Apparatus and method for determining signal correlation amount

Abstract

To provide an apparatus and a method for determining a signal correlation amount.SOLUTION: A method according to the present invention includes: inputting a first signal to a first electro-optical conversion unit to enable the first electro-optical conversion unit to modulate to-be-modulated light based upon the input first signal and to acquire a to-be-measured signal; inputting a second signal to a second electro-optical conversion unit to enable the second electro-optical conversion unit to modulate to-be-modulated light based upon the input second signal and to acquire a correlation signal; determining a first product signal of the to-be-measured signal and the correlation signal via a photoelectric method or optical method; and performing electric averaging operation on the first product signal to determine a correlation amount between the to-be-measured signal and the correlation signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of optical communication.

Background Art

[0002] In the field of optical communication, in order to achieve a larger communication capacity, the rate of the signal output from the transmitter is very high, for example, 100 Gbaud. These signals often consist of a plurality of sub-signals. For example, a dual-polarization system has two polarization components of x and y, a coherent system has an in-phase component I and a quadrature component Q, under the architecture of a DAC, PAM8 is a superposition of 0 / 1 sequences of 3 paths, and the 0 / 1 sequence of each path constitutes a sub-signal of one path. In the case of multi-segment modulation, the total signal is a superposition of each modulation segment signal, and a sub-signal of one path is constituted on each modulation segment. These sub-signals are often generated by different electrical and optical components, and when there are deviations in their analog characteristics, it may cause a decrease in the performance of the high-speed optical transmitter. Therefore, monitoring the characteristics of high-speed signals and sub-signals is a necessary function for high-speed transmitters. At present, obtaining the correlation quantity (representing the degree of correlation) is a basic method for monitoring the characteristics of high-speed signals / sub-signals.

[0003] It should be noted that the introduction of the above background art is for clearly and completely explaining the technical solution of the present invention and for facilitating the understanding of those skilled in the art. These technical solutions should not be construed as well-known to those skilled in the art just because they are described in the background art of the present invention.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the inventors have discovered the following. That is, in order to easily apply and process the monitored high-speed signal / sub-signal, it is still necessary to convert the last monitored signal back into an electrical signal so as to use a signal processing algorithm. The basic units of the correlation operation (operation (calculation)) include multiplication operation and averaging operation. However, since the output signal speed of the transmitter is very high, for example, 100 Gbaud, it is difficult to obtain the correlation amount of two high-speed signals, and in particular, it is very difficult to directly implement a signal multiplier with a bandwidth of several tens of GHz.

[0005] In view of at least one of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus and method for determining a signal correlation amount. The correlation amount of two high-speed signals is obtained by technologies such as electro-optic, opto-electric, optical, and electrical, and the implementation method is flexible and the application scenarios are diverse.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for determining a signal correlation amount, the apparatus comprising: A first signal input unit for inputting a first signal into a first electro-optic conversion unit, so that the first electro-optic conversion unit modulates the light to be modulated based on the first signal input thereto to obtain a signal to be measured; A second signal input unit for inputting a second signal into a second electro-optic conversion unit, so that the second electro-optic conversion unit modulates the light to be modulated based on the second signal input thereto to obtain a correlation signal; A first signal processing unit for determining a first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an opto-electric method or an optical method; and A second signal processing unit for determining the correlation amount of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

[0007] Also, according to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining a signal correlation amount, the method comprising: By inputting a first signal into a first electro-optical conversion unit, the first electro-optical conversion unit is caused to modulate the light to be modulated based on the input first signal to obtain a signal to be measured; By inputting a second signal into a second electro-optical conversion unit, the second electro-optical conversion unit is caused to modulate the light to be modulated based on the input second signal to obtain a correlation signal; Determine a first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; and Determining a correlation quantity between the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] The advantageous effects of the embodiments of the present invention are at least as follows. That is, without the need to use a multiplier with a wide bandwidth, the correlation quantity of two high-speed signals can be obtained by using only an electrical device with a low bandwidth. The realization method is flexible and can be realized in an integrated or non-integrated manner. In addition, the application scenarios are diverse and suitable for monitoring the characteristics of high-speed signals / sub-signals in any transmitter.

[0009] It should be noted that terms such as "including / having", when used in this specification, refer to the presence of features, elements, steps, or assemblies, but also refer to not excluding the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps, or assemblies.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] Elements and features described in one drawing or one embodiment of the present invention can be combined with elements and features shown in one or more other drawings or embodiments. Also, in the drawings, similar reference numerals indicate corresponding parts in several drawings and are also used to indicate corresponding parts used in multiple embodiments.

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] By referring to the accompanying drawings and the following description, the foregoing and other features of the present invention will become apparent. Although specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in the specification and drawings, they are only some examples that can adopt the principles of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, that is, the present invention also includes all modifications, variations, and alternatives belonging to the scope of the appended patent claims.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] <Example of the first side> In an embodiment of the present invention, a method for determining a signal correlation amount is provided. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the method for determining the signal correlation amount in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the method includes the following steps (operations).

