Methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for communication

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices, apparatuses and media for communication. According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, a second number of a plurality of test electrical signals is determined based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, the second number being no less than the first number; a conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals is determined; in response to obtaining a plurality of observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on the wavelength channels having the first number, respective signal powers of the set of target optical signals received on the wavelength channels having the first number are determined based on the conversion relationship and the plurality of observations; and a status of the wavelength channels is determined based on the respective signal powers. In this way, fast monitoring of channel status in a wavelength division multiplexing system can be achieved, and can be implemented using a low-cost photonic integrated chip, while ensuring that accuracy of wavelength status estimation is not affected by chip process errors.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure relate to the field of communication technology, and more particularly to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for communication. Background Technology

[0002] Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is a technology that uses optical signals of different wavelengths to transmit multiple signals in the same optical fiber. Today, WDM technology is one of the fundamental technologies widely used in optical communication systems, improving the speed, capacity, and reliability of optical communication. In practical applications, optical communication systems typically include optical signal monitoring equipment to monitor the optical signal and ensure the quality of optical communication. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a method for communication is provided. The method includes: determining a second number of test electrical signals based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, the second number being not less than the first number; determining a conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals; in response to acquiring a plurality of observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels, determining a corresponding signal power of the set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels based on the conversion relationship and the plurality of observations; and determining a state of the wavelength channels based on the corresponding signal power.

[0004] In a second aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for communication is provided. The apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory including instructions stored therein, the at least one memory and the instructions being further configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to: determine a second number of test electrical signals based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, the second number being not less than the first number; determine a conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals; in response to acquiring a plurality of observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels, determine a corresponding signal power of the set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels based on the conversion relationship and the plurality of observations; and determine a state of the wavelength channels based on the corresponding signal power.

[0005] In a third aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for communication is provided. The apparatus includes components for determining a second number of test electrical signals based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, the second number being not less than the first number; determining a conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals; determining a corresponding signal power of the set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels based on the conversion relationship and the plurality of observations in response to acquiring a plurality of observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels; and determining a state of the wavelength channels based on the corresponding signal power.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program including instructions that, when executed by a processor on a device, cause the device to perform the method described in the first aspect.

[0007] It should be understood that the description in the Summary of the Invention is not intended to limit the key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to restrict the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are presented by way of example, and their advantages are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example communication environment for WDM channel monitoring is shown;

[0010] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a communication environment in which example embodiments described in this disclosure may be implemented is shown;

[0011] Figure 3 A structural block diagram of an optical channel monitoring module according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0012] Figure 4 Schematic diagrams of filter arrays and photon detector arrays according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown;

[0013] Figures 5A to 5C A schematic diagram showing the spectral response and the spectral range corresponding to the output port according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0014] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating channel loss state estimation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0015] Figure 7A schematic diagram showing optical signals with different numbers of channel loss according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0016] Figure 8 A flowchart of an example communication method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 9 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0018] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] In all the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The principles and spirit of this disclosure will now be described with reference to several exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these specific exemplary embodiments are described only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement this disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure in any way.

[0021] As used herein, the term "comprising" and similar expressions should be understood as open-ended inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "an embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc., may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0022] As used herein, the term "determine" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determine" can include calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, searching (e.g., looking in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertainment, etc. Furthermore, "determine" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), etc. Additionally, "determine" can include parsing, selecting, choosing, building, etc.

[0023] In this document, unless explicitly stated otherwise, performing a step in response to A does not mean that the step is performed immediately after A, but may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0024] As used herein, the term "circuit device" refers to one or more of the following: (a) a hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation of analog and / or digital circuits only); and (b) a combination of hardware circuits and software, such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware; and (ii) any part of a hardware processor with software (including digital signal processors, software, and memory that work together to enable devices such as optical communication devices or other computing devices to perform various functions); and (c) hardware circuits and / or processors, such as microprocessors or parts thereof, that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but may be without software when it is not required for operation.

