A fully connected reconfigurable optical router

Abstract

This application belongs to the field of on-chip optical communication, specifically disclosing a fully connected reconfigurable optical router. This application proposes four tunable microring units with different adjustable optical paths. A first joint structure consisting of a first tunable microring unit – a fourth tunable microring unit – a third tunable microring unit – a second tunable microring unit located in the first row, and a second joint structure consisting of a fourth tunable microring unit – a second tunable microring unit – a first tunable microring unit – a third tunable microring unit located in the second row, are combined using a shared waveguide structure and a reconfigurable microring array design. This allows each port to function as either an input or output in different configurations, with the port role dynamically determined by the microring state. This achieves full port connectivity, overcoming the routing limitations of existing fixed input / output ports. This full connectivity mechanism significantly improves port flexibility, giving the system greater freedom in path arrangement, scheduling, and topology expansion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of on-chip optical communication, and more specifically, relates to a fully connected reconfigurable optical router. Background Technology

[0002] Microring resonators are widely used in on-chip spectral reconstruction, wavelength-selective routing, and reconfigurable optical switching networks due to their small size, controllable resonant modes, and suitability for large-scale arraying. However, most existing tunable microrings rely on thermal tuning, adjusting the resonant wavelength by integrating heating electrodes to change the refractive index of the silicon-based waveguide. While this structure is mature and easy to control, it requires continuous heating to maintain the set state, leading to a rapid increase in static power consumption as the array size increases. It also introduces significant thermal crosstalk, limiting the system's stability and scalability. Furthermore, thermally tuned devices often require complex thermal isolation and temperature compensation structures, further increasing chip area and calibration complexity.

[0003] To address the aforementioned issues, patent CN2014107747006 proposes a four-port non-blocking optical router based on microring resonators. This router achieves directional transmission between ports by controlling the add / drop of specific wavelength optical signals through multiple microring resonators. However, this type of solution essentially only supports routing and switching between four ports. The overall structure requires eight physical ports, where input and output ports are strictly separated during the design phase. Only four specific ports can be used as inputs, and four specific ports as outputs; port roles cannot be flexibly switched. This fixed port division of labor results in poor port multiplexing capabilities, making it difficult to achieve flexible interconnection between arbitrary ports. Overall resource utilization is low, and interconnection capabilities and system scalability are significantly limited, failing to meet the high flexibility and scalability requirements of complex on-chip optical interconnect networks. Furthermore, the number of routable ports is only four, and the number of ports needs further improvement. Patent CN201810210662X designs a low-insertion-loss five-port optical router, which achieves five-port optical routing and switching based on a fixed waveguide topology and a micro-ring resonator combination. While the physical number of ports is 10, only routing between 5 logical ports can be achieved. This scheme suffers from insufficient port utilization and poor port multiplexing capability; that is, only 5 specific ports can be used as input ports, and only 5 specific ports as output ports. Each input port can only connect to a specific output port, lacking unified full connectivity between ports. The interconnection mode depends on specific micro-ring state combinations, making it difficult to achieve flexible and symmetrical arbitrary port interconnection. Therefore, this scheme has significant limitations in port multiplexing capability, routing flexibility, and system scalability. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this application is to propose a fully connected reconfigurable optical router, which aims to solve the problems of non-interchangeable port roles and limited function reuse capabilities in existing on-chip optical routers.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a fully connected reconfigurable optical router, comprising: three horizontally parallel straight waveguides, eight vertically parallel straight waveguides, sixteen ring waveguides, and six input / output ports; a portion of each ring waveguide is deposited with phase change material GST. Each horizontal straight waveguide is connected to one input / output port at each of its two axial ends; A first and second straight waveguide in the horizontal direction, along with four vertically oriented straight waveguides and eight ring waveguides located between them, constitute a first combined structure of a first tunable microring unit, a fourth tunable microring unit, a third tunable microring unit, and a second tunable microring unit. Specifically, the input terminal of the first tunable microring unit serves as the first input / output port of the first combined structure; the add terminal of the first tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the first combined structure; the drop terminal of the second tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the first combined structure; and the through terminal of the second tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the first combined structure. The fourth input / output port is configured such that the through terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit, the drop terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the drop terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the through terminal of the third tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the third tunable microring unit, the input terminal of the third tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the second tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the third tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the second tunable microring unit. The second and third straight waveguides in the horizontal direction, along with four vertical straight waveguides and eight ring waveguides located between them, constitute a second combined structure of a fourth tunable microring unit, a second tunable microring unit, a first tunable microring unit, and a third tunable microring unit. Specifically, the input terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit serves as the first input / output port of the second combined structure, the drop terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the second combined structure, the input terminal of the third tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the second combined structure, and the drop terminal of the third tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the second combined structure. Four input / output ports: the through terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the second tunable microring unit; the add terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the second tunable microring unit; the drop terminal of the second tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the first tunable microring unit; the through terminal of the second tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the first tunable microring unit; the through terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the through terminal of the third tunable microring unit; and the drop terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the third tunable microring unit. The tunable microring unit achieves optical path control by coupling two ring waveguides and a straight waveguide with evanescent waves, allowing for arbitrary selection of the optical path for the input at one port and the output at any of the remaining three ports; the four types of tunable microring units have different controllable optical paths. The combined structure is used to achieve optical path control with 1-port and 3-port output.

