Hollow core fiber interconnect optical cable for high speed data centers

Abstract

The application provides a hollow core fiber interconnection optical cable for high-speed data center, relates to the technical field of optical fiber manufacturing, and comprises an outer sheath, an aluminum tape, a core layer and a central reinforcing member which are concentrically arranged from outside to inside, wherein the core layer is distributed in a ring array by at least one hollow core fiber piece and a solid core fiber or is distributed in a ring array by a plurality of hollow core fiber pieces; the application utilizes the anti-resonance cavity composed of an arc-shaped part and a hollow cavity circular part in the hollow core fiber piece to guide light, and the optical signal is transmitted in air, so that the application realizes ultra-low delay and extremely high non-linear threshold, lays a foundation for breaking through the "Shannon limit" and realizing the next-generation Tbps-level high-speed transmission. Moreover, the arc-shaped part with a large diameter and the hollow cavity circular part with a relatively small diameter are designed, when the hollow core fiber piece is extruded along the second direction, the deformation of the arc-shaped part with a large diameter has a small influence on the anti-resonance cavity of the hollow core fiber piece, and when the turning and winding scenes are used, the stability of data transmission can still be ensured.

Description

Hollow-core fiber optic interconnect cable for high-speed data centers Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical fiber manufacturing technology, specifically a hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers. Background Technology

[0002] In high-speed data centers, high-performance computing, and next-generation communication systems, the capacity and speed of information transmission are facing unprecedented growth demands.

[0003] Hollow-core optical fiber is based on the anti-resonance light guiding mechanism. By conducting light signals through air channels with microstructured cladding, it fundamentally avoids the inherent defects of traditional quartz glass materials. Theoretically, hollow-core optical fiber possesses ultra-low nonlinearity, transmission speeds approaching the speed of light in a vacuum, and the potential for ultra-low loss that breaks the Rayleigh scattering limit of solid materials. Currently, the industry has proposed various hollow-core optical fiber design schemes and is attempting to fabricate them into plug-and-play interconnect cables to directly replace solid optical fiber cables in existing networks in specific fields.

[0004] Hollow-core optical fiber theoretically has the advantages of high bandwidth and low loss, but the optical guiding bandwidth of the existing anti-resonant structure (single-layer capillary structure) is often limited, making it difficult to simultaneously cover multiple communication bands from O-band (1260-1360nm) to L-band (1565-1625nm); furthermore, after actual cabling, macro-bending and micro-bending sensitivity will lead to significant additional losses, making it impossible to stably provide the expected high transmission performance. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a hollow-core fiber optic interconnect cable for high-speed data centers. It solves the problem that the optical bandwidth of existing anti-resonant structures (single-layer capillary structures) is often limited, making it difficult to simultaneously cover multiple communication bands from the O-band (1260-1360nm) to the L-band (1565-1625nm). Furthermore, after actual cabling, macro-bending and micro-bending sensitivity leads to significant additional losses, making it impossible to stably provide the expected high transmission performance.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0007] A hollow fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers includes: at least one hollow fiber component, wherein the hollow fiber component has an outer sheath layer, a cladding region, and a hollow region located inside the cladding region, arranged from the outside to the inside.

[0008] The cladding region includes: an arc-shaped portion symmetrically arranged along a first direction and a hollow circular portion symmetrically arranged along a second direction. Both the first and second directions pass through the axis of the outer cladding layer, and the radially outer sides of the two arc-shaped portions are arranged opposite each other.

[0009] The diameter of the arc-shaped portion is larger than the diameter of the circular portion of the cavity;

[0010] A mold field control unit is provided on the radial inner side of the arc-shaped part.

[0011] Preferably, the arc-shaped portion includes: an arc-shaped component and a plurality of small circular components linearly distributed along the inner wall of the arc-shaped component, wherein the small circular components are tangent to the arc-shaped component and the sides of two adjacent small circular components are tangent to each other;

[0012] The mold field control unit is a small circular component.