[0025] The definition of "circuit device" applies to all uses of this term in this application (including any claim). As another example, the term "circuit device" as used herein also covers a hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion thereof, or an implementation thereof, of hardware circuitry or processor, or its accompanying software or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit device" also covers similar integrated circuits in baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits or other computing devices.

[0026] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as NR, LTE, LTE-A, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and so on. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, 5G, sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols and / or any other currently known or to be developed in the future. The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, including but not limited to terrestrial communication systems, non-terrestrial communication systems, or combinations thereof. Given the rapid development in the field of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can be used to implement this disclosure. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

[0027] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, network devices can refer to base stations (BS) or access points (APs), such as Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also known as gNB), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Head (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), relay, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes, low-power nodes such as femtoseconds and picoseconds, etc.

[0028] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a network device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), Universal Serial Bus (USB) dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. A terminal device may correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device" and "CPE" are used interchangeably. The terms "network device" and "gNB" are used interchangeably.

[0029] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to one or more of the following:

[0030] (a) Hardware-only implementations (such as implementations using only analog and / or digital circuits); and

[0031] (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable):

[0032] (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware, and

[0033] (ii) Any part of the hardware processor and its software (including digital signal processors, software, and memory that work together to enable other computing devices and other instruments to perform various functions); and

[0034] (c) Hardware circuitry and / or processors, such as microprocessors or a portion thereof, that require software (e.g. firmware) for operation, but may be without software when it is not required for operation.

[0035] The definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of this term in this application (including any claim). As another example, the term "circuit" as used herein also covers a hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion thereof, or an implementation thereof, of hardware circuitry or processor, or its accompanying software or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or a processor integrated circuit or similar integrated circuit in other computing devices.

[0036] As briefly mentioned above, WDM technology is one of the fundamental technologies widely used in optical communication systems, which can improve the speed, capacity, and reliability of optical communication. In practical applications, optical communication systems typically include optical signal monitoring equipment to monitor the optical signal and ensure the quality of optical communication.

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example communication environment for WDM channel monitoring is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the example communication environment 100 includes a tunable filter 110, a power meter 120, and a central processing unit (CPU) 130. The CPU 130 can read and analyze the data processed by the tunable filter 110 and the power meter 120. In addition, the CPU 130 can configure various parameters of the tunable filter 110.

[0038] During actual monitoring, the tunable filter 110 can receive the input signal 102. The input signal 102 has multiple optical signals of different or the same wavelength, and signal loss may occur in some channels. The tunable filter 110 can filter the signals of multiple wavelengths one by one to obtain the filtered optical signal 104.

[0039] Furthermore, the power meter 120 can measure the power of the filtered optical signal 104 and transmit the measurement result to the CPU 130. The CPU 130 can read and analyze the measurement result to determine whether there is signal loss on the channel. Subsequently, the CPU 130 can issue an early warning signal 106 to indicate that there is signal loss on the channel.

[0040] However, the aforementioned methods for monitoring wavelength channels are complex and time-consuming. In other scenarios, a spectrum analyzer can also be used for more accurate signal power measurements. However, spectrum analyzers are bulky, expensive, and have relatively limited applications. Furthermore, whether measuring signal power using a spectrum analyzer or a tunable filter 110, scanning the entire spectrum is required. This approach is inefficient for scenarios where only optical signal loss needs to be monitored, and cannot meet the requirements for rapid response.

[0041] Therefore, embodiments of this disclosure propose a communication scheme. In this scheme, a second number of test electrical signals are determined based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, the second number being not less than the first number; a conversion relationship is determined between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals; in response to acquiring a plurality of observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels, a corresponding signal power for the set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels is determined based on the conversion relationship and the plurality of observations; and the state of the wavelength channels is determined based on the corresponding signal power. In this manner, rapid monitoring of the channel state can be achieved, improving the efficiency of signal acquisition, and reducing implementation costs and miniaturization through photonic integrated chips.