[0014] 101: By inputting a first signal into a first electro-optic conversion unit, the first electro-optic conversion unit is caused to modulate modulation-waiting light based on the input first signal to obtain a measurement-waiting signal; 102: By inputting a second signal into a second electro-optic conversion unit, the second electro-optic conversion unit is caused to modulate modulation-waiting light based on the input second signal to obtain a correlation signal; 103: Determine a first product signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; and 104: Perform an electrical averaging operation (electrical averaging calculation) on the first product signal to determine the correlation amount between the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal.

[0015] Note that the above-mentioned FIG. 1 is for illustratively explaining an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the above steps can be executed simultaneously, sequentially, the execution order between each operation can be appropriately adjusted, or several operations can be increased or decreased. Those skilled in the art can make appropriate modifications based on the above content without being limited to the description of FIG. 1 above.

[0016] In some embodiments, in step 101, the first signal is a symbol sequence of the first electro-optic conversion unit, and in the present invention, it is referred to as the first symbol sequence A[n]. The first electro-optic conversion unit modulates the input modulation-waiting light based on the first symbol sequence A[n] to obtain a measurement-waiting signal, and the measurement-waiting signal is a high-speed signal and an optical signal. The modulation-waiting light is, for example, direct current light or an optical signal output from a higher-level unit connected to the first electro-optic conversion unit.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first electro-optical conversion unit is a unit capable of generating a high-speed signal with a modulation function. For example, the first electro-optical conversion unit is the transmitter itself or a modulation segment (unit) of a part of the transmitter. For example, the transmitter includes, but is not limited to, a coherent transmitter, an intensity modulation transmitter, a directly modulated laser, a phase modulator, a signal transmitter based on an optical frequency comb, a combined signal transmitter, etc.

[0018] FIGS. 2A to 2E are diagrams showing the first electro-optical conversion unit in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows an IQ modulator having a plurality of sub-signal branches in a coherent transmitter. Both the I path and the Q path of the IQ modulator have a plurality of modulation segments. In FIG. 2A, the first electro-optical conversion unit may be any one modulation segment in the IQ modulator. For example, it is a modulation segment corresponding to the first symbol sequence A[n] on the I path, that is, the modulation segment into which the first symbol sequence A[n] is input. In FIG. 2B, the first electro-optical conversion unit is a modulation segment corresponding to the first symbol sequence A[n] in a segmented intensity modulator. In FIG. 2C, the first electro-optical conversion unit is a directly modulated laser (DML) or an external modulated laser (EML). In FIG. 2D, the first electro-optical conversion unit is a modulation segment corresponding to the first symbol sequence A[n] in a segmented phase modulator. In FIG. 2E, the first electro-optical conversion unit is an EO MOD unit corresponding to the first symbol sequence A[n] in a combined signal transmitter based on an optical frequency comb.

[0019] In some embodiments, when the first electro-optical conversion unit is a laser or a modulation segment of a part of the laser, the signal waiting to be measured is correspondingly the output signal of the transmitter or the sub-signal of the transmitter.

[0020] In some embodiments, in step 102, the second signal is the symbol sequence of the second electro-optical conversion unit, which is referred to as the second symbol sequence B[n] in the present invention. Based on the second symbol sequence B[n], the second electro-optical conversion unit modulates the incoming optical signal to be modulated to obtain a correlation signal, which is also a high-speed signal and an optical signal. The optical signal to be modulated of the second electro-optical conversion unit may or may not be the same as the optical signal to be modulated corresponding to the first electro-optical conversion unit.

[0021] In some embodiments, the second electro-optical conversion unit is a unit capable of generating a high-speed signal with a modulation function. In the present invention, the second electro-optical conversion unit may be a conventional electro-optical conversion unit. FIGS. 3A to 3E are diagrams showing the second electro-optical conversion unit in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3A, the second electro-optical conversion unit is an MZ modulator (MZM) having one modulation segment. In FIG. 3B, the second electro-optical conversion unit is an MZ modulator (MZM) having two equal-length modulation segments. In FIG. 3C, the second electro-optical conversion unit is an electro-absorption modulator (EAM). In FIG. 3D, the second electro-optical conversion unit is a phase modulator (PM). In FIG. 3E, the second electro-optical conversion unit is a configuration (structure) in which an amplitude modulator (e.g., an MZ modulator (MZM) or an electro-absorption modulator (EAM)) and a phase modulator (PM) are connected in series.