[0013] Preferably, the glass wall thickness of the arc-shaped portion and the circular cavity portion is configured such that its limiting loss at the target operating wavelength λ is at least one order of magnitude higher than the limiting loss of the anti-resonant cavity in the hollow region.

[0014] Preferably, it further includes: an outer sheath, an aluminum ribbon, a fiber core layer and a central reinforcing member arranged concentrically from the outside to the inside, wherein the fiber core layer is composed of at least one hollow fiber element and a solid fiber element arranged in a ring array or is composed of only multiple hollow fiber elements arranged in a ring array.

[0015] The outer diameter of the hollow optical fiber component is the same as that of the solid optical fiber.

[0016] Preferably, grease is provided in the gap between the hollow fiber component, the solid fiber component, and the central reinforcing component on the inner side of the aluminum strip.

[0017] Preferably, one end of the second direction points to the common axis of the outer sheath, aluminum strip, fiber core layer and central reinforcement.

[0018] Preferably, the outer casing layer is provided with a marker for marking a first direction, which is perpendicular to the second direction.

[0019] Preferably, the anti-resonant cavity of the hollow fiber component is the region formed between the two arc-shaped portions and between the two hollow circular portions;

[0020] The outer side of the circular cavity is tangent to the radial outer side of the two arcuate portions, and the circular cavity is tangent to the inner side of the outer casing layer.

[0021] Preferably, the solid optical fiber includes: G652D optical fiber, inner fiber grease, and loose tube, wherein the G652D optical fiber array is disposed inside the loose tube, and the inner fiber grease fills the gap between the inside of the loose tube and the G652D optical fiber.

[0022] This invention provides a hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers. It has the following beneficial effects:

[0023] This invention utilizes an anti-resonant cavity composed of an arc-shaped portion and a hollow circular portion in a hollow optical fiber for light guidance, allowing the optical signal to be transmitted in the air. This achieves ultra-low latency (approximately 31% lower than traditional optical fibers) and extremely high nonlinear threshold, laying the foundation for breaking through the "Shannon limit" and realizing next-generation Tbps-level high-speed transmission.

[0024] This invention, by designing the cavity lengths Ly and Lx of the anti-resonant cavity, forms a wide low-loss window within the target waveband (such as the O to L waveband); and by utilizing the mode field modulation unit on the inner side of the arc-shaped part, it effectively suppresses higher-order modes, ensuring the stable single-mode characteristics of the optical fiber throughout the entire operating waveband and avoiding mode dispersion.

[0025] This invention designs a large-diameter arc-shaped portion and a relatively small-diameter hollow circular portion. When the hollow fiber is compressed along the second direction, the deformation of the large-diameter arc-shaped portion has a smaller impact on the anti-resonance cavity of the hollow fiber. That is, it can still ensure the stability of data transmission when dealing with usage scenarios such as bending and entanglement. When integrated into a hollow fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers, its second direction points to the common axis of the outer sheath, aluminum ribbon, fiber core layer and central reinforcement. In actual use, the force exerted on the hollow fiber on the outside of the hollow fiber interconnect cable is always along the second direction, ensuring the stability of data transmission. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a hollow fiber component for a hollow fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers proposed in this invention.

[0027] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers proposed in this invention.

[0028] Among them, a) hollow fiber component; 1) outer sheath layer; 2) hollow circular part; 3) marking component; 4) arc-shaped part; 401) arc-shaped component; 402) small circular component; 5) outer sheath; 6) aluminum ribbon; 7) central reinforcement component; 8) grease. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] Example 1:

[0031] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this embodiment of the invention provides a hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers. The optical fiber cable relates to the field of optical fiber manufacturing technology and is applied in high-speed data centers, high-performance computing, and next-generation communication systems to improve data transmission capabilities. Specifically, it includes an outer sheath 5, an aluminum ribbon 6, a fiber core layer, and a central reinforcing member 7, which are concentrically arranged from the outside to the inside.