[0042] The principles and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a communication environment 200 in which example embodiments described in this disclosure may be implemented is shown. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the communication environment 200 includes a reconfigurable add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) node 210 and an optical fiber 220. The ROADM node 210 is located on the optical fiber 220 and is used to receive the optical signal 202 to be monitored on the optical fiber 220. The ROADM node 210 can add or drop specific wavelengths at any location, while ensuring that optical signals of other wavelengths can pass through the node smoothly.

[0044] ROADM node 210 may include an optical channel monitoring (OCM) module 212. The OCM module 212 can analyze the optical signal 202 to be monitored to determine if there is signal loss in the wavelength channel of the optical signal 202. If there is signal loss in the wavelength channel of the optical signal 202, the OCM module 212 can output a signal loss warning 204.

[0045] Besides the ROADM node 210, such an OCM module 212 can be embedded in devices such as optical amplifiers. It should be understood that... Figure 2 The number of devices and their connections shown are merely illustrative and not limiting. Communication environment 200 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implement the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more other devices may be deployed in communication environment 200.

[0046] Figure 3 A structural block diagram of an OCM module 212 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some exemplary embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the OCM module 212 can generally include a spectrum sampler 310 and a digital signal processor 320. The spectrum sampler 310 can receive a WDM signal 300 having, for example, N wavelength channels to be monitored. The spectrum sampler 310 can simultaneously sample the optical signal power at, for example, M points on the WDM signal 300.

[0047] In some example embodiments, the spectrum sampler 310 may include a photonic integrated chip (PIC) 312. The PIC 312 can receive WDM signals 300 on M predetermined channels. Using the PIC 312 for sampling and estimation of optical signals helps to reduce the size of the communication equipment and achieve device lightweighting.

[0048] PIC 312 may include, for example, a filter array 3121 consisting of M filters and a photon detector array 3122 consisting of M photon detectors (PDs). The spacing between predetermined channels of each filter in filter array 3121 is less than or equal to the spacing between the N wavelength channels to be monitored of the WDM signal 300.

[0049] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a filter array 3121 and a photon detector array 3122 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some exemplary embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the filters in filter array 3121 can be cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) filters. The output of each MZI filter is connected to a corresponding photon detector in photon detector array 3122. By adjusting the length difference between the upper arm length 3121-1 and the lower arm length 3121-2 of each MZI filter, the free spectral range (FSR) of the filter can be made to meet the purpose of specific spectral selection.

[0050] Specifically, the WDM signal 300 can pass through a tree-like structure formed by cascading multiple MZI filters. Each branch's corresponding MZI filter can divide the spectrum into different spectral slices, thus reaching multiple output ports. Furthermore, the corresponding photon detector connected to each output port can generate a set of photocurrents related to the power of N wavelength signals based on the received optical signal.

[0051] Figures 5A to 5C A schematic diagram illustrating the spectral response of a PIC filter and the signal spectrum corresponding to its input port, according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, is shown. In some exemplary embodiments, such as Figure 5A As shown, when the number M of output ports 512 of filter array 3121 is equal to the number N of wavelengths of input signal spectrum 514, each input wavelength can correspond one-to-one with the spectral response of the output port. In the subsequent signal processing, the optical signal power of each input wavelength can be directly measured, and whether there is signal loss can be determined by judging whether the optical signal power is lower than a predetermined threshold.

[0052] In some example embodiments, based on the proportion of signal power at each input wavelength across the corresponding spectral range of all output ports, the conversion relationship 510 between the photocurrent values ​​measured at the M output ports and the optical power of the N input wavelength signals can be determined (e.g., both M and N are 16). Typically, the frequency responses corresponding to each output port of the filter array partially overlap, so the measurements of the photon detector array 3122 at the M output ports can completely contain the power information of the input spectrum 514, ensuring the integrity of optical signal monitoring.

[0053] However, due to unavoidable structural physical errors during the manufacturing process of the PIC 312, the FSR of the filter is typically not perfectly matched to the input wavelength channel. This results in uncontrollable differences in the loss and frequency response curves of each filter output port, making it impossible to directly and accurately obtain the optical power information corresponding to each of the N input wavelengths. Furthermore, in practical optical signal monitoring, it is desirable to use a low-cost PIC with fixed filters to measure the state of WDM systems with different wavelength intervals; that is, the number of wavelengths N to be measured and the number of PIC output ports M may not be exactly the same. The following will combine... Figure 5B and Figure 5C This section details the cases where M and N are different.

