Reflection type circulator of multiplexing crystal

Abstract

The utility model provides a reflective circulator for multiplexing crystals, which comprises a first multichannel circulator module, and the first multichannel circulator module comprises a first collimator array, a first light splitting crystal, a first half-wave plate group, a first optical rotation device, an offset crystal, a second optical rotation device and a first reflector which are sequentially arranged along a first direction; moreover, a second multi-channel circulator module is also arranged, and the second multi-channel circulator module comprises a second collimator array, a second light splitting crystal, a second half-wave plate group, a third optical rotation device, an offset crystal, a fourth optical rotation device and a second reflector which are sequentially arranged along a second direction. The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. According to the utility model, the volume of the reflective circulator can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of optical communication devices, in particular to a reflective circulator of a multiplexed crystal. Background Art

[0002] With the development of optical communication technology, optical devices are widely used in optical fiber communication systems. Among them, reflective circulators are common optical devices. Reflective circulators usually have multiple ports. A light beam enters the reflective circulator from one of the ports and can only be emitted from a specific port. Reflective circulators are usually equipped with multiple devices, such as optical rotation devices, offset crystals, reflective devices, etc., through which the light beam is reflected.

[0003] In most existing reflective circulators, multiple devices are arranged along one direction. For example, the collimator array, optical rotator, offset crystal, and reflector are all arranged in sequence along one direction. Since the reflective circulator uses more devices, the reflective circulator is large in size, which does not conform to the development trend of miniaturization of optical devices.

[0004] On the other hand, with the development of optical communication technology, the requirements for the rate of optical communication are getting higher and higher, and the number of ports of optical circulators is also increasing. In order to meet the needs of optical communication, it is necessary to continuously increase the number of ports of reflective circulators. However, since the volume of the device used in the reflective circulator cannot be made too small, and the number of ports that can be arranged in a reflective circulator is often limited, it is necessary to increase the number of reflective circulators arranged in the optical fiber communication system. However, this method will result in a large number of optical circulators being arranged in the optical fiber communication system, which will occupy a large volume and is not conducive to the miniaturization of the optical fiber communication system. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model aims to provide a reflective circulator of multiplexed crystals capable of reducing the volume.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the reflective circulator of the multiplexing crystal provided by the utility model comprises a first multi-channel circulator module, which comprises a first collimator array, a first spectroscopic crystal, a first half-wave plate group, a first optical rotator, an offset crystal, a second optical rotator and a first reflector arranged in sequence along a first direction; and a second multi-channel circulator module is also provided, which comprises a second collimator array, a second spectroscopic crystal, a second half-wave plate group, a third optical rotator, an offset crystal, a fourth optical rotator and a second reflector arranged in sequence along a second direction; the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

[0007] It can be seen from the above scheme that the reflective circulator of the multiplexing crystal of the utility model is equipped with two multi-channel circulator modules, and the two multi-channel circulator modules multiplex the offset crystal, that is, only one offset crystal is used to realize two multi-channel circulator modules arranged in different directions, and each multi-channel circulator module is provided with multiple ports. In this way, when realizing the same number of ports, the volume of the reflective circulator of the multiplexing crystal can be reduced to meet the miniaturization requirements of the optical fiber communication system.

[0008] A preferred solution is that the spacing between each collimator in the first collimator array is in a linear relationship with a positive correlation to the length of the offset crystal in the first direction; the spacing between each collimator in the second collimator array is in a linear relationship with a positive correlation to the length of the offset crystal in the second direction.

[0009] It can be seen that the length of the offset crystal in the corresponding light transmission direction is set according to the distance between each collimator in the two collimator arrays, so that the light beams emitted from each collimator can pass through the offset crystal smoothly and without interfering with each other, thereby ensuring the optical performance of the two multi-channel circulator modules.

[0010] A further solution is that, on the plane where the first direction intersects the second direction, the offset crystal is a rectangle or a square.

[0011] In this way, the length of the offset crystal can meet the working requirements of the two multi-channel circulator modules.

[0012] A further solution is that the collimators in the first collimator array are arranged in one dimension; and the collimators in the second collimator array are arranged in one dimension.

[0013] It can be seen that the multiple collimators in the two collimator arrays are arranged in one dimension, which can reduce the thickness of the reflective circulator and is conducive to the miniaturization of the reflective circulator.