[0032] The outer sheath 5 is made of MDPE or PE material with added carbon black, which has excellent UV resistance. The aluminum ribbon 6 is made of 0.05mm thick aluminum-plastic composite tape (light armor structure) for longitudinal encapsulation, forming the radial protection structure of the optical cable. The outer sheath 5 and the aluminum ribbon 6 form a stable protection structure, enabling the hollow fiber interconnection cable to support long-distance laying, suitable for various scenarios such as overhead and pipeline installations, and meeting the requirements of wind load, bending and lightning protection grounding. Three hollow fiber components a and three G.652.D solid fibers are arranged alternately in a ring array to form the fiber core layer. The outer diameter of both the hollow fiber components a and the solid fibers is precisely controlled to 0.25mm to ensure the roundness and stability of the structure. On the inner side of the aluminum ribbon 6, grease 8 fills all gaps. Thixotropic waterproof grease is generally used for water blocking, buffering and longitudinal water blocking.

[0033] In one embodiment, the hollow fiber optic component a comprises, from the outside to the inside, an outer sheath layer 1, a cladding region, and a hollow region located inside the cladding region. The outer sheath layer 1 is a loose tube used to provide protection and is typically made of polymer materials such as acrylate or polyimide. Its main function is to provide mechanical protection for the fragile glass structure, enhance its flexibility and durability, and resist the effects of external environments (such as moisture and scratches). The cladding region includes: arc-shaped portions 4 symmetrically arranged along a first direction and hollow circular portions 2 symmetrically arranged along a second direction. Both the first and second directions pass through the axis of the outer sheath layer 1, and the radially outer sides of the two arc-shaped portions 4 are arranged opposite each other. The anti-resonance cavity of the hollow fiber optic component a is the region formed between the two arc-shaped portions 4 and the two hollow circular portions 2.

[0034] A pair of arc-shaped sections 4 are symmetrically arranged along the horizontal direction (first direction). Each arc-shaped section 4 is an arc-shaped glass tube with a constant glass wall thickness d1 and a radius of curvature R1 that is significantly larger than that of other structures. The two arc-shaped sections 4 are arranged with their radially outer sides (convex surfaces) facing each other.

[0035] A pair of hollow circular portions 2 are symmetrically arranged along the vertical direction (second direction). Each hollow circular portion 2 is a circular glass tube with a constant glass wall thickness d2, and the diameter D of the hollow circular portion 2 is smaller than the diameter of the arc-shaped portion 4.

[0036] The mold field control unit is located on the radially inner side (concave surface) of the arc-shaped portion 4; specifically, each arc-shaped portion 4 includes an arc-shaped member 401 and a plurality of small circular members 402 linearly distributed along its inner wall; the small circular members 402 are pure air holes, and their diameter d is smaller than the diameter D of the hollow circular portion 2. These small circular members 402 are tangent to the inner wall of the arc-shaped member 401, and adjacent small circular members 402 are also tangent to each other.

[0037] The cavity length Lx of the anti-resonant cavity in the hollow region along the first direction; the cavity length Ly of the anti-resonant cavity in the hollow region along the second direction.

[0038] For optimization at a wavelength of 1550nm (λ), we designed Ly ≈ 31.75 μm and Lx ≈ 31.75 μm; the glass wall thicknesses d1 and d2 of the curved and circular parts were designed to be 500nm.

[0039] This thickness deviates from the zero-order anti-resonance condition of 1550nm wavelength (the theoretical value is 387.5nm, and 374nm was empirically selected for simulation). According to simulation calculations, the confinement loss of this wall thickness structure itself is 10 dB / m, while the confinement loss of the transverse anti-resonant cavity defined by Ly and Lx is 0.1 dB / m. The former is two orders of magnitude higher than the latter, thus ensuring that the light guiding mechanism is dominated by transverse anti-resonance.

[0040] The optical signal is confined to a transverse anti-resonant cavity defined by Ly and Lx for transmission. The small circular component 402 inside the arc-shaped section 4 serves as a mode field modulation unit, its function being to push the optical field energy away from the glass interface, forcing the optical energy to concentrate more in the center of the hollow core. Since the field distribution of higher-order modes is closer to the edge, it will interact strongly with the small circular component 402, thus being effectively scattered and suppressed, ensuring the single-mode operation characteristics of the optical fiber.