[0054] like Figure 5BAs shown, when the number M of the output ports 512 of the filter array 3121 is greater than the number N of the wavelengths contained in the input signal spectrum 514 (e.g., M equals 16, N equals 15), the PIC 312 can ensure that optical signals of N wavelengths can be sampled at more spectral sampling points.

[0055] To further improve the accuracy of signal monitoring, in some example embodiments, the PIC 312 can perform data calibration based on multiple test optical signals with predetermined signal states. The predetermined signal states indicate whether there is an optical signal on N wavelength channels. Specifically, the PIC 312 can determine M photocurrent observations generated at M output ports based on the test optical signals.

[0056] In some example embodiments, the predetermined signal state of the test optical signal can be represented by an N-dimensional vector. Let represent the i-th wavelength channel. An N-dimensional vector. An element with a value of 0 in the vector represents the absence of light signal on that wavelength channel. Conversely, an N-dimensional vector... An element with a value of 1 in a vector indicates that there is an optical signal in that wavelength channel. For example, the following N-dimensional vector has an i-th element value of 1, indicating that a predetermined signal state indicates that the i-th wavelength channel has an optical signal:

[0057]

[0058] In some example embodiments, the photocurrent observation value of the PIC 312 based on the test optical signal output can be represented by an M-dimensional vector y. i To represent. Furthermore, the PIC 312 can determine the predetermined signal state used to characterize the test optical signal using the following formula. and the observed value y based on the test light signal output i The system transition matrix H with M rows and N columns represents the transformation relationship between them.

[0059]

[0060] System transformation matrix H and Figure 5B The conversion relationship 520 between the M output ports and N spectral responses shown corresponds to each element h. ij The optical channel power of the j-th test optical signal contributes to the i-th observation. Since each input wavelength is only measured by the output port closest to its spectral position, the system transformation matrix H is sparse (non-zero values ​​exist only near the diagonal), and therefore can be determined by the Lasso optimization algorithm with an appropriately chosen α parameter.

[0061] After data calibration is complete, the PIC 312 can estimate the input state of the target optical signal with N wavelengths based on the system transfer matrix H obtained in the above process (e.g., using an N-dimensional vector). (To be represented). The following section will describe in detail the input states for the target optical signal. The estimation process.

[0062] Re-reference Figure 3 In some example embodiments, the spectrum sampler 310 may also include a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) 313 and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 314. The TIA 313 and ADC 314 can convert the photocurrent generated by the photon detector array 3122 based on the target optical signal into a digitally processable observation. The converted observation can be extracted and processed in real time by a subsequent digital signal processor 320 to determine whether the corresponding signal power of the target optical signal in multiple wavelength channels is below a predetermined threshold.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the observed values ​​corresponding to multiple photocurrents output from multiple target optical signals can be represented by an N-dimensional vector x. The predetermined signal state has already been determined during the aforementioned data calibration process. and the observed value y based on the test light signal output i The transformation relationship between them is the system transition matrix H. Since the data calibration and the actual PIC 312 used are consistent, it is not difficult to see the input state of the target optical signal. The system transition matrix H is also satisfied between the observed value x based on the target light signal output and the observed value x. When M is not less than N, optimization algorithms such as the least mean method can be used to obtain the result. The only optimal solution.

[0064] In some example embodiments, the input target optical signal is typically accompanied by only partial signal loss, i.e. Most of the elements in the array have a value of 1, and only a few have a value of 0. Therefore, it can be considered that... It also has special sparsity, which allows for the estimation of relatively accurate results even when M is less than N (H is an underdetermined system).

[0065] like Figure 5C As shown, when the number M of output ports 512 of filter array 3121 is less than the number N of wavelengths contained in the input signal spectrum 514 (e.g., M equals 16, N equals 20), a compressed sensing algorithm (e.g., Lasso algorithm) can be used for effective estimation. In this case, the system transformation matrix H corresponds to the transformation relationship 530 between the M output ports and the N spectral responses.