[0014] A further solution is that the plane where the optical axis of the first beam splitter crystal is located is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the collimators of the first collimator array; the plane where the optical axis of the second beam splitter crystal is located is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the collimators of the second collimator array.

[0015] A further solution is that the number of collimators in the first collimator array is equal to or unequal to the number of collimators in the second collimator array.

[0016] In this way, the number of collimators of the two multi-channel circulator modules can be set according to actual needs, that is, the number of ports of the two multi-channel circulator modules can be flexibly set according to actual needs to meet the usage requirements in different usage scenarios.

[0017] A further solution is that the first optical rotation device is the first Faraday rotator; the third optical rotation device is the third Faraday rotator.

[0018] A further solution is that the second optical rotation device is the second Faraday rotator or the first quarter-wave plate; the fourth optical rotation device is the fourth Faraday rotator or the second quarter-wave plate.

[0019] A further solution is that the first half-wave plate group includes a first half-wave plate and a second half-wave plate. The first half-wave plate and the second half-wave plate are respectively arranged on two optical paths, and the optical axis direction of the first half-wave plate is opposite to that of the second half-wave plate.

[0020] A further solution is that the second half-wave plate group includes a third half-wave plate and a fourth half-wave plate. The third half-wave plate and the fourth half-wave plate are respectively arranged on two optical paths, and the optical axis direction of the third half-wave plate is opposite to that of the fourth half-wave plate.

[0021] It can be seen that each half-wave plate group is provided with two half-wave plates with opposite optical axis directions, and they are respectively arranged on two different optical paths, so as to adjust the polarization states of the light beams on the two optical paths, thereby realizing the functions of beam splitting and beam combining, and thus realizing the adjustment of the beam transmission path, so that the light beam can only be transmitted along the preset path. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a first multi-channel circulator module of an embodiment of a reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of a first half-wave plate group of an embodiment of a reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 It is an optical path diagram of a first multi-channel circulator module of an embodiment of a reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 It is an optical path diagram of an embodiment of a reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 6 It is an optical path diagram of a second multi-channel circulator module of an embodiment of a reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention.

[0028] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. Detailed Embodiments

[0029] The reflective circulator of the reusable crystal of the present utility model has two multi-channel circulator modules that operate independently of each other. By sharing the offset crystal between the two multi-channel circulator modules, the volume of the reflective circulator is reduced, and at the same time, it can be ensured that the number of ports of the reflective circulator with the reusable crystal will not be reduced due to the reusable crystal.

[0030] See Figure 1 , the two multi-channel circulator modules that operate independently of each other are the first multi-channel circulator module and the second multi-channel circulator module respectively. Among them, the first multi-channel circulator module includes a first collimator array 10, a first beam splitting crystal 20, a first half-wave plate group 30, a first Faraday rotator 40, an offset crystal 50, a first quarter-wave plate 60, and a first mirror 70; among them, the first Faraday rotator 40 is the first optical rotation device of this embodiment, and the first quarter-wave plate 60 is the second optical rotation device of this embodiment. Of course, in other embodiments, the second optical rotation device can be implemented by a second Faraday rotator.

[0031] From Figure 1 It can be seen that the first collimator array 10, the first beam splitting crystal 20, the first half-wave plate group 30, the first Faraday rotator 40, the offset crystal 50, the first quarter-wave plate 60, and the first mirror 70 are arranged in sequence along the X direction, where the X direction is the first direction of this embodiment. The first collimator array 10 includes eight collimators, namely collimators 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. The multiple collimators 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are arranged in a one-dimensional arrangement. Specifically, they are arranged in sequence along the Y-axis direction.

[0032] See Figure 2 , the first beam splitting crystal 20 is arranged on one side of the first collimator array 10 in the first direction, Figure 2 The direction of the arrow in it is the optical axis direction of the first beam splitting crystal 20. Preferably, the plane where the optical axis of the first beam splitting crystal 20 is located is the XOZ plane, and the arrangement direction of each collimator 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the first collimator array 10 is arranged along the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the plane where the optical axis of the first beam splitting crystal 20 is located is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of each collimator of the first collimator array 10.

