comprises: The controller controls the beam combining unit at each stage through an intelligent optimization algorithm to adjust the phase of the input optical signal in real time and dynamically, thereby ensuring that a high-power light beam is output at the final beam combining unit.

10. The adaptive on-chip optical coherent beam combining method according to claim 9, wherein: The steps of the intelligent optimization algorithm are as follows: receiving the feedback signal from the photodetector; Set the initial phase value and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; Generate perturbation vector ; Among them, when the number of iterations is the first, the initial value of the phase is used and the initial value of the perturbation vector ; When the iteration number is not the first, the phase value generated by the previous iteration is used and the perturbation vector ; In the current iteration cycle , generate random voltage disturbance vector ,in For the The random voltage perturbation vector generated in the iteration; represents the number of phase modulators in the phase modulator array; The first voltage disturbance vector Quantity To evaluate the parallel disturbance, the random voltage disturbance vector Superimposed on the current voltage setting On , generate the forward perturbation vector: And a negative perturbation vector: ; Apply the generated positive perturbation vector and the generated negative perturbation vector to the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator at the same time, and obtain the corresponding detected positive power performance evaluation function respectively. and negative power performance evaluation function in, is the optical power of the detection port contained in the feedback signal; is the current voltage setting; is the random voltage disturbance vector; Calculate the voltage gradient based on the change in the positive performance evaluation function and the negative performance evaluation function , calculate the voltage gradient ,in, is the gain coefficient; Update the voltage. Update the voltage setting according to the voltage gradient. The voltage iteration formula is: ； Generate a perturbation vector from the The above iterative process is repeated until one of the following conditions is met: Reaching the preset maximum number of iterations; The relative change of the performance evaluation function is lower than the threshold; The optimization process was interrupted voluntarily.

Images