[0022] In some embodiments, the second electro-optical conversion unit outputs a finite number of states. At this time, the second electro-optical conversion unit outputs a symbol sequence with a limited number of values. For example, the set of values of the symbol sequence output by the second electro-optical conversion unit may be {1, -1}, {1, 0}, {1, 0, -1}, etc. For example, for the second electro-optical conversion unit shown in FIG. 3A, the value of the second symbol sequence B[n] input thereto is ±1, and the value of the symbol sequence output therefrom may be {1, -1}, {1, 0} or {1, 0, -1}. For the second electro-optical conversion unit shown in FIG. 3B, the value of the second symbol sequence B[n] input thereto is ±1, and the value of the symbol sequence output therefrom may be {1, 0, -1}. For the second electro-optical conversion unit shown in FIG. 3C, the values of the second symbol sequence B[n] input thereto are 1 and 0, and the value of the symbol sequence output therefrom may be {1, 0}. For the second electro-optical conversion unit shown in FIG. 3D, the value of the second symbol sequence B[n] input thereto is ±1, and the value of the symbol sequence output therefrom may be {1, -1}. For the second electro-optical conversion unit shown in FIG. 3E, when it has a structure of a series connection of a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) and a phase modulator (PM), the value of the second symbol sequence B[n] input to the MZM is ±1, the value of the second symbol sequence B[n] input to the PM is ±1, and the value of the symbol sequence output from the second electro-optical conversion unit may be {1, 0, -1}. When it has a structure of a series connection of an electro-absorption modulator (EAM) and a phase modulator (PM), the values of the second symbol sequence B[n] input to the EAM are 1 and 0, the value of the second symbol sequence B[n] input to the PM is ±1, and the value of the symbol sequence output from the second electro-optical conversion unit may be {1, 0, -1}.

[0023] When the second electro-optical conversion unit outputs only a finite number of states, the second electro-optical conversion unit only requires logical operations, the complexity and power consumption of the system are significantly reduced, and the requirements of the system for the non-linear effects of the second electro-optical conversion unit are also significantly reduced.

[0024] In some embodiments, in step 103, a first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is determined by an optoelectronic method.

[0025] Moreover, determining the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method includes performing optoelectronic conversion and multiplication operations on the sum of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal.

[0026] As described above, both the measurement waiting signal output from the first electro-optical conversion unit and the correlation signal output from the second electro-optical conversion unit are optical signals. When adopting the optoelectronic method, the two optical signals of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal are combined into one optical signal, and then, by performing optoelectronic conversion and multiplication operations on the combined optical signal, the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is obtained, and the first product signal is an electrical signal.

[0027] In some embodiments, when determining the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in parallel, and the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal are respectively output by the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit.

[0028] In some embodiments, when determining the first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators. For example, the first electro-optical conversion unit is any one of the first electro-optical conversion units shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E, and the second electro-optical conversion unit is any one of the second electro-optical conversion units shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E. Also, for example, for a coherent transmitter, it includes two sub-modulators on the I path and the Q path. The first electro-optical conversion unit is one modulation segment on the I path, and the second electro-optical conversion unit is one or more corresponding modulation segments on the Q path, or the first electro-optical conversion unit is one modulation segment on the Q path, and the second electro-optical conversion unit is one or more corresponding modulation segments on the I path.

[0029] In some embodiments, when determining the first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are different modulation segments of the same modulator. For example, for a transmitter including a plurality of modulation segments, one of the modulation segments included therein is used as the first electro-optical conversion unit, and one or more other modulation segments are used as the second electro-optical conversion unit. For a coherent transmitter, it includes two sub-modulators on the I path and the Q path. The first electro-optical conversion unit is one modulation segment on the I path, and the second electro-optical conversion unit is one or more other corresponding modulation segments on the I path, or the first electro-optical conversion unit is one modulation segment on the Q path, and the second electro-optical conversion unit is one or more other corresponding modulation segments on the Q path.

[0030] In some embodiments, the optoelectronic multiplication method is used to implement the optoelectronic method. Among them, optoelectronic conversion may be performed using an optoelectronic detector, a balance detector, a coherent detector, etc. FIGS. 4A to 4D are diagrams showing an optoelectronic multiplier in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4A, the optoelectronic multiplier includes one phase shifter (φ), one 90-degree frequency mixer (90° hybrid), and two balance detectors (BPD balanced photo detector). In FIG. 4B, the optoelectronic multiplier includes one phase shifter (φ), one beam combiner, and one balance detector (BPD), where the beam combiner is, for example, a 2*2 MMI. In FIG. 4C, the optoelectronic multiplier includes one phase shifter (φ), one beam combiner, and one single detector (PD), where the beam combiner is, for example, a 2*1 MMI, a Y beam combiner, etc. In FIG. 4D, the optoelectronic multiplier includes one phase shifter (φ), one 120-degree frequency mixer (120° hybrid), and a plurality of single detectors (PD), for example, it includes three PDs.

[0031] In FIGS. 4A to 4D, the phase shifter is optional, that is, in FIGS. 4A to 4D, the phase shifter may or may not be included.

[0032] In FIGS. 4A to 4D, the optoelectronic multiplier has two input signals, namely signal 1 and signal 2. In the present invention, one of signal 1 and signal 2 is a measurement waiting signal output from the first electro-optical conversion unit, and the other of signal 1 and signal 2 is a correlation signal output from the second electro-optical conversion unit. The output signal of the optoelectronic multiplier includes the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal, that is, the first product signal.

[0033] In some embodiments, in step 103, the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is determined by an optical method.

[0034] Moreover, determining the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optical method includes performing optoelectronic conversion on the product of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal.

[0035] As described above, the measurement waiting signal output from the first electro-optical conversion unit and the correlation signal output from the second electro-optical conversion unit are all optical signals. When adopting an optical method, first, multiplication is performed on the two optical signals of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal to obtain an optical signal of the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal. Then, by performing photoelectric conversion on the optical signal of the product, an electrical signal of the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal, that is, the first product signal, is obtained.