[0033] The first half-wave plate group 30 includes two half-wave plates, namely the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32. Combining Figure 3, the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32 are arranged along the Z-axis direction, and the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32 are respectively located on two optical paths of the first beam-splitting crystal 20. The two beams of light passing through the first beam-splitting crystal 20 respectively pass through the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32. Preferably, the optical axis direction of the first half-wave plate 31 is opposite to the optical axis direction of the second half-wave plate 32. Figure 3 The arrows in show the optical axis directions of the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32.

[0034] The first Faraday rotator 40 is located on one side of the first half-wave plate group 30 in the first direction, and the offset crystal 50 is located on one side of the first Faraday rotator 40. The spacing between the collimators in the first collimator array 10 has a positive linear correlation with the length of the offset crystal 50 in the first direction. That is to say, the greater the distance between two adjacent collimators in the first collimator array 10, the greater the length of the offset crystal 50 in the first direction. Preferably, the spacing between the collimators in the first collimator array 10 is equal.

[0035] On one side of the offset crystal 50 in the first direction, a first quarter-wave plate 60 and a first mirror 70 are also provided. The following combines Figure 4 and Figure 5 to introduce the propagation path of the light beam in the first multi-channel circulator module. Taking the light beam incident on the first multi-channel circulator module from the collimator 11 as an example, after the light beam emitted from the collimator 11 is incident on the first beam-splitting crystal 20, the light beam L1 and the light beam L2 are respectively formed under the birefringence effect of the first beam-splitting crystal 20. Among them, the light beam L1 and the light beam L2 are respectively the ordinary light and the extraordinary light, that is, the polarization states of the light beam L1 and the light beam L2 are perpendicular to each other.

[0036] Then, the light beam L1 and the light beam L2 are respectively incident on the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32. Since the optical axis directions of the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32 are different, therefore, after the light beam L1 and L2 respectively pass through the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32, the polarization states of the light beam L1 and L2 will each deflect a certain angle in different directions, so that the polarization states of the light beam L1 and L2 are the same. For example, at this time, both the light beam L1 and L2 are ordinary light.

[0037] Then, the light beam L1 and L2 are incident on the first Faraday rotator 40. At this time, the polarization states of the light beam L1 and L2 will deflect synchronously. For example, rotate 90°, and both become extraordinary light. When the light beam L1 and L2 are incident on the offset crystal 50, due to the birefringence effect of the offset crystal 50, the light beam L1 and L2 will propagate along the optical path of the extraordinary light, as Figure 5As shown. After the light beams L1 and L2 pass through the first quarter-wave plate 60, the polarization state deflects and is converted into circularly polarized light, and then enters the first mirror 70. After being reflected by the first mirror 70, it enters the first quarter-wave plate 60 again. At this time, the polarization states of the light beams L1 and L2 deflect again. At this time, compared with the polarization states when the light beams L1 and L2 first pass through the first quarter-wave plate 60, they have rotated by 90°, that is, the light beams L1 and L2 are converted into normal light.

[0038] Next, the light beams L1 and L2 pass through the offset crystal 50 for the second time. Since the light beams L1 and L2 have been converted into normal light, the light beams L1 and L2 will propagate along the optical path of normal light. Since the propagation optical paths of normal light and abnormal light in the offset crystal 50 are different, the light beams L1 and L2 are offset in the direction of the collimator 12. Then, the light beams L1 and L2 pass through the first Faraday rotator 40 and the first half-wave plate group 30 again. The light beams L1 and L2 respectively pass through the first half-wave plate 31 and the second half-wave plate 32, and the light beams L1 and L2 are re-converted into linearly polarized light with perpendicular polarization states, and are combined by the first beam-splitting crystal 20 again, and finally enter the collimator 12. In this way, the light beam incident from the collimator 11 will exit from the collimator 12, realizing the optical path of the reflective circulator.

[0039] Similarly, the light beams incident from the collimators 12, 13, 14... 17 will be respectively received by the collimators 13, 14, 15... 18, so that the light beam incident from a certain port can only exit from the next port, thereby realizing the optical path of the reflective circulator.