[0066] In some example implementations, intermediate variables may be introduced to use the Lasso algorithm. For unit vectors and The difference is expressed by the following formula:

[0067]

[0068] Introducing intermediate variables Can This is converted into a sparse vector with more 0s and fewer 1s for easier subsequent calculations. Furthermore, it can be calculated using the following formula. :

[0069]

[0070] Therefore, it can be seen that the other intermediate variable in the formula It can be obtained by solving for the system transformation matrix H, the unit vector, and the observed value x based on the target optical signal output. (Using...) and The input state of the target optical signal can be deduced by reverse engineering.

[0071] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of channel loss state estimation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In some example embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, the horizontal axis represents the wavelength channel number, and the vertical axis represents the estimated optical signal state on the corresponding wavelength channel. A continuous broken line 610 represents the input state of the target optical signal determined by the algorithm described above, and multiple scattered points 620 represent the optical signal power on the actually monitored wavelength channel. Multiple predetermined thresholds (e.g., a first predetermined threshold 601 and a second predetermined threshold 602) are used as reference values ​​to determine the level of optical signal power. Therefore, the algorithm used in the example embodiments of this disclosure can accurately predict the channel loss state of the input signal. Furthermore, the method in the example embodiments of this disclosure only determines whether the optical signal has a channel loss without specifically analyzing the detailed spectral state corresponding to each wavelength channel. Therefore, the estimation result can be obtained using only relatively simple matrix operations, saving system computation time and greatly reducing the cost of monitoring equipment.

[0072] Figure 7 Line graphs 701, 702, and 703 are shown corresponding to the presence of one, two, and three channel losses in the target optical signal. In some example embodiments, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the horizontal axis represents the difference between the spacing between the predetermined channels of each filter and the spacing between the N wavelength channels to be monitored in the WDM signal 300, and the vertical axis represents the estimated deviation rate of wavelength channel loss.

[0073] In some example embodiments, estimation errors can be categorized as false negatives and false positives. A false positive error indicates that there is a signal at a certain wavelength, but the OCM module 212 incorrectly issues a warning when the signal processing output at that wavelength is below a high threshold value. A false negative error indicates that there is actually a signal loss at a certain wavelength, but the OCM module 212 incorrectly identifies it as a signal.

[0074] Depend on Figure 7 As can be seen from the line graph, when the FSR offset is 0 or negative (i.e., M is not less than N), the OCM module 212 proposed according to the example embodiment of this disclosure can accurately estimate the channel state regardless of whether one, two, or three wavelength signals are lost. When the FSR offset increases (i.e., the filter spacing is greater than the WDM channel spacing), estimation errors will occur. In some embodiments, although the method of optimizing estimation using signal sparsity can be used for any relationship between N and M to improve the estimation results, in practical applications with high reliability requirements, M should be not less than N to ensure that false alarm messages are avoided.

[0075] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method 800 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Method 800 may be implemented, for example, in a communication environment 200, such as at an OCM module 212.

[0076] In block 810, a second number of test electrical signals are determined based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a plurality of wavelength channels having a first number, the second number being not less than the first number.

[0077] In box 820, the conversion relationship between multiple test optical signals and multiple test electrical signals is determined.

[0078] In block 830, in response to acquiring multiple observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, the corresponding signal power of the set of target optical signals received on the first number of wavelength channels is determined based on the conversion relationship and the multiple observations.

[0079] In box 840, the state of the wavelength channel is determined based on the corresponding signal power.

[0080] In some example embodiments, determining a second number of multiple test electrical signals includes:

[0081] Receive multiple test optical signals on a predetermined number of channels having a second number, wherein the spacing between the predetermined channels is no greater than the spacing between wavelength channels; convert the multiple test optical signals into multiple photocurrents; and convert the multiple photocurrents into multiple test electrical signals.

