Small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier
By adopting a combination solution of spatial polarization beam splitter and polarization-related chip in polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, the problems of large size, high manufacturing difficulty and high cost in the prior art are solved, and a miniaturized and low-cost optical amplifier design is realized.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421965531.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-14
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-08-14
AI Technical Summary
The existing polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifiers are large in size, difficult to manufacture, high cost, and difficult to be commercially produced.
A spatial polarization beam splitter is used to split the polarization-independent signals, and then beam-combining them after optical amplification is performed. A polarization-related chip is used, and an input and output structure is adopted to reduce space occupation.
A miniaturized polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier is achieved, reducing manufacturing difficulty and cost, and supporting dynamic modulation power.
Smart Images
Figure CN222927935U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor optical amplifiers, in particular to a small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier. Background Art
[0002] Polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifiers are very useful for amplifying optical signals in optical communication systems. In general, since optical signals lose their polarization information during transmission through optical fibers, a polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier that can amplify optical signals without being affected by polarization is needed. Moreover, optical components such as wavelength converters and optical switch elements that are essential for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems are manufactured using a polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier. Therefore, a polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier is needed.
[0003] The existing polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier adopts a symmetrical direct input collimator and a direct output collimator structure, which is relatively large in size. In addition, the chip used in the existing solution is a polarization-independent chip, which is difficult to manufacture, high in cost, and not easy to commercialize. Summary of the invention
[0004] The utility model proposes a small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, which uses a spatial polarization beam splitter to split polarization-independent signals, amplifies them separately and then combines them for output. The scheme adopts same-side input and output, which can effectively reduce space. In the optical amplification scheme, a chip that can use technology related to optical polarization is used, which has low manufacturing difficulty and low cost.
[0005] The utility model adopts the following technical solutions.
[0006] A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, wherein the optical input end of the optical amplifier comprises a first combined optical path including a PBS polarization beam splitter and a half-wave plate, and the optical output end comprises a second combined optical path including a PBS polarization beam combiner and a half-wave plate;
[0007] The first combined optical path performs polarization splitting on the incident polarization-independent signal light, and after optical amplification processing on the split signal light, sends it to the second combined optical path to combine the two amplified polarization-dependent light beams and output them;
[0008] The optical input end of the first combined optical path is provided with an incident light signal power monitoring module, and the optical output end of the second combined optical path is provided with an optical signal amplification power monitoring module; the incident light signal power monitoring module and the optical signal amplification power monitoring module both include a beam splitter and a photodetector PD.
[0009] The first combined optical path comprises an input collimator (1), a first beam splitter (2), and a PBS polarization beam splitter (4) which are sequentially arranged on the optical signal input path;
[0010] The second combined optical path includes a PBS polarization beam combiner (14), a second beam splitting plate (16), and an output collimator (18) sequentially arranged on the optical signal output path.
[0011] The polarization-independent optical signal input by the input collimator is decomposed into a first horizontally polarized P light and a first vertically polarized S light after reaching the PBS polarization beam splitter; the first horizontally polarized P light passes through the PBS polarization beam splitter and the first aspherical lens (6) and then enters the first chip (7) for amplification.
[0012] The first vertically polarized S light is reflected by the PBS polarization beam splitter to the first half-wave plate (5) and then rotated by 90 degrees to form a second horizontally polarized P light, which is then reflected by the second beam splitter (10) and transmitted through the second aspherical lens (11) and enters the second chip (12) for amplification.
[0013] The first horizontally polarized P light amplified by the first chip passes through the third aspherical lens (8) and is reflected by the first mirror (9) and then reaches the second half-wave plate (15), where it is rotated by 90 degrees and converted into a second vertically polarized S light and sent to the PBS polarization beam combiner.
[0014] The second horizontally polarized P light amplified by the second chip passes through the fourth aspherical lens (13) and is then sent to the PBS polarization beam combiner.
[0015] The PBS polarization beam combiner combines the input second vertically polarized S light and the second horizontally polarized P light to form an amplified polarization-independent optical signal.
[0016] The incident optical signal power monitoring module at the optical input end of the first combined optical path is the first photodetector PD (3) located in the transmission direction of the first beam splitting plate.
[0017] The reflection amount of the first beam splitting plate for the polarization-independent optical signal is much larger than the transmission amount.
[0018] The polarization-independent optical signal input into the first combined optical path through the collimator, after reaching the first beam splitting plate, the main body of the optical signal is reflected by the first beam splitting plate and sent to the PBS polarization beam splitter, and a small amount is transmitted through the first beam splitting plate and enters the first photodetector PD as the input monitoring sampling optical signal.