[0006] Preferably, each tunable microring unit has two horizontal straight waveguides, one vertical straight waveguide, and two ring waveguides, which together form two add-drop microring resonators with identical optical structural parameters, and the GST states on the two ring waveguides remain consistent.

[0007] Preferably, within each tunable microring unit, the input terminal of the first Add-drop microring resonator serves as the input terminal of the tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the first Add-drop microring resonator serves as the through terminal of the tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the second Add-drop microring resonator serves as the add terminal of the tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the second Add-drop microring resonator serves as the drop terminal of the tunable microring unit. The drop terminal of the first add-drop microring resonator is connected to the input terminal of the second add-drop microring resonator. The add terminal of the first add-drop microring resonator is not connected in any way, and the through terminal of the second add-drop microring resonator is not connected in any way.

[0008] Preferably, the input and drop terminals of the first tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are distributed along the main diagonal and are anti-symmetrical.

[0009] Preferably, the add and through terminals of the second tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are distributed along the secondary diagonal and are anti-symmetrical.

[0010] Preferably, the through end and drop end of the third tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are symmetrically distributed about the horizontal axis.

[0011] Preferably, the input and add terminals of the fourth tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are symmetrically distributed about the horizontal axis.

[0012] Preferably, the phase change material GST deposition heights of the four annular waveguides located in the same horizontal row are the same.

[0013] Preferably, by applying laser irradiation to the GST in each tunable microring unit to generate a thermal effect and change its phase state, the ring waveguide can be made to resonate or not resonate with light of a specific wavelength, thereby ultimately achieving the selection of different optical paths.

[0014] Overall, the technical solutions conceived in this application have the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art: (1) Given that most existing on-chip optical routing structures employ fixed input and output topologies, with different port roles not interchangeable and limited functional reuse capabilities, this application proposes four tunable microring units with different adjustable optical paths. The first joint structure of the first tunable microring unit – the fourth tunable microring unit – the third tunable microring unit – the second tunable microring unit located in the first row, and the second joint structure of the fourth tunable microring unit – the second tunable microring unit – the first tunable microring unit – the third tunable microring unit located in the second row, through a shared waveguide structure and a reconfigurable microring array design, allows each port to function as either an input or output in different configurations. The port role is dynamically determined by the microring state. This achieves full port connectivity, overcoming the routing limitations of existing fixed input / output ports. This full connectivity mechanism significantly improves port flexibility, giving the system greater freedom in path arrangement, scheduling, and topology expansion.

[0015] (2) Traditional 6×6 routers typically require 12 physical ports (6 inputs + 6 outputs) to achieve the corresponding switching matrix. This application uses a combination of fully connected ports and reconfigurable nodes to enable all ports to be reused. Therefore, only 6 physical ports are needed to complete the 6×6 optical routing function, reducing the number of physical ports by 50%. The reduction in the number of ports not only reduces packaging complexity and fiber coupling loss, but also significantly reduces chip area and improves scalability, which helps to realize a more integrated on-chip optical network.