[0036] In some embodiments, when determining the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optical method, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series, and the product of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal is output after the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series.

[0037] In some embodiments, when determining the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optical method, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators. For example, the first electro-optical conversion unit is any one of the first electro-optical conversion units shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E, and the second electro-optical conversion unit is any one of the second electro-optical conversion units shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E.

[0038] In some embodiments, the optical method is realized by an optical multiplier. Among them, the structure in which the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series corresponds to an optical multiplier, which enables the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal to be multiplied in the optical domain. Therefore, the signal output after the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series is an optical signal of the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal. Then, the optical signal of the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is converted into an electrical signal by a photoelectric conversion unit to obtain the first product signal.

[0039] The structure of the photoelectric conversion unit is similar to, for example, the structure of the photoelectric multiplier shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D. The differences are as follows. That is, when using the optical method, the photoelectric multiplier in FIGS. 4A to 4D is used as the photoelectric conversion unit. At this time, one of its two input signals, that is, one of signal 1 and signal 2, is the signal output after the series connection of the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit, that is, the optical signal of the product of the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal, and the other is the DC light.

[0040] The photoelectric conversion unit is further, for example, a single detector (PD). When both the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of the amplitude modulator, the signal waiting for measurement output from the first electro-optical conversion unit and the correlation signal output from the second electro-optical conversion unit are all amplitude modulation signals. The series connection structure of the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit is made such that the two amplitude modulation signals of the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal are multiplied, so as to obtain the product of these two signals in the optical domain, that is, the optical signal of the product of the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal, and represent it as a change in signal amplitude. At this time, the optical signal of the product can be detected by a single detector (PD), and the electrical signal of the product, that is, the first product signal of the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal, is output.

[0041] In some embodiments, in step 104, an electrical averaging operation is performed on the first product signal to determine the correlation amount between the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal.

[0042] Among them, the electrical averaging operation can be realized in the analog domain. For example, an analog circuit can be used to realize the electrical averaging operation on the first product signal. The electrical averaging operation can also be realized in the digital domain. For example, after performing AD (analog-to-digital) conversion on the first product signal, a digital circuit is used to realize the electrical averaging operation on the digital signal corresponding to the first product signal.

[0043] In some embodiments, the electrical averaging operation is realized by an electrical averaging unit. For example, signal averaging is realized by a low-pass filter or a low-speed DSP. FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing the electrical averaging unit in embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 5A, the electrical averaging unit includes two low-pass filters and one low-speed digital signal processor (Low-speed DSP). In FIG. 5B, the electrical averaging unit includes filters of two electrical devices TIA / DC block and one low-speed digital signal processor (Low-speed DSP). In FIG. 5C, the electrical averaging unit includes one low-pass filter and one low-speed digital signal processor (Low-speed DSP).

[0044] Hereinafter, a method for determining the signal correlation amount adopting the optoelectronic method respectively will be specifically described through embodiments.

[0045] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method for determining the signal correlation amount adopting the optoelectronic method in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, when adopting the optoelectronic method, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in parallel. At this time, by inputting the first signal, that is, the first symbol sequence A[n], into the first electro-optical conversion unit, the first electro-optical conversion unit is made to modulate the light 1 waiting for modulation and output a signal waiting for measurement. By inputting the second signal, that is, the second symbol sequence B[n], into the second electro-optical conversion unit, the second electro-optical conversion unit is made to modulate the light 2 waiting for modulation and output a correlation signal. Then, the independent signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal are respectively input into an optoelectronic multiplier, and by performing optoelectronic conversion by the optoelectronic multiplier, a first product signal of the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal is obtained. After that, the first product signal is input into an electrical averaging unit, and by performing an electrical averaging operation by the electrical averaging unit, the correlation amount of the signal waiting for measurement and the correlation signal is output.

[0046] Figures 7 to 10 are diagrams showing the hardware configuration for implementing the method shown in FIG. 6 in an embodiment of the present invention. The structure includes a first electro-optical conversion unit, a second electro-optical conversion unit, an opto-electric multiplier, and an electrical averaging unit. Among them, the first electro-optical conversion unit may be any one of the first electro-optical conversion units shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E or other structures, the second electro-optical conversion unit may be any one of the second electro-optical conversion units shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E or other structures, the opto-electric multiplier may be any one of the opto-electric multipliers shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D or other structures, and the electrical averaging unit may be any one of the electrical averaging units shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C or other structures.

[0047] For example, in the structure shown in FIG. 7, the first electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 2A, the second electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 3A, the opto-electric multiplier adopts the structure shown in FIG. 4A, and the electrical averaging unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 5A. In FIG. 7, the first electro-optical conversion unit is part of a transmitter. The first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in parallel, and the multiplication of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal output from the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit respectively is realized by coherent reception. Therefore, the implementation scheme shown in FIG. 7 is also called the "parallel connection modulation + coherent detection" scheme.