[0019] The optical signal amplification power monitoring module at the optical output end of the second combined optical path is the second photodetector PD (17) located in the transmission direction of the second beam splitting plate.
[0020] The reflection amount of the second beam splitting plate for the polarization-independent optical signal is greater than the transmission amount.
[0021] After the amplified polarization-independent optical signal reaches the second beam splitter, the main body of the optical signal is reflected by the second beam splitter to the output collimator, and a small amount is transmitted through the second beam splitter and enters the second photodetector PD as the amplified monitoring sampling optical signal.
[0022] The first beam splitter, the first photodetector PD, the PBS polarization beam splitter, the first half-wave plate, the first aspheric lens, the first chip, the second aspheric lens, the first mirror, the second mirror, the third aspheric lens, the second chip, the fourth aspheric lens, the PBS polarization beam combiner, the second half-wave plate, the second beam splitter, and the second photodetector PD are all arranged on the semiconductor cooler TEC (19).
[0023] The input collimator and the output collimator are arranged on the same side of the housing of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier.
[0024] The reflection amount of the second beam splitter for the polarization-independent optical signal is 99%, and the transmission amount is 1%.
[0025] The input collimator is arranged at the lower left of the housing of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, and the output collimator is arranged at the lower right of the housing of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier.
[0026] The product of the present utility model can be designed to have a smaller volume, and the product adopts a structure with the input collimator and the output collimator on the same side, which can create space on the left and right sides of the product.
[0027] The amplification chip used in the present utility model is polarization-dependent. The manufacturing process of this type of chip is mature, the manufacturing difficulty is low, and the cost is low.
[0028] The technical advantages of the present utility model are as follows:
[0029] 1. This application adopts a combination of a free-space polarization beam splitter (combiner) PBS and a half-wave plate to perform polarization beam splitting on the incident polarization-independent signal light and perform optical amplification separately; the second PBS plus half-wave plate combination combines the two amplified polarization-dependent light beams, so a chip that can process polarized light can be used to amplify the optical signal.
[0030] 2. This application is provided with beam splitters and PDs at both the input and output ends to monitor the power of the incident optical signal and the power of the amplified optical signal respectively. This setting can support dynamic modulation of power.
[0031] 3. This application adopts an input collimator at the lower left of the housing and an output collimator at the lower right of the housing, with a smaller volume. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] The following further describes the present utility model in detail in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments:
[0033] Appendix Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the present utility model. Detailed implementation manners
[0034] As shown in the figure, a small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, the optical input end of the optical amplifier includes a first combined optical path containing a PBS polarization beam splitter and a half-wave plate, and the optical output end includes a second combined optical path containing a PBS polarization beam combiner and a half-wave plate;
[0035] The first combined optical path performs polarization beam splitting on the incident polarization-independent signal light, and after separately performing optical amplification processing on the split signal light, it is sent to the second combined optical path to combine the two amplified polarization-related lights and then output;
[0036] An incident optical signal power monitoring module is provided at the optical input end of the first combined optical path, and an optical signal amplified power monitoring module is provided at the optical output end of the second combination; both the incident optical signal power monitoring module and the optical signal amplified power monitoring module include a beam splitter and a photodetector PD.
[0037] The first combined optical path includes an input collimator 1, a first beam splitter 2, and a PBS polarization beam splitter 4 sequentially arranged on the optical signal input path;
[0038] The second combined optical path includes a PBS polarization beam combiner 14, a second beam splitter 16, and an output collimator 18 sequentially arranged on the optical signal output path.
[0039] The polarization-independent optical signal input by the input collimator is decomposed into a first horizontally polarized P light and a first vertically polarized S light after reaching the PBS polarization beam splitter; the first horizontally polarized P light passes through the PBS polarization beam splitter and the first aspherical lens 6 and then enters the first chip 7 for amplification;
[0040] The first vertically polarized S light is reflected by the PBS polarization beam splitter to the first half-wave plate 5 and is rotated 90 degrees to form a second horizontally polarized P light, and then is reflected by the second beam splitter 10 and transmitted through the second aspherical lens 11 and enters the second chip 12 for amplification.
[0041] The first horizontally polarized P light amplified by the first chip passes through the third aspherical lens 8 and is reflected by the first mirror 9 and then reaches the second half-wave plate 15, is rotated 90 degrees and then converted into a second vertically polarized S light and sent to the PBS polarization beam combiner;
[0042] The second horizontally polarized P light amplified by the second chip passes through the fourth aspherical lens 13 and is then sent to the PBS polarization beam combiner;
[0043] The PBS polarization beam combiner combines the input second vertically polarized S light and the second horizontally polarized P light to form an amplified polarization-independent optical signal.