[0016] (3) This application uses non-volatile GST-type phase change materials to construct tunable microring units, and changes the microring resonance conditions by switching between crystalline and amorphous states. The material after phase change can maintain its state for a long time after the excitation is removed, without the need for continuous power supply to maintain the routing configuration. Compared with traditional thermally tunable microrings that require continuous heating to maintain the phase state, this application can significantly reduce static energy consumption and avoid operating point drift caused by thermal crosstalk, which is conducive to building a large-scale, long-term stable reconfigurable optical routing system. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a fully connected reconfigurable optical router provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the first combined structure provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the second combined structure provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0020] Figure 4 These are schematic diagrams of the structures of the four tunable microring units provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0021] Figure 5 These are the spectra of the through and drop ends of the four tunable microring units provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a routing path diagram between port 44 and port 45 of the fully connected optical router provided in this application embodiment.

[0023] Figure 7 This is the spectrum of the input port1 and the output ports of other ports provided in this embodiment.

[0024] Figure 8 This is the spectrum of the input port2 and the output ports of other ports provided in this embodiment.

[0025] Figure 9 These are the spectral diagrams of the input ports 3, 4, and 5 and the output ports provided in this embodiment.

[0026] Figure 10 This is a waveform diagram of the 30Gbit / s RZ signal input from port1 to port2 output provided in this embodiment.

[0027] Figure 11 This is a waveform diagram of signals at different rates from port1 to port2 provided in this embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0029] The embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, this application provides a fully connected reconfigurable optical router, including: three horizontally parallel straight waveguides 1-3, eight vertically parallel straight waveguides 4-11, sixteen ring waveguides 12-27, and six input / output ports 44-49; a portion of each ring waveguide is deposited with phase change material GST 28-43.

[0031] Each horizontal straight waveguide has one input / output port connected to each of its two axial ends.

[0032] The first and second straight waveguides in the horizontal direction, along with four vertically oriented straight waveguides and eight ring waveguides located between them, constitute a first combined structure of a first tunable microring unit, a fourth tunable microring unit, a third tunable microring unit, and a second tunable microring unit; the second and third straight waveguides in the horizontal direction, along with four vertically oriented straight waveguides and eight ring waveguides located between them, constitute a second combined structure of a fourth tunable microring unit, a second tunable microring unit, a first tunable microring unit, and a third tunable microring unit.

[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, the input terminal of the first tunable microring unit serves as the first input / output port of the first combined structure, the add terminal of the first tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the first combined structure, the drop terminal of the second tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the first combined structure, and the through terminal of the second tunable microring unit serves as the fourth input / output port of the first combined structure. The through terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit, the drop terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the drop terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the through terminal of the third tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the third tunable microring unit, the input terminal of the third tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the second tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the third tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the second tunable microring unit.

[0034] like Figure 3 As shown, the input terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit serves as the first input / output port of the second combined structure, the drop terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the second combined structure, the input terminal of the third tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the second combined structure, the drop terminal of the third tunable microring unit serves as the fourth input / output port of the second combined structure, the through terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the second tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the second tunable microring unit, the drop terminal of the second tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the first tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the second tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the first tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the through terminal of the third tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the third tunable microring unit.

[0035] The tunable microring unit achieves optical path control by coupling two ring waveguides and a straight waveguide with evanescent waves, allowing for input at one port and arbitrary selection of output at two of the remaining three ports; the four types of tunable microring units have different controllable optical paths.

[0036] The combined structure is used to achieve optical path control with 1-port and 3-port output.

[0037] Preferably, each tunable microring unit has two horizontal straight waveguides, one vertical straight waveguide, and two ring waveguides, which together form two add-drop microring resonators with identical optical structural parameters, and the GST states on the two ring waveguides remain consistent.

[0038] Preferably, within each tunable microring unit, the input terminal of the first Add-drop microring resonator serves as the input terminal of the tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the first Add-drop microring resonator serves as the through terminal of the tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the second Add-drop microring resonator serves as the add terminal of the tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the second Add-drop microring resonator serves as the drop terminal of the tunable microring unit. The drop terminal of the first add-drop microring resonator is connected to the input terminal of the second add-drop microring resonator. The add terminal of the first add-drop microring resonator is not connected in any way, and the through terminal of the second add-drop microring resonator is not connected in any way.