[0048] In Fig. 7, the modulation-waiting light of both the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit is DC light. Before the modulator, a part of the DC light (for example, 95%) is passed to the first electro-optical conversion unit, and the other part (for example, 5%) is passed to the second electro-optical conversion unit. Among them, since the coherent transmitter has a plurality of output ports, the measurement-waiting signal output therefrom is included in the output signal I + jQ of the I + jQ detection terminal, or is included in the output signal I - jQ of the I - jQ detection terminal, or may be included in the output signal of other detection branches. The acquisition of the output signal is realized by a beam splitter. The beam splitter forms a part (for example, 5%) of it by splitting the output signal and applies it to the present invention. Specifically, reference can be made to the prior art. Note that in Fig. 7, the example is taken that the measurement-waiting signal is included in the output signal I - jQ of the I - jQ detection terminal, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0049] The input of the electro-optical multiplier is the measurement-waiting signal output from the first electro-optical conversion unit and the correlation signal output from the second electro-optical conversion unit, and the output of the electro-optical multiplier is two-path electrical signals of the in-phase path and the quadrature path. The low-pass filter and the low-speed DSP of the electrical signal constitute an electrical averaging unit, and the electrical averaging operation can be realized in the analog domain or the digital domain.

[0050] The principle of determining the correlation quantity according to the structure shown in Fig. 7 is as follows.

[0051] The output signal of the coherent transmitter including the first electro-optical conversion unit is denoted as E Sig (t), which includes the measurement-waiting signal E1(t) output from the first electro-optical conversion unit, and the correlation signal output from the second electro-optical conversion unit is E2(t). The optical phase difference between E Sig (t) and E2(t) is φ. After passing through an ideal 90-degree frequency mixer (90° hybrid), the output optical signal can be expressed as follows.

[0052]

Equation

[0053] [Number] In the above formula, R BPD is the response of the balance detector, and φ is a fixed phase. Since E sig (t) includes E1(t), I BPD1 (t) and I BPD2 (t) output from the optoelectronic multiplier contain the information of E1(t)E2(t). After passing through the electrical averaging unit, the correlation of the two high-speed signals can be obtained.

[0054] In some embodiments, the second electro-optical conversion unit and the first electro-optical conversion unit are in the same modulator. As shown in FIG. 8, the first electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 2A. In the modulator where the first electro-optical conversion unit is located, an additional modulation segment can be added as the modulation segment for the second electro-optical conversion unit, that is, the modulation segment where the second symbol sequence B[n] is input in FIG. 8. Taking the structure shown in FIG. 8 as an example, both the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit convert high-speed electrical signals into optical phase information, that is, the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal. After the phases of the two signals are superimposed, they are output by the MZ modulator. The optoelectronic multiplier is realized by a single detector (PD), and the square operation of the PD makes the two signals be multiplied. The electrical averaging operation is realized by the electrical averaging unit shown in FIG. 5C.

[0055] In the scheme shown in FIG. 8, one modulation segment is used as the second electro-optical conversion unit. In some other implementation manners, when not considering the influence of the correlation signal on the main signal, all other available modulation segments in the modulator where the first electro-optical conversion unit is located can be used as the second electro-optical conversion unit, as shown in FIG. 9.

[0056] In some embodiments, the second electro-optical conversion unit and the first electro-optical conversion unit are in different modulators. As shown in FIG. 10, the first electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 2A, that is, the first electro-optical conversion unit is a modulation segment on a sub-modulator of one branch of the coherent transmitter. The second electro-optical conversion unit adopts one or more modulation segments on a sub-modulator of the other branch of the coherent transmitter. When the first electro-optical conversion unit is a certain modulation segment on the I path of the coherent transmitter, the second electro-optical conversion unit is one or more modulation segments on the Q path of the coherent transmitter, and vice versa. In FIG. 10, it is required that the I path and the Q path of the coherent transmitter are not orthogonal, that is, the phase bias between the I path and the Q path is not equal to 90° or -90°, for example, it may be 0°.

[0057] Hereinafter, the method for determining the signal correlation quantity adopting the optical method respectively will be specifically described through embodiments.

[0058] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a method for determining a signal correlation amount employing an optical method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, when the optical method is employed, the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit are connected in series to form an optical multiplier. At this time, by inputting the first signal, i.e., the first symbol sequence A[n], into the first electro-optic conversion unit, the first electro-optic conversion unit is caused to modulate the modulation-waiting light 3 to form a measurement-waiting signal, and by inputting the second signal, i.e., the second symbol sequence B[n], into the second electro-optic conversion unit, the second electro-optic conversion unit is caused to modulate the modulation-waiting light 4 to form a correlation signal. As shown in FIG. 11, when the output end of the first electro-optic conversion unit and the input end of the second electro-optic conversion unit are connected in series, the modulation-waiting light 3 may be direct-current light, and the modulation-waiting light 4 includes the measurement-waiting signal output from the first electro-optic conversion unit. Also, when the output end of the second electro-optic conversion unit and the input end of the first electro-optic conversion unit are connected in series (not shown), the modulation-waiting light 4 may be direct-current light, and the modulation-waiting light 3 includes the correlation signal output from the second electro-optic conversion unit. Since the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit are connected in series to form an optical multiplier, the series structure can output the product of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal in the optical domain, i.e., the optical signal of the product of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal. Then, by inputting the optical signal of the product of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal into the opto-electronic conversion unit and performing opto-electronic conversion using the opto-electronic conversion unit, the electrical signal of the product of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal, i.e., the first product signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal, is obtained. Thereafter, by inputting the first product signal into the electrical averaging unit and performing an electrical averaging operation using the electrical averaging unit, the correlation amount between the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal is output.