[0041] In hollow fiber components, an anti-resonant cavity composed of an arc-shaped portion 4 and a hollow circular portion 2 is used for light guidance, and the optical signal is transmitted in the air, achieving ultra-low latency (about 31% lower than that of traditional optical fibers) and extremely high nonlinear threshold, laying the foundation for breaking through the "Shannon limit" and realizing next-generation Tbps-level high-speed transmission.

[0042] As shown in Figure 1, the diameter of the arc-shaped part 4 is larger than the diameter of the hollow circular part 2. Generally, the diameter of the arc-shaped part 4 is designed to be 2-4 times the diameter of the arc-shaped part 4. When the hollow fiber is squeezed along the second direction, the deformation of the large-diameter arc-shaped part 4 has little impact on the anti-resonance cavity of the hollow fiber. That is, when dealing with usage scenarios such as bending and entanglement, the stability of data transmission can still be guaranteed.

[0043] As shown in Figure 1, the outer side of the circular cavity 2 is tangent to the radial outer side of the two arc-shaped portions 4, and the circular cavity 2 is tangent to the inner side of the outer sheath layer 1, so that the formed anti-resonant cavity is relatively closed, reducing the energy loss of the optical fiber.

[0044] The arc-shaped part 4 includes an arc-shaped component 401 and a plurality of small circular components 402 linearly distributed along the inner wall of the arc-shaped component 401. The small circular components 402 are tangent to the arc-shaped component 401, and the sides of two adjacent small circular components 402 are tangent to each other. The mold field control unit is a small circular component 402.

[0045] As shown in Figure 1, a mode field control unit is arranged radially inside the arc-shaped section 4. By introducing a specific arrangement of small circular components 402 into the radially inside the arc-shaped section 4, it achieves multiple synergistic advantages: First, single-mode selectivity: This unit forms a selective perturbation region at the edge of the hollow core. Higher-order modes suffer strong scattering and loss due to the field distribution being close to the edge, while the fundamental mode is almost unaffected due to its highly concentrated energy, thus achieving pure and stable single-mode transmission over a wide bandwidth and fundamentally eliminating mode dispersion. Second, mode field morphology and compatibility: The mode field control unit forces the fundamental mode field distribution to be more circular and farther from the glass interface, significantly reducing transmission loss caused by interface scattering. It can also adjust the mode field shape and diameter, improving the matching degree with standard G.652.D fiber and greatly reducing end-to-end connection loss. Third, its tangential design further mechanically assists in stabilizing the arc-shaped section structure and improving the consistency of the fiber drawing process. This unit independently and efficiently completes higher-order mode suppression and fundamental mode optimization without interfering with the dominant anti-resonance mechanism, ensuring high bandwidth, low loss, and high reliability of the optical fiber.

[0046] In one embodiment, the solid optical fiber includes: G652D optical fiber, inner fiber grease, and loose tube, wherein the G652D optical fiber array is disposed inside the loose tube, and the inner fiber grease fills the gap between the inside of the loose tube and the G652D optical fiber.

[0047] Typical values ​​for hollow-core optical fiber cable products manufactured based on the above embodiment 1 are shown in Table 1 below:

[0048]

[0049] Example 2:

[0050] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this embodiment of the invention provides a hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers. The optical fiber cable relates to the field of optical fiber manufacturing technology and is applied in high-speed data centers, high-performance computing, and next-generation communication systems to improve data transmission capabilities. Specifically, it includes an outer sheath 5, an aluminum ribbon 6, a fiber core layer, and a central reinforcing member 7 arranged concentrically from the outside to the inside.

[0051] Six hollow fiber components a form the fiber core layer in a ring array. The outer diameter of the hollow fiber component a is precisely controlled to 0.25mm to ensure the roundness and stability of the structure.