[0039] Preferably, such as Figure 4As shown in Figure a, the input and drop ends of the first tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are distributed along the main diagonal and are anti-symmetrical. The optical path control realized by the first tunable microring unit includes: directly transmitting light entering from the upper left direction to the upper right direction or coupling it to the lower right direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower right direction to the lower left direction or coupling it to the upper left direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower left direction to the lower right direction; or directly transmitting light entering from the upper right direction to the upper left direction. Taking the path of "light entering from the upper left direction being directly transmitted to the upper right direction or undergoing four evanescent wave couplings to the lower right direction for output" as an example, the following explanation is provided: When light propagates forward from the straight waveguide 1.1, if GST 1.6 and GST 1.7 are amorphous, the straight waveguide 1.1 will not resonate with the ring waveguide 1.4, and the light continues to propagate forward. However, if GST 1.6 and GST 1.7 are crystalline, when the light propagates forward from the straight waveguide 1.1 and encounters the ring waveguide 1.4, evanescent wave coupling will occur, allowing the light to enter the ring waveguide 1.4. Then, the ring waveguide 1.4 and the straight waveguide 1.3 undergo lateral evanescent wave coupling, allowing the light to enter the straight waveguide 1.3. The light in the straight waveguide 1.3 continues to propagate downward and encounters the ring waveguide 1.5, where evanescent wave coupling occurs again, allowing the light to enter the ring waveguide 1.5. Finally, the light from the ring waveguide 1.5 undergoes evanescent wave coupling to the straight waveguide 1.2, entering the straight waveguide 1.2.

[0040] Preferably, such as Figure 4As shown in Figure b, the add and through terminals of the second tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are distributed along the secondary diagonal and are anti-symmetrical. The optical path control achieved by the second tunable microring unit includes: directly transmitting light entering from the lower left direction to the lower right direction or coupling it to the upper right direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the upper right direction to the upper left direction or coupling it to the lower left direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the upper left direction to the upper right direction; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower right direction to the lower left direction. Taking the path of "light entering from the lower left direction being directly transmitted to the lower right direction or undergoing four evanescent wave couplings to the upper right direction for output" as an example, the following explanation is provided: When light propagates forward from the straight waveguide 2.2, if GST 2.6 and GST 2.7 are amorphous, the straight waveguide 2.2 will not resonate with the ring waveguide 2.4, and the light continues to propagate forward. However, if GST 2.6 and GST 2.7 are crystalline, when the light propagates forward from the straight waveguide 2.2, it encounters the ring waveguide 2.4 and undergoes evanescent wave coupling, entering the ring waveguide 2.4. Then, the ring waveguide 2.4 and the straight waveguide 2.3 undergo lateral evanescent wave coupling, and the light enters the straight waveguide 2.3. The light in the straight waveguide 2.3 continues to propagate upward and encounters the ring waveguide 2.5, then undergoes evanescent wave coupling, entering the ring waveguide 2.5. Finally, the light from the ring waveguide 2.5 undergoes evanescent wave coupling to the straight waveguide 2.1, entering the straight waveguide 2.1.

[0041] Preferably, such as Figure 4As shown in Figure c, the through and drop ends of the third tunable microring unit are distributed diagonally, and the first and second add-drop microring resonators are symmetrically distributed about the horizontal axis. The optical path control achieved by the third tunable microring unit includes: directly transmitting light entering from the upper right direction to the upper left direction or coupling it to the lower right direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower right direction to the lower left direction or coupling it to the upper right direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the upper left direction to the upper right direction; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower left direction to the lower right direction. Taking the path of "light entering from the upper right direction being directly transmitted to the upper left direction or coupled to the lower right direction via a fourth evanescent wave" as an example, the following explanation is given: When light propagates backward from the straight waveguide 3.1, if GST 3.6 and GST 3.7 are amorphous, the straight waveguide 3.1 will not resonate with the ring waveguide 3.4, and the light will continue to propagate backward. However, if GST 3.6 and GST 3.7 are amorphous, the straight waveguide 3.1 will not resonate with the ring waveguide 3.4, and the light will continue to propagate backward. When 3.7 is in a crystalline state, when light propagates backward from the straight waveguide 3.1, it encounters the ring waveguide 3.4 and undergoes evanescent wave coupling, entering the ring waveguide 3.4. Then, the ring waveguide 3.4 and the straight waveguide 3.3 undergo lateral evanescent wave coupling, and the light enters the straight waveguide 3.3. The light in the straight waveguide 3.3 continues to propagate downward and encounters the ring waveguide 3.5, where it undergoes evanescent wave coupling, entering the ring waveguide 3.5. Then, the light from the ring waveguide 3.5 to the straight waveguide 3.2 undergoes evanescent wave coupling, entering the straight waveguide 3.2.