[0059] Figures 12 to 10 are diagrams showing the hardware configurations for implementing the method shown in Figure 11 in embodiments of the present invention. The structure includes a first electro-optical conversion unit, a second electro-optical conversion unit, a photoelectric conversion unit, and an electrical averaging unit. Among them, the first electro-optical conversion unit may be any one of the first electro-optical conversion units shown in Figures 2A to 2E or other structures, the second electro-optical conversion unit may be any one of the second electro-optical conversion units shown in Figures 3A to 3E or other structures, the photoelectric conversion unit may be any one of the structures of the photoelectric multipliers shown in Figures 4A to 4D or other structures, and the electrical averaging unit may be any one of the electrical averaging units shown in Figures 5A to 5C or other structures.

[0060] For example, in the structure shown in Figure 12, the first electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in Figure 2A, the second electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in Figure 3A, the photoelectric conversion unit adopts the structure shown in Figure 4A, and the electrical averaging unit adopts the structure shown in Figure 5B. In Figure 12, the first electro-optical conversion unit is part of a coherent transmitter, and the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit form an optical multiplier by series connection, so that the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal are multiplied in the optical domain. Before the modulator, a part of the DC light (for example, 95%) is passed to the first electro-optical conversion unit, and the first electro-optical conversion unit forms a measurement waiting signal. The measurement waiting signal is included in the output signal of the output port of the coherent transmitter (for example, the I + jQ detection end or the I - jQ detection end or other detection ends). The input end of the second electro-optical conversion unit is connected to the output port corresponding to the coherent transmitter, and by modulating the input signal including the measurement waiting signal, it outputs the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal in the optical domain.

[0061] The two inputs of the photoelectric conversion unit are respectively the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal in the optical domain, and a part of the DC light (for example, 5%).

[0062] The implementation scheme shown in Figure 12 is also called the "series connection modulation + coherent detection" scheme.

[0063] Also, for example, in the structure shown in FIG. 13, the first electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 2A, the second electro-optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 3A, the photoelectric conversion unit adopts one single detector (PD), and the electrical averaging unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 5C. In FIG. 13, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series, and an optical multiplier is configured by a waveguide structure so that the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal are multiplied in the optical domain. The single detector (PD) realizes the photoelectric conversion function to obtain the electrical signal of the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal, that is, the first product signal. The electrical averaging unit performs an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal to output the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal.

[0064] The implementation scheme shown in FIG. 13 is also called the "series connection modulation + direct detection" scheme.

[0065] The realization method of the optical multiplier in FIGS. 12 and 13 is as follows.

[0066] Taking FIG. 13 as an example, when all beam combiners MMI in the coherent transmitter adopt 2*2 MMI, the two output port signals of the I-path modulator can be denoted as sin(φ I (t)) and cos(φ I (t)) respectively, and φ I (t) is the optical phase modulated by the I-path electrical signal.

[0067] The main output signal of the IQ modulator is the 1-path signal after the 2*2 MMI of MMZ, sin(φ I (t))+jsin(φ Q (t)) can be simplified, and the other output is sin(φ I (t))-jsin(φ Q (t)) is. The output signals of the other ports of the I modulator and the Q modulator can also be combined by the phase shifter and the 2*2 MMI, whereby the signal cos(φI (t)) - jcos(φ Q (t)) can be obtained. By combining these two signals with a beam combiner, the following signal can be obtained.

[0068] [Number] As can be seen from formula (13 - 1), two amplitude - modulated signals (equivalent to the signals output from a modulator biased at the quadrature point) can be constructed by optical means, and they function as the real and imaginary parts of the total output signal.

[0069] Also, the second electro - optical conversion unit can also output an amplitude - modulated signal (for example, an MZ modulator biased at the quadrature point).

[0070] Also, for example, in the structure shown in FIG. 14, the first electro - optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 2C, the second electro - optical conversion unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B or FIG. 3C, the optoelectronic conversion unit adopts one single detector (PD), and the electrical averaging unit adopts the structure shown in FIG. 5C. In FIG. 14, the first electro - optical conversion unit and the second electro - optical conversion unit form an optical multiplier by series connection so that the signal to be measured and the correlation signal are multiplied in the optical domain. The single detector (PD) realizes the optoelectronic conversion function to obtain the electrical signal of the product of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal, that is, the first product signal. The electrical averaging unit performs an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal to output the correlation quantity between the signal to be measured and the correlation signal.