[0082] In some example embodiments, determining the second number of multiple test electrical signals further includes: using a photonic integrated chip to receive multiple test optical signals on a predetermined channel having a second number; and using a photonic integrated chip to convert the multiple test optical signals into multiple photocurrents.

[0083] In some example embodiments, determining the conversion relationship between a plurality of test optical signals and a plurality of test electrical signals includes: generating a plurality of test optical signals having a predetermined signal state, the predetermined signal state indicating at least whether there is an optical signal on a first number of wavelength channels; determining a second number of a plurality of test electrical signals based on the plurality of test optical signals; determining a plurality of test observations corresponding to the plurality of test electrical signals respectively; and determining the conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals based on the predetermined signal state and the plurality of test observations.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the predetermined signal state is a vector with a first number of dimensions, and the multiple test observations are vectors with a second number of dimensions.

[0085] In some example embodiments, determining the corresponding signal power of a set of target optical signals includes: determining a first intermediate variable based on a transformation relation, a unit vector, and multiple observations; determining a second intermediate variable based on the transformation relation and the first intermediate variable; and determining the corresponding signal power of a set of target optical signals based on the unit vector and the second intermediate variable.

[0086] In some example embodiments, determining the state of a wavelength channel based on the corresponding signal power includes: determining whether the corresponding signal power on the wavelength channel is lower than a predetermined threshold; and in response to determining that the first signal power on the first wavelength channel is lower than the predetermined threshold, determining the state of the first wavelength channel as a signal loss state.

[0087] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: generating a first warning signal in response to the state of the first wavelength channel being determined to be a signal loss state, the first warning signal indicating that the state of the first wavelength channel is a signal loss state.

[0088] In some example embodiments, a communication device (e.g., OCM module 212) may include components for performing corresponding steps of method 800. These components may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the components may be implemented as circuit devices or software modules.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the OCM module 212 may include components for receiving a plurality of test optical signals on a predetermined number of channels having a second number, wherein the spacing between the predetermined channels is no greater than the spacing between wavelength channels; components for converting the plurality of test optical signals into a plurality of photocurrents; and components for converting the plurality of photocurrents into a plurality of test electrical signals.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the OCM module 212 may include components for receiving multiple test optical signals on a predetermined number of channels using a photonic integrated chip; and components for converting the multiple test optical signals into multiple photocurrents using a photonic integrated chip.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the OCM module 212 may include components for generating a plurality of test optical signals having a predetermined signal state, the predetermined signal state indicating at least whether there is an optical signal on a first number of wavelength channels; components for determining a second number of a plurality of test electrical signals based on the plurality of test optical signals; components for determining a plurality of test observations corresponding to the plurality of test electrical signals respectively; and components for determining the conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals based on the predetermined signal state and the plurality of test observations.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the predetermined signal state is a vector with a first number of dimensions, and the multiple test observations are vectors with a second number of dimensions.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the OCM module 212 may include components for determining a first intermediate variable based on a transformation relation, a unit vector, and multiple observations; components for determining a second intermediate variable based on the transformation relation and the first intermediate variable; and components for determining the corresponding signal power of a set of target optical signals based on the unit vector and the second intermediate variable.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the OCM module 212 may include components for determining whether a corresponding signal power on a wavelength channel is lower than a predetermined threshold; and components for determining the state of the first wavelength channel as a signal loss state in response to determining that a first signal power on the first wavelength channel is lower than the predetermined threshold.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the OCM module 212 may include components for generating a first warning signal in response to the state of the first wavelength channel being determined to be a signal loss state, the first warning signal indicating that the state of the first wavelength channel is a signal loss state.

[0096] Figure 9 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. Device 900 can be used to implement an OCM module 212 in a communication environment 200. As shown, device 900 includes one or more processing units 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processing units 910, and a communication module 940 coupled to the processing units 910.

[0097] The communication module 940 is used for bidirectional communication. In some example embodiments, the communication module 940 may have at least one antenna to facilitate communication. In some example embodiments, the communication module 940 may have one or more communication interfaces. A communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0098] Processing unit 910 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include, but is not limited to, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal controller (DSP), and a controller-based multi-core controller architecture. Device 900 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-subject to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0099] Memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, optical disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power-off periods.