[0042] Preferably, such as Figure 4As shown in Figure d, the input and add terminals of the fourth tunable microring unit are distributed diagonally, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are symmetrically distributed about the horizontal axis. The optical path control achieved by the fourth tunable microring unit includes: directly transmitting light entering from the upper left direction to the upper right direction or coupling it to the lower left direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower left direction to the lower right direction or coupling it to the upper left direction via a fourth evanescent wave; or directly transmitting light entering from the upper right direction to the upper left direction; or directly transmitting light entering from the lower right direction to the lower left direction. Taking the path of "light entering from the upper left direction being directly transmitted to the upper right direction or undergoing four evanescent wave couplings to the lower left direction for output" as an example, the following explanation is provided: When light propagates forward from the straight waveguide 4.1, if GST 4.6 and GST 4.7 are amorphous, the straight waveguide 4.1 will not resonate with the ring waveguide 4.4, and the light continues to propagate forward. However, if GST 4.6 and GST 4.7 are crystalline, when the light propagates forward from the straight waveguide 4.1 and encounters the ring waveguide 4.4, evanescent wave coupling will occur, allowing the light to enter the ring waveguide 4.4. Then, the ring waveguide 4.4 and the straight waveguide 4.3 undergo lateral evanescent wave coupling, allowing the light to enter the straight waveguide 4.3. The light in the straight waveguide 4.3 continues to propagate downward and encounters the ring waveguide 4.5, where evanescent wave coupling occurs again, allowing the light to enter the ring waveguide 4.5. Finally, the light from the ring waveguide 4.5 undergoes evanescent wave coupling to the straight waveguide 4.2, entering the straight waveguide 4.2.

[0043] The spectral responses of the through and download terminals of the first tunable microring unit, such as Figure 5 As shown in Figure a, by adjusting the state of the GST, the resonant peak can be shifted. The figure shows that if the carrier wavelength is 1550nm, when both GST segments in a basic unit are in the A state (amorphous), light will pass through the through end completely, and there will be no signal output at the drop end. When both GST segments in a basic unit are in the C state (crystalline), the situation is reversed; light will be output at the drop end, while there will be no signal output at the through end. Other tunable microring units operate on a similar principle; their corresponding GSTs in the A and C states correspond to... Figure 5 As shown in b, c, and d.

[0044] Preferably, the phase change material GST deposition heights of the four annular waveguides located in the same horizontal row are the same.

[0045] Preferably, by applying laser irradiation to the GST in each tunable microring unit to generate a thermal effect and change its phase state, the ring waveguide can be made to resonate or not resonate with light of a specific wavelength, thereby ultimately achieving the selection of different optical paths.

[0046] The fully connected reconfigurable optical router proposed in this application has different optical path modulation and corresponding GST states as shown in Table 1.

[0047] Table 1 Lookup table for optical routers

[0048] Next, we will take the case of a routing path of "port 44-port 45" as an example for a detailed explanation. Figure 6 As shown, by applying laser irradiation to GST 28, GST 29, GST 30, and GST 31, a thermal effect is generated to change their phase state, thereby altering the effective refractive index of the waveguides. This allows the ring waveguides 12, 13, 14, and 15 to resonate or deresonate with specific wavelengths of light, thus selecting the light path. When GST 28 and GST 29 are in an amorphous state, and GST 30 and GST 31 are in a crystalline state, light enters from port 44, propagates forward through straight waveguide 1, and when it encounters ring waveguide 12, it will not resonate because GST 28 is in an amorphous state and will continue to propagate forward. When it encounters ring waveguide 14, because GST 28 is in an amorphous state, the light will not resonate and will continue to propagate forward. GST 30 is in a crystalline state. Light undergoes evanescent wave coupling with the ring waveguide 14 via straight waveguide 1. Then, the ring waveguide 14 undergoes lateral evanescent wave coupling with the straight waveguide 5, entering the straight waveguide 5. At this point, the light propagates downwards along the straight waveguide 5, encountering the ring waveguide 15. Since GST 31 is crystalline, the light will undergo lateral evanescent wave coupling with the ring waveguide 15 via straight waveguide 5, entering the ring waveguide 15. Then, the ring waveguide 15 undergoes evanescent wave coupling with the straight waveguide 2, and the light will propagate towards the straight waveguide 2, heading towards port 45. The light propagates forward in the straight waveguide 2 and encounters the ring waveguide 13. GST 29 is amorphous, and the light will not resonate, continuing to propagate forward until it reaches port 45. The optical routing between other ports can be achieved by adjusting the GST phase state according to Table 1, realizing routing between any two ports.