[0044] The incident optical signal power monitoring module at the optical input end of the first combined optical path is the first photodetector PD3 located in the transmission direction of the first beam splitter;
[0045] The reflection amount of the first beam splitter for polarization-independent optical signals is much greater than the transmission amount;
[0046] The polarization-independent optical signal input into the first combined optical path through the collimator, after reaching the first beam splitter, the main body of the optical signal is reflected by the first beam splitter and sent to the PBS polarization beam splitter, and a small amount is transmitted through the first beam splitter and enters the first photodetector PD as the input monitoring sampling optical signal.
[0047] The optical signal amplification power monitoring module at the optical output end of the second combined optical path is the second photodetector PD17 located in the transmission direction of the second beam splitter;
[0048] The reflection amount of the second beam splitter for polarization-independent optical signals is greater than the transmission amount;
[0049] After the amplified polarization-independent optical signal reaches the second beam splitter, the main body of the optical signal is reflected by the second beam splitter to the output collimator, and a small amount is transmitted through the second beam splitter and enters the second photodetector PD as the amplified monitoring sampling optical signal.
[0050] The first beam splitter, the first photodetector PD, the PBS polarization beam splitter, the first half-wave plate, the first aspheric lens, the first chip, the second aspheric lens, the first mirror, the second mirror, the third aspheric lens, the second chip, the fourth aspheric lens, the PBS polarization combiner, the second half-wave plate, the second beam splitter, and the second photodetector PD are all arranged on the semiconductor cooler TEC19.
[0051] The input collimator and the output collimator are arranged on the same side of the housing of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier.
[0052] The reflection amount of the second beam splitter for polarization-independent optical signals is 99%, and the transmission amount is 1%;
[0053] The input collimator is arranged at the lower left of the housing of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, and the output collimator is arranged at the lower right of the housing of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier.
[0054] In this example, both the first chip and the second chip are chips capable of amplifying polarized light.
[0055] Example 1:
[0056] Such as Figure 1As shown in the figure, a polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier has a structure including: an input collimator 1, a first beam splitter 2, a first PD 3, a first PBS 4, a first half-wave plate 5, an aspherical lens 6, a chip 7, an aspherical lens 8, a first mirror 9, a second mirror 10, an aspherical lens 11, a chip 12, an aspherical lens 13, a second PBS 14, a second half-wave plate 15, a second beam splitter 16, a second PD 17, a TEC 19, a housing 20, and an output collimator 18.
[0057] The first beam splitter 2, the first PD 3, the first PBS 4, the first half-wave plate 5, the aspherical lens 6, the chip 7, the aspherical lens 8, the first mirror 9, the second mirror 10, the aspherical lens 11, the chip 12, the aspherical lens 13, the second PBS 14, the second half-wave plate 15, the second beam splitter 16, and the second PD 17 are arranged on the TEC 19; the TEC 19, the input collimator 1, and the output collimator 18 are arranged on the housing 20.
[0058] The polarization-independent optical signal is input into the input collimator, and then the input collimator transmits the light to the first beam splitter 2. The first beam splitter 2 reflects most of the signal light and transmits a small part of the signal light. The transmitted signal light enters the first PD 3, and the light reflected by the first beam splitter 2 enters the first PBS 4. The first PBS 4 decomposes the polarization-independent optical signal into two polarized lights, a horizontally polarized P light and a vertically polarized S light. The horizontally polarized P light transmits through the first PBS 4, and then the horizontally polarized P light passes through the aspherical lens 6 and enters the chip 7 for amplification. Then the amplified horizontally polarized P light passes through the aspherical lens 8 and is transmitted to the first mirror 9. The first mirror 9 reflects the horizontally polarized P light to the second half-wave plate 15, and the horizontally polarized P light rotates 90 degrees after passing through the second half-wave plate 15 and becomes a vertically polarized S light.
[0059] The vertically polarized S light decomposed by the first PBS 4 is reflected by the PBS and transmitted to the first half-wave plate 5. The first half-wave plate 5 rotates the vertically polarized S light 90 degrees and becomes a horizontally polarized P light. This path of horizontally polarized P light is transmitted to the second mirror 10, and the second mirror 10 changes the transmission mode of the horizontally polarized P light and reflects it to the aspherical lens 11 and enters the chip 12. Under the action of the chip 12, the horizontally polarized P light is amplified. The amplified horizontally polarized P light passes through the aspherical lens 13 and finally is transmitted into the second PBS 14. The second PBS 14 combines the two polarized lights P and S into a polarization-independent signal. The polarization-independent signal is transmitted into the beam splitter 16, and the beam splitter 16 transmits 1% of the light into the PD 17 and reflects 99% of the light into the output collimator 18.