[0052] The design of this all-hollow fiber component a maximizes the performance advantages of hollow fiber, providing ultra-high bandwidth and low latency interconnect backbone connections for application scenarios such as AI computing clusters and supercomputing centers; it provides huge total capacity within a limited cable diameter; compared with Example 1, all 6 hollow fiber components a can achieve high-speed data transmission, but their manufacturing cost is relatively high, making them suitable for ultra-high-speed data transmission in short-distance straight-line mode.

[0053] Example 3:

[0054] The difference from Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2 is that one end of the second direction points to the common axis of the outer sheath 5, aluminum strip 6, fiber core layer and central reinforcing member 7.

[0055] When hollow fiber component a is integrated into a hollow fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers, its second direction points to the common axis of the outer sheath, aluminum ribbon, fiber core layer, and central reinforcement. In actual use, the force exerted on the hollow fiber component by the outside of the hollow fiber interconnect cable always follows the second direction, ensuring the stability of data transmission.

[0056] A marker 3 for marking a first direction is provided on the outer side of the outer sheath layer 1, which is perpendicular to the second direction. This facilitates maintaining (identifying) the first direction of the hollow fiber component a during manufacturing.

[0057] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A hollow-core fiber optic interconnect cable for high-speed data centers, comprising: At least one hollow fiber component (a), the hollow fiber component (a) having an outer sheath layer (1), a cladding region, and a hollow region located inside the cladding region from the outside to the inside; characterized in that the cladding region includes: an arc-shaped portion (4) symmetrically arranged along a first direction and a hollow circular portion (2) symmetrically arranged along a second direction, the first direction and the second direction both passing through the axis of the outer sheath layer (1), the radial outer sides of the two arc-shaped portions (4) being arranged opposite each other; the diameter corresponding to the arc-shaped portion (4) is larger than the diameter of the hollow circular portion (2); a mode field control unit is provided on the radial inner side of the arc-shaped portion (4); the arc-shaped portion (4) includes: an arc-shaped component (401) and a plurality of small circular components (402) linearly distributed along the inner wall of the arc-shaped component (401), the small circular components (402) being tangent to the arc-shaped component (401), the sides of two adjacent small circular components (402) being tangent; the mode field control unit is a small circular component (402).

2. The hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The glass wall thickness of the arc-shaped portion (4) and the hollow circular portion (2) is configured such that their limiting loss at the target operating wavelength λ is at least one order of magnitude higher than the limiting loss of the anti-resonant cavity in the hollow region.

3. The hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The outer sheath (5), aluminum ribbon (6), fiber core layer and central reinforcing member (7) are arranged concentrically from the outside to the inside. The fiber core layer is composed of at least one hollow fiber element (a) and solid fiber arranged in a ring array or only composed of multiple hollow fiber elements (a) arranged in a ring array. The outer diameter of the hollow fiber element (a) is the same as the outer diameter of the solid fiber.

4. The hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 3, characterized in that: On the inner side of the aluminum strip (6), grease (8) is provided in the gap between the hollow fiber component (a), the solid fiber and the central reinforcing component (7).

5. The hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the second direction points to the common axis of the outer sheath (5), aluminum strip (6), fiber core layer and central reinforcement (7).

6. The hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer casing layer (1) is provided with a marker (3) for marking a first direction, which is perpendicular to the second direction.

7. The hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The anti-resonant cavity of the hollow fiber component (a) is the region formed between the two arc-shaped portions (4) and the two hollow circular portions (2); the outer side of the hollow circular portion (2) is tangent to the radial outer side of the two arc-shaped portions (4), and the hollow circular portion (2) is tangent to the inner side of the outer sheath layer (1).

8. A hollow-core optical fiber interconnect cable for high-speed data centers according to claim 3, characterized in that, The solid optical fiber includes: G652D optical fiber, inner fiber grease, and loose tube. The G652D optical fiber array is disposed inside the loose tube, and the inner fiber grease fills the gap between the inside of the loose tube and the G652D optical fiber.

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