[0049] Example Based on the designed router device, this embodiment performs routing simulations for single-wavelength signal light and loaded signal. The optical router designed in this embodiment has advantages in terms of static loss, port utilization efficiency, and the ability to achieve full connectivity, providing a reference value for the design of integrated silicon-based optical router devices.

[0050] 1. Routing simulation of single-wavelength signal light To verify the actual functionality of the optical routing, this embodiment first conducted a simulation experiment on single-wavelength routing. By switching the corresponding GST state, the selection of optical routes for different paths was achieved. The wavelengths simulated below are all 1549.84nm, with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.5nm and an input light power of 10dBm. The outer diameter of the ring waveguide is 10µm, the length of the phase change material GST deposited on the ring waveguide is 3µm, and the deposition thickness is 20nm. The spacing between the ring waveguide and the horizontal and vertical straight waveguides is set to 100nm. The straight waveguides all have a width of 450nm and a height of 220nm to ensure single-mode transmission at a working wavelength of 1550nm.

[0051] Figure 7 This demonstrates how, using port1 as the optical input port, optical routes were achieved from port1 to optical output ports 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively, through adjustments of the corresponding GSTs. The corresponding spectral diagrams are shown below. Figure 7 As shown in Figures a, b, c, d, and e, the optical signal power is characterized by high power output only at the target output port, while the optical power at other ports is very low.

[0052] When port2 is used as input, the output on other ports is as follows: Figure 8 As shown, since the connection from port 1 to port 2 has already been explained, and port 1 and port 2 are symmetrical, the results do not need to be repeated here. The connections from port 2 to port 3, port 2 to port 4, port 2 to port 5, and port 2 to port 6 correspond to... Figure 8 The results for ports a, b, c, and d, from port 2 to port 3, port 4, port 5, and port 6, show that the device exhibits ideal optical routing results, consistent with the performance shown when port 1 is used as input.

[0053] The results for port3, port4, and port5 as input are as follows: Figure 9 As shown, the results from port3 to port4, port3 to port5, and port3 to port6 ​​correspond to... Figure 9 Given a, b, and c, and then port4 as input, the results from port4 to port5 and port4 to port6 ​​correspond to... Figure 9 In the middle, d, e, and finally the correspondence between port5 and port6. Figure 9As can be seen from the results, the designed optical router device can achieve optical path routing, and the corresponding effect shows excellent performance.

[0054] 2. Routing simulation of single-wavelength signal optical loading signal Optical routers are designed for data interconnection. In the context of high-speed interconnection, it is necessary to verify the simulation results of the device under loaded signals. In this embodiment, an RZ binary signal with a carrier wavelength of 1549.84 nm and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.5 nm is loaded into the optical router as input to port 1. The effect of a 30 Gbit / s RZ signal on port 2 is tested, and the corresponding experimental results are shown in the figure below. Figure 10 As shown, the results indicate that the optical routing signal performance of the device meets the requirements, and the crosstalk between ports is very small. Due to the response time at the pass-through end, there will be some light leakage at the pass-through end (indicated in green). However, compared with the light intensity of the target signal (indicated in red), the light leakage signal is at a relatively low level.

[0055] The signal transmission rate of an optical router directly affects the performance of the device. To study the routing speed of optical router devices, RZ input signals with signal rates of 10Gbit / s, 20Gbit / s, 30Gbit / s, 40Gbit / s, and 50Gbit / s were set. The corresponding experimental results are shown in the figure below. Figure 11 As shown in the figure, by detecting the signals of the target output port 2 and the pass-through port 4, it can be seen that the light intensity of the target output port 2 is basically stable at 0.5au, while the light leakage intensity of the pass-through port 4 is around 0.1au, indicating that it performs well in routing at different speeds.