[0100] Computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by associated processing unit 910. Computer program 930 may be stored in ROM 924. Processing unit 910 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading computer program 930 into RAM 922.

[0101] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by means of computer program 930, enabling device 900 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 2 to 8 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the computer program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may include in device 900 (such as in memory 920) or other storage device accessible by device 900. The computer program 930 may be loaded from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 10 An example of a computer-readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. A computer program 930 is stored on the computer-readable medium 1000.

[0103] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or represented using some other illustration, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as, as in the non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0104] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be non-transitory. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, which execute in a device on a real or virtual processor of a target to perform the above-referenced... Figure 8 The method described in 800. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of program modules can be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for a program module can be executed locally or in a distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0105] Computer program code used to implement the methods of this disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. This computer program code may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code may be executed entirely on a computer, partially on a computer, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server.

[0106] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried on any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, and so on. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, sound, or other forms of propagation signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc.

[0107] A computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or relating to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of computer-readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0108] Furthermore, although the operation of the methods of this disclosure is described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in that specific order, or that all of the operations shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may be performed in a different order. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be broken down into multiple steps. It should also be noted that the features and functions of two or more devices according to this disclosure may be embodied in one device. Conversely, the features and functions of one device described above may be further divided and embodied by multiple devices.

[0109] While this disclosure has been described with reference to several specific embodiments, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed. This disclosure is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising: A second number of test electrical signals are determined based on a plurality of test optical signals received on a first number of wavelength channels, wherein the second number is not less than the first number; Determine the conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals; In response to acquiring multiple observations associated with a set of target optical signals received on a set of wavelength channels having the first number, a corresponding signal power for the set of target optical signals received on the set of wavelength channels having the first number is determined based on the conversion relationship and the multiple observations. as well as The state of the wavelength channel is determined based on the corresponding signal power.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the second number of plurality of test electrical signals comprises: The plurality of test optical signals are received on a predetermined number of channels having the second number, wherein the spacing between the predetermined channels is no greater than the spacing between the wavelength channels; The multiple test optical signals are converted into multiple photocurrents; as well as The plurality of photocurrents are converted into the plurality of test electrical signals.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the second number of plurality of test electrical signals further comprises: Using a photonic integrated chip, the plurality of test optical signals are received on a predetermined number of channels having the second number; as well as The photonic integrated chip is used to convert the multiple test optical signals into the multiple photocurrents.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals comprises: Generate the plurality of test optical signals having predetermined signal states, the predetermined signal states indicating at least whether there is an optical signal on the wavelength channels having the first number; The second number of multiple test electrical signals are determined based on the multiple test optical signals; Determine the multiple test observation values ​​corresponding to the multiple test electrical signals respectively; as well as The conversion relationship between the plurality of test optical signals and the plurality of test electrical signals is determined based on the predetermined signal state and the plurality of test observations.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined signal state is a vector having a first number of dimensions, and the plurality of test observations are vectors having a second number of dimensions.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the corresponding signal power of the set of target optical signals comprises; The first intermediate variable is determined based on the transformation relationship, the unit vector, and the multiple observations; The second intermediate variable is determined based on the transformation relationship and the first intermediate variable; as well as The corresponding signal power of the set of target optical signals is determined based on the unit vector and the second intermediate variable.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the state of the wavelength channel based on the corresponding signal power comprises: Determine whether the corresponding signal power on the wavelength channel is lower than a predetermined threshold; as well as In response to determining that the first signal power on the first wavelength channel is lower than the predetermined threshold, the state of the first wavelength channel is determined to be a signal loss state.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to the determination that the state of the first wavelength channel is a signal loss state, a first warning signal is generated, the first warning signal indicating that the state of the first wavelength channel is a signal loss state.

9. A device for communication, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to said at least one processor, said at least one memory including instructions stored therein, said at least one memory and said instructions being further configured, together with said at least one processor, to cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. An apparatus for communication, comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

11. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program including instructions that, when executed by a processor on a device, cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

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