[0040] See Figure 1 , the second multi-channel circulator module includes a second collimator array 80, a second beam-splitting crystal 90, a second half-wave plate group 100, a second Faraday rotator 110, an offset crystal 50, a second quarter-wave plate 120, and a second mirror 130; wherein, the second Faraday rotator 100 is the third optical rotation device of this embodiment, and the second quarter-wave plate 120 is the fourth optical rotation device of this embodiment. Of course, in other embodiments, the fourth optical rotation device can be realized by a fourth Faraday rotator.

[0041] The second collimator array 80, the second spectroscopic crystal 90, the second half-wave plate group 100, the second Faraday rotator 110, the offset crystal 50, the second quarter-wave plate 120, and the second mirror 130 are arranged in sequence along the Y direction, where the Y direction is the second direction in this embodiment. Therefore, the arrangement direction of the first multi-channel circulator module and the arrangement direction of the second multi-channel circulator module are perpendicular, and the first multi-channel circulator module and the second multi-channel circulator module share the offset crystal 50. The light beam of the first multi-channel circulator module is transmitted along the X-axis direction within the offset crystal 50, while the light beam of the second multi-channel circulator module is transmitted along the Y-axis direction within the offset crystal 50.

[0042] The second collimator array 80 includes eight collimators, namely collimators 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, and 88. The multiple collimators 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, and 88 are arranged in a one-dimensional manner. Specifically, they are arranged in sequence along the X-axis direction.

[0043] In this embodiment, the second spectroscopic crystal 90 is disposed on one side of the second collimator array 80, and the plane where the optical axis of the second spectroscopic crystal 90 is located is the YOZ plane. The arrangement direction of each collimator 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, and 88 of the second collimator array 80 is along the X-axis direction. Therefore, the plane where the optical axis of the second spectroscopic crystal 90 is located is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of each collimator of the second collimator array 80.

[0044] The second half-wave plate group 100 includes two half-wave plates, namely the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102. Figure 6 Combined, the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102 are arranged along the Z-axis direction, and the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102 are respectively located on two optical paths of the second spectroscopic crystal 90. The two light beams passing through the second spectroscopic crystal 90 respectively pass through the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102. Preferably, the optical axis directions of the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102 are opposite.

[0045] The second Faraday rotator 110 is located on one side of the second half-wave plate group 100, and the offset crystal 50 is located on one side of the second Faraday rotator 110. The spacing between the collimators in the second collimator array 80 has a positive linear correlation with the length of the offset crystal 50 in the second direction. That is to say, the greater the distance between two adjacent collimators in the second collimator array 80, the greater the length of the offset crystal 50 in the second direction. Preferably, the spacing between the collimators in the second collimator array 80 is equal. Preferably, the number of collimators in the first collimator array 10 is the same as the number of collimators in the second collimator array 80. In this way, in the XOY plane, the offset crystal 50 is rectangular or square. Of course, in other embodiments, the number of collimators in the first collimator array 10 and the number of collimators in the second collimator array 80 may not be equal.

[0046] A first quarter-wave plate 120 and a second mirror 130 are also provided on one side of the offset crystal 50 in the second direction.

[0047] Taking the light beam incident on the second multi-channel circulator module from the collimator 81 as an example for illustration. The light beam emitted from the collimator 81 is incident on the second beam-splitting crystal 90 and respectively forms a light beam L3 and a light beam L4. Among them, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are ordinary light and extraordinary light respectively, that is, the polarization states of the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are perpendicular to each other.

[0048] Then, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are respectively incident on the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102. Since the optical axis directions of the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102 are different, therefore, after the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 respectively pass through the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102, the polarization states of the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 will each deflect a certain angle in different directions, so that the polarization states of the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are the same. For example, at this time, both the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are ordinary light.

[0049] Then, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are incident on the second Faraday rotator 100. At this time, the polarization states of the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 will deflect synchronously. For example, they rotate 90°, and both become extraordinary light. When the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are incident on the offset crystal 50, due to the birefringence effect of the offset crystal 50, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 will propagate along the optical path of the extraordinary light, as Figure 5 shown. When the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 pass through the second quarter-wave plate 120, the polarization state deflects, is converted into circularly polarized light, and is incident on the second mirror 130. After being reflected by the second mirror 130, it is incident on the second quarter-wave plate 120 again. At this time, the polarization states of the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 deflect again. At this time, compared with the polarization states when the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 first passed through the second quarter-wave plate 120, they have rotated 90°, that is, the light beam L3 and the light beam L4 are converted into ordinary light.