[0056] 3. The device allows for reconfigurable optical routing along any path. By adjusting the GST state of the corresponding unit of the device, arbitrary path selection can be achieved. As can be seen from the previous device design, when any end is selected as the input end, signal routing between any ports can be achieved by adjusting the phase state of GST. Based on this, it is proved that the fully connected router device has high flexibility in all-optical network switching.

[0057] The number of ports, static power consumption, and waveguide crossovers of a router device affect the overall performance of the device in terms of both device performance and fabrication process. In terms of port utilization efficiency, higher utilization efficiency will reduce the overall complexity of the device, the non-volatility of static operation will reduce the power consumption of the device, and the fewer the number of waveguide crossovers in the fabrication, the lower the device loss.

[0058] This application proposes and verifies, through simulation, a fully connected optical router device based on a reconfigurable microring array using GST phase-change material. This device utilizes a non-volatile phase-change material as the core for its controllability, achieving low static power consumption and constructing an on-chip optical router device with high programmability, low power consumption, and high port multiplexing capability. The proposed routing system employs 6 physical ports and a compact reconfigurable microring node network, realizing a complete 6×6 channel mapping function. Compared to the traditional fixed input / output structure requiring 12 physical ports, this application reduces port usage by 50%, significantly improving port utilization efficiency and chip integration. Furthermore, through a bidirectional adjustable channel design, this application enables each port to function as both input and output, achieving a semi-dual routing function, overcoming the limitation of existing on-chip optical router structures that can only transmit in the fixed input / output port direction. This architecture allows the system to exhibit greater flexibility in routing configuration, resource scheduling, and area utilization.

[0059] Simulation results demonstrate that the reconfigurable optical routing device of this application achieves reliable signal routing within a compact chip area, and demonstrates reliable routing results in RZ signal routing at a signal rate of 50 Gbit / s. These performance characteristics are valuable for applications in large-scale on-chip optical networks and optical interconnect switching. Furthermore, the material system and process flow of this optical routing device are compatible with standard CMOS platforms, allowing it to be integrated with silicon-based waveguides, photodetectors, and other on-chip photonic devices onto the same chip, providing a feasible path for constructing large-scale, low-power, reconfigurable on-chip optical networks. Based on these advantages, the routing structure of this application has broad application prospects in future data center optical interconnects, reconfigurable optical computing platforms, and high-density optical communication systems.

[0060] In this application, the terms "first" and "second," etc., are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order of objects. For example, "first response message" and "second response message," etc., are used to distinguish different response messages, not to describe a specific order of response messages.

[0061] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of the terms "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0062] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more, for example, multiple processing units means two or more processing units, multiple elements means two or more elements, etc.

[0063] It should be understood that expressions such as “comprising” and “may include” used in this application indicate the existence of the disclosed functions, operations, or constituent elements, and do not limit one or more additional functions, operations, and constituent elements. In this application, terms such as “comprising” and / or “having” are to be interpreted as indicating a particular characteristic, number, operation, constituent element, component, or combination thereof, but not to exclude the existence or possibility of adding one or more other characteristics, numbers, operations, constituent elements, components, or combinations thereof.

[0064] Furthermore, in this application, the expression "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the associated listed words. For example, the expression "A and / or B" may include A, may include B, or may include both A and B.

[0065] In the description of the embodiments of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a detachable connection or a non-detachable connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. "Fixed connection" refers to a connection where the relative positional relationship remains unchanged after connection. "Rotary connection" refers to a connection where the components can rotate relative to each other after connection. "Sliding connection" refers to a connection where the components can slide relative to each other after connection. The directional terms mentioned in the embodiments of this application, such as "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "left," and "right," are only for reference to the directions in the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are for better and clearer explanation and understanding of the embodiments of this application, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the embodiments of this application.

[0066] Furthermore, the mathematical concepts mentioned in the embodiments of this application, such as symmetry, equality, parallelism, and perpendicularity, are limitations specific to the current technological level, rather than absolute and strict mathematical definitions. Slight deviations are permissible; approximations of symmetry, equality, parallelism, and perpendicularity are all acceptable. For example, "A and B are parallel" means that A and B are parallel or approximately parallel, and the angle between A and B can be between 0 and 10 degrees. "A and B are perpendicular" means that A and B are perpendicular or approximately perpendicular, and the angle between A and B can be between 80 and 100 degrees.