[0071] Before the modulator, a part of the DC light (e.g., 95%) is passed to the first electro-optic conversion unit, and the first electro-optic conversion unit forms a measurement waiting signal. The measurement waiting signal is included in the output signal of the output port of the coherent transmitter (e.g., the I + jQ detection end or the I - jQ detection end or other detection ends). The input end of the second electro-optic conversion unit is connected to the output port corresponding to the coherent transmitter, and by modulating the input signal including the measurement waiting signal, the product in the optical domain of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is output.

[0072] According to the above embodiments, the present invention uses an optical method or an optoelectronic method to determine the product of the high-speed signals output from the two electro-optic conversion units, and uses an electrical averaging operation to obtain the correlation quantity of the two high-speed signals. According to the present invention, without the need to use a broadband multiplier, the correlation quantity of the two high-speed signals can be obtained by using only a low-bandwidth electrical device. The implementation method is flexible and can be realized in an integrated or non-integrated manner. Also, the application scenarios are diverse and suitable for monitoring the characteristics of high-speed signals / sub-signals in any transmitter.

[0073] FIG. 15 is another diagram showing a method for determining the signal correlation quantity in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, the method includes the following steps.

[0074] 1501: Input the first signal into the first electro-optic conversion unit to cause the first electro-optic conversion unit to modulate the light waiting for modulation based on the input first signal to obtain a measurement waiting signal; 1502: Multiply the second signal by the low-frequency square wave to obtain a second product signal; 1503: Input the second product signal into the second electro-optic conversion unit to cause the second electro-optic conversion unit to modulate the light waiting for modulation based on the input second product signal to obtain a correlation signal; 1504: Determine the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; 1505: Multiply the first product signal by the low-frequency square wave to obtain a third product signal; and 1506: An electrical averaging operation is performed on the third product signal obtained by multiplying the first product signal by the low-frequency square wave to determine the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal.

[0075] Note that FIG. 15 described above is for exemplarily explaining an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the above steps can be executed simultaneously, sequentially, the execution order between each operation can be appropriately adjusted, or some operations can be increased or decreased. A person skilled in the art can make appropriate modifications based on the above content without being limited to the description of FIG. 15 above.

[0076] In some embodiments, in step 1501, the first signal is the input symbol sequence of the first electro-optical conversion unit, that is, the first input symbol sequence A[n]. The first electro-optical conversion unit is the transmitter itself or a part of the modulation segment (unit) of the transmitter. The first electro-optical conversion unit has, for example, the structure shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E or other structures. The measurement waiting signal is a high-speed signal and an optical signal. Note that for the content regarding the first signal, the first electro-optical conversion unit, and the measurement waiting signal, reference can be made to the implementation of step 101.

[0077] In some embodiments, in step 1502, the multiplication of the second signal and the low-frequency square wave is performed, which may be realized by, for example, a multiplier. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a part of the hardware configuration for realizing the method shown in FIG. 15 in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 16, the multiplication of the second signal B[n] and the low-frequency square wave is performed, and then the product of B[n] and the low-frequency square wave is input to the second electro-optical conversion unit as the symbol sequence of the second electro-optical conversion unit. Note that although the hardware configurations such as the first electro-optical conversion unit, the second electro-optical conversion unit, and the optoelectronic multiplier / optoelectronic conversion unit are not shown in FIG. 16, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, FIG. 16 can be combined with any one of the hardware configurations shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 and FIGS. 12 to 14.

[0078] In some embodiments, in step 1503, the second electro-optical conversion unit may have a structure shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E or other structures. The correlation signal is also a high-speed signal and an optical signal. For the content related to the second signal, the second electro-optical conversion unit, and the correlation signal, reference can be made to the implementation of step 102.

[0079] In some embodiments, in step 1504, a first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is determined by an optoelectronic method. Photoelectric conversion and multiplication operations are performed on the sum of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal. When the optoelectronic method is adopted, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in parallel, and the optoelectronic conversion and multiplication operations of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal can be realized by an optoelectronic multiplier. For the content related to the realization of the optoelectronic method and the optoelectronic multiplier, reference can be made to the implementation of step 103.

[0080] In some embodiments, in step 1504, a first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is determined by an optical method. Photoelectric conversion is performed on the product of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal. When the optoelectronic method is adopted, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series to form an optical multiplier to realize the multiplication in the optical domain of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal. Also, the optoelectronic conversion of the product of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal may be realized by an optoelectronic conversion unit. For the content related to the realization of the optical method and the optoelectronic conversion unit, reference can be made to the implementation of step 103.

[0081] In some embodiments, in step 1505, the multiplication of the first product signal and the low-frequency square wave is performed to obtain a third product signal, which may be realized by a multiplier, for example. The low-frequency square wave in this step is the same low-frequency square wave as the low-frequency square wave in step 1052.

[0082] In some embodiments, in step 1506, the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal is determined by performing an electrical averaging operation on the third product signal obtained by multiplying the first product signal and the low-frequency square wave. The electrical averaging operation can be realized by an electrical averaging unit, and the multiplier in step 1505 can be provided in the electrical averaging unit. For example, referring to FIG. 16, taking the electrical averaging unit shown in FIG. 5A as an example, a multiplier is installed between the low-pass filter and the low-speed digital signal processor (Low-speed DSP) of the electrical averaging unit. The two inputs of the multiplier are respectively the low-frequency square wave and the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal, and the output is the above-mentioned third product signal. The low-speed digital signal processor (Low-speed DSP) obtains the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal after performing an electrical averaging operation on the third product signal. It should be noted that for the content related to the electrical averaging unit and the determination of the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal, reference can be made to the implementation of step 104.