[0050] Next, the light beams L3 and L4 pass through the deflection crystal 50 for the second time. Since the light beams L3 and L4 have been converted into ordinary light, the light beams L3 and L4 will propagate along the optical path of the ordinary light. Since the propagation optical paths of the ordinary light and the extraordinary light in the deflection crystal 50 are different, the light beams L3 and L4 are deflected in the direction of the collimator 82. Then, the light beams L3 and L4 pass through the second Faraday rotator 110 and the second half-wave plate group 100 again. The light beams L3 and L4 respectively pass through the third half-wave plate 101 and the fourth half-wave plate 102, and the light beams L3 and L4 are re-converted into linearly polarized light with perpendicular polarization states, and are combined by the second beam-splitting crystal 80 again, and finally enter the collimator 82. In this way, the light beam incident from the collimator 81 will exit from the collimator 82, realizing the optical path of the reflective circulator.

[0051] Similarly, the light beams incident from the collimators 82, 83... 87 will be received by the collimators 83, 84... 88 respectively, so that the light beam incident from a certain port can only exit from the next port, thus realizing the optical path of the reflective circulator.

[0052] Since the first multi-channel circulator module and the second multi-channel circulator module of the reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal of the present invention share the deflection crystal, that is, only one deflection crystal can be used to realize two multi-channel circulator modules arranged in different directions, thereby reducing the volume of the reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal and not reducing the number of ports of the reflective circulator with a multiplexing crystal.

[0053] Finally, it should be emphasized that the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can have various changes and modifications. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reflective circulator of a multiplexed crystal, comprising: A first multi-channel circulator module, the first multi-channel circulator module comprising a first collimator array, a first beam splitter crystal, a first half-wave plate group, a first optical rotator, an offset crystal, a second optical rotator and a first reflector arranged in sequence along a first direction; Features: A second multi-channel circulator module is also provided, and the second multi-channel circulator module includes a second collimator array, a second beam splitter crystal, a second half-wave plate group, a third optical rotator, the offset crystal, a fourth optical rotator and a second reflector arranged in sequence along a second direction; The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

2. The reflective circulator of the multiplexing crystal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spacing between the collimators in the first collimator array is in a linear relationship that is positively correlated with the length of the offset crystal in the first direction; The spacing between the collimators in the second collimator array is in a linear relationship with a positive correlation with the length of the offset crystal in the second direction.

3. The reflective circulator of the multiplexing crystal according to claim 2, characterized in that: On a plane where the first direction intersects the second direction, the offset crystal is rectangular or square.

4. The reflective circulator of the multiplexing crystal according to claim 2, characterized in that: The collimators in the first collimator array are arranged in one dimension; The collimators in the second collimator array are arranged in one dimension.

5. The reflective circulator of multiplexing crystal according to claim 4, characterized in that: The plane where the optical axis of the first light-splitting crystal is located is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of each collimator of the first collimator array; The plane where the optical axis of the second beam-splitting crystal is located is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of each collimator of the second collimator array.

6. The reflective circulator of multiplexing crystal according to claim 2, characterized in that: The number of collimators in the first collimator array is equal to or unequal to the number of collimators in the second collimator array.

7. The reflective circulator of multiplexing crystal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first optical rotation device is a first Faraday rotator; The third optical rotation device is a third Faraday rotator.

8. The reflective circulator of multiplexing crystal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The second optical rotation device is a second Faraday rotator or a first quarter wave plate; The fourth optical rotation device is a fourth Faraday rotator or a second quarter wave plate.

9. The reflective circulator of multiplexing crystal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first half-wave plate group includes a first half-wave plate and a second half-wave plate, the first half-wave plate and the second half-wave plate are respectively arranged on two optical paths, and the optical axis direction of the first half-wave plate is opposite to the optical axis direction of the second half-wave plate.

10. The reflective circulator of multiplexing crystal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The second half-wave plate group includes a third half-wave plate and a fourth half-wave plate, the third half-wave plate and the fourth half-wave plate are respectively arranged on two optical paths, and the optical axis direction of the third half-wave plate is opposite to the optical axis direction of the fourth half-wave plate.

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