[0060] Embodiment 2:
[0061] Optical amplification method for a small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier. The method uses a PBS polarization beam splitter and a half-wave plate to perform polarization beam splitting on the incident polarization-independent signal light, and separately amplifies the split signal light; then uses a PBS polarization combiner and a half-wave plate to combine the two amplified polarization-dependent lights to form the amplified signal light.
[0062] The method sets an incident optical signal power monitoring module at the optical input end and an optical signal amplification power monitoring module at the optical output end. The optical amplification method dynamically modulates the optical power of the amplified signal light according to the monitoring values of the incident optical signal power monitoring module and the optical signal amplification power monitoring module.
Claims
1. A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, characterized in that: The optical input end of the optical amplifier includes a first combined optical path including a PBS polarization beam splitter and a half-wave plate, and the optical output end includes a second combined optical path including a PBS polarization beam combiner and a half-wave plate; The first combined optical path performs polarization splitting on the incident polarization-independent signal light, and after optical amplification processing on the split signal light, sends it to the second combined optical path to combine the two amplified polarization-dependent light beams and output them; The optical input end of the first combined optical path is provided with an incident light signal power monitoring module, and the optical output end of the second combined optical path is provided with an optical signal amplification power monitoring module; the incident light signal power monitoring module and the optical signal amplification power monitoring module both include a beam splitter and a photodetector PD.
2. A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first combined optical path comprises an input collimator (1), a first beam splitter (2), and a PBS polarization beam splitter (4) which are sequentially arranged on the optical signal input path; The second combined optical path comprises a PBS polarization beam combiner (14), a second beam splitter (16), and an output collimator (18) which are sequentially arranged on the optical signal output path.
3. A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that: After the polarization-independent optical signal inputted by the input collimator reaches the PBS polarization beam splitter, it is decomposed into a first horizontal polarization P light and a first vertical polarization S light; the first horizontal polarization P light is transmitted through the PBS polarization beam splitter and the first aspheric lens (6) and then enters the first chip (7) for amplification; The first vertically polarized S light is reflected by the PBS polarization beam splitter to the first half-wave plate (5), where it is rotated 90 degrees to form the second horizontally polarized P light, which is then reflected by the second splitter mirror (10), transmitted by the second aspheric lens (11), and enters the second chip (12) to be amplified.
4. A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first horizontally polarized P light amplified by the first chip is transmitted through the third aspheric lens (8), reflected by the first reflector (9), and reaches the second half-wave plate (15), where it is rotated 90 degrees and converted into the second vertically polarized S light and sent to the PBS polarization beam combiner; The second horizontally polarized P light amplified by the second chip is transmitted through the fourth aspheric lens (13) and then sent into the PBS polarization beam combiner; The PBS polarization beam combiner combines the input second vertical polarization S light and the second horizontal polarization P light to form an amplified polarization-independent optical signal.
5. The small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that: The incident light signal power monitoring module at the optical input end of the first combined optical path is a first photodetector PD (3) located in the transmission direction of the first beam splitter; The reflection amount of the first beam splitter for the polarization-independent optical signal is much greater than the transmission amount; The polarization-independent optical signal input into the first combined optical path through the collimator reaches the first beam splitter. The main part of the optical signal is reflected by the first beam splitter and then sent to the PBS polarization beam splitter. A small amount of the optical signal is transmitted through the first beam splitter and then enters the first photodetector PD as an input monitoring sampling optical signal.
6. The small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 2, characterized in that: An optical signal amplification power monitoring module at the optical output end of the second combined optical path is a second photodetector PD (17) located in the transmission direction of the second beam splitter; The reflection amount of the second beam splitter for the polarization-independent optical signal is greater than the transmission amount; After the amplified polarization-independent optical signal reaches the second beam splitter, the main part of the optical signal is reflected by the second beam splitter to the output collimator, and a small amount of the optical signal is transmitted through the second beam splitter and enters the second photodetector PD as an amplified monitoring sampling optical signal.
7. A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first beam splitter, the first photodetector PD, the PBS polarization beam splitter, the first half-wave plate, the first aspheric lens, the first chip, the second aspheric lens, the first reflector, the second reflector, the third aspheric lens, the second chip, the fourth aspheric lens, the PBS polarization beam combiner, the second half-wave plate, the second beam splitter, and the second photodetector PD are all arranged on the semiconductor refrigerator TEC (19).
8. The small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 6, characterized in that: The input collimator and the output collimator are arranged on the same side of the shell of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier.
9. A small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier according to claim 8, characterized in that: The second beam splitter reflects 99% of the polarization-independent optical signal and transmits 1% of the signal. The input collimator is arranged at the lower left of the shell of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier, and the output collimator is arranged at the lower right of the shell of the small polarization-independent semiconductor optical amplifier.