[0067] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A fully connected reconfigurable optical router, characterized in that, include: It has 3 horizontally parallel straight waveguides, 8 vertically parallel straight waveguides, 16 ring waveguides, and 6 input / output ports; a portion of each ring waveguide is deposited with phase change material GST. Each horizontal straight waveguide is connected to one input / output port at each of its two axial ends; A first and second straight waveguide in the horizontal direction, along with four vertically oriented straight waveguides and eight ring waveguides located between them, constitute a first combined structure of a first tunable microring unit, a fourth tunable microring unit, a third tunable microring unit, and a second tunable microring unit. Specifically, the input terminal of the first tunable microring unit serves as the first input / output port of the first combined structure; the add terminal of the first tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the first combined structure; the drop terminal of the second tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the first combined structure; and the through terminal of the second tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the first combined structure. The fourth input / output port is configured such that the through terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit, the drop terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the drop terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the through terminal of the third tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the third tunable microring unit, the input terminal of the third tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the second tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the third tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the second tunable microring unit. The second and third straight waveguides in the horizontal direction, along with four vertical straight waveguides and eight ring waveguides located between them, constitute a second combined structure of a fourth tunable microring unit, a second tunable microring unit, a first tunable microring unit, and a third tunable microring unit. Specifically, the input terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit serves as the first input / output port of the second combined structure, the drop terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the second combined structure, the input terminal of the third tunable microring unit serves as the third input / output port of the second combined structure, and the drop terminal of the third tunable microring unit serves as the second input / output port of the second combined structure. Four input / output ports: the through terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the second tunable microring unit; the add terminal of the fourth tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the second tunable microring unit; the drop terminal of the second tunable microring unit is connected to the input terminal of the first tunable microring unit; the through terminal of the second tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the first tunable microring unit; the through terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the through terminal of the third tunable microring unit; and the drop terminal of the first tunable microring unit is connected to the add terminal of the third tunable microring unit. The tunable microring unit achieves optical path control by coupling two ring waveguides and a straight waveguide with evanescent waves, allowing for arbitrary selection of the optical path for the input at one port and the output at any of the remaining three ports; the four types of tunable microring units have different controllable optical paths. The combined structure is used to achieve optical path control with 1-port and 3-port output.

2. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each tunable microring unit contains two horizontal straight waveguides, one vertical straight waveguide, and two ring waveguides, forming two add-drop microring resonators with identical optical structural parameters. The GST states on the two ring waveguides remain consistent.

3. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Within each tunable microring unit, the input terminal of the first Add-drop microring resonator serves as the input terminal of the tunable microring unit, the through terminal of the first Add-drop microring resonator serves as the through terminal of the tunable microring unit, the add terminal of the second Add-drop microring resonator serves as the add terminal of the tunable microring unit, and the drop terminal of the second Add-drop microring resonator serves as the drop terminal of the tunable microring unit. The drop terminal of the first add-drop microring resonator is connected to the input terminal of the second add-drop microring resonator. The add terminal of the first add-drop microring resonator is not connected in any way, and the through terminal of the second add-drop microring resonator is not connected in any way.

4. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The input and drop terminals of the first tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are distributed along the main diagonal and are anti-symmetrical.

5. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The add and through terminals of the second tunable microring unit are distributed along the main diagonal, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are distributed along the secondary diagonal and are anti-symmetrical.

6. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The through and drop ends of the third tunable microring unit are arranged diagonally, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are symmetrically distributed about the horizontal axis.

7. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The input and add terminals of the fourth tunable microring unit are distributed diagonally, and the first add-drop microring resonator and the second add-drop microring resonator are symmetrically distributed about the horizontal axis.

8. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The phase change material GST deposition heights of the four ring waveguides located in the same horizontal row are identical.

9. The fully connected reconfigurable optical router as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, By applying laser irradiation to the GST in each tunable microring unit to generate a thermal effect and change its phase state, the ring waveguide can be made to resonate or not resonate with light of a specific wavelength, thus ultimately achieving the selection of different optical paths.

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