[0083] According to the above embodiments, in the present invention, a step of frequency shift by square wave multiplication is added to the method for determining the signal correlation amount, that is, the second product signal obtained by multiplying the low-frequency square wave and one symbol sequence is used as the symbol sequence of the second electro-optical conversion unit, and an electrical averaging operation is performed on the first product signal of the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal and the third product signal obtained by multiplying the low-frequency square wave to obtain the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal. After adding the step of frequency shift by square wave multiplication, the calculated correlation amount is shifted from DC to the frequency of the low-frequency square wave, so that the 1 / f noise near DC can be avoided.

[0084] The above has been illustratively described with respect to a method for determining a signal correlation quantity and a hardware configuration for implementing the method. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The determination of the signal correlation quantity may further include other steps or processes, and reference may be made to the prior art for the specific content of these steps or processes. Further, the above has been illustratively described with respect to a hardware configuration for implementing a method for determining a signal correlation quantity. However, the present invention is not limited to this hardware configuration, and appropriate modifications may be made to these structures. Note that all implementation manners of these modifications are included within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0085] The above-described embodiments are for illustratively explaining the embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications may be made based on the above-described embodiments. For example, each of the above-described embodiments may be used alone, or a plurality of the above-described embodiments may be used in combination.

[0086] As can be seen from the above-described embodiments, the present invention determines the product of high-speed signals output from two electro-optical conversion units by an optical method or an optoelectronic method, and obtains the correlation quantity of these two high-speed signals by an electrical averaging operation. According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the correlation quantity of two high-speed signals by using only low-bandwidth electrical devices without the need to use a wide-bandwidth multiplier. The implementation method is flexible and can be implemented in an integrated or non-integrated manner. Further, the application scenarios are diverse and suitable for monitoring the characteristics of high-speed signals / sub-signals in any transmitter. Furthermore, by adding a function of frequency shift by square-wave multiplication and shifting the correlation quantity from direct current to the frequency of a low-frequency square wave, it is possible to avoid 1 / f noise near direct current.

[0087] <Embodiment of the second aspect> In an embodiment of the present invention, a device for determining a signal correlation quantity is provided, and the description of the same content as in the embodiment of the first aspect is omitted.

[0088] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a device for determining a signal correlation quantity according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17, the device 1700 for determining a signal correlation quantity includes the following.

[0089] First signal input unit 1701: It is used to input a first signal into a first electro-optical conversion unit, so that the first electro-optical conversion unit modulates the light to be modulated based on the first signal input thereto to obtain a signal to be measured; Second signal input unit 1702: It is used to input a second signal into a second electro-optical conversion unit, so that the second electro-optical conversion unit modulates the light to be modulated based on the second signal input thereto to obtain a correlation signal; First signal processing unit 1703: It is used to determine a first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; and Second signal processing unit 1704: It is used to determine a correlation quantity between the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first electro-optical conversion unit is a transmitter or a modulation segment of a part of the transmitter.

[0091] In some embodiments, the second electro-optical conversion unit outputs a finite number of states.

[0092] In some embodiments, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in parallel, and the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit respectively output an optical signal of the signal to be measured and an optical signal of the correlation signal.

[0093] In some embodiments, the first signal processing unit 1703 includes an optical multiplier, and the optical multiplier is used to perform optoelectronic conversion and multiplication operations on the sum of the optical signal of the signal to be measured and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators, or the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are different modulation segments of the same modulator.

[0095] In some embodiments, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series, and after the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series, the product of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal is output.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first signal processing unit 1703 includes an optoelectronic conversion unit, and the optoelectronic conversion unit is used to perform optoelectronic conversion on the product of the optical signal of the measurement waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators.

[0098] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes the following (not shown).

[0099] First multiplication unit: It is used to multiply the second signal by a low-frequency square wave to obtain a second product signal before inputting the second signal to the second electro-optical conversion unit.

[0100] Also, specifically, the second signal input unit 1702 is used to input the second product signal to the second electro-optical conversion unit, so that the second electro-optical conversion unit modulates the modulation-waiting light based on the second product signal to obtain the correlation signal.

[0101] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes the following (not shown).

[0102] Second multiplication unit: It is used to multiply the first product signal by the low-frequency square wave to obtain a third product signal before performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

[0103] In addition, the second signal processing unit 1704 includes an electrical averaging unit. Specifically, the electrical averaging unit performs an electrical averaging operation on the third product signal after multiplying the first product signal by the low-frequency square wave, and is used to determine the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal.

[0104] Note that although the components or modules related to the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. The signal correlation amount determination device 1700 may further include other components or modules. For the specific content of these components or modules, related technologies can be referred to.

[0105] Also, for the sake of convenience, only the connection relationship or signal direction between each component or module is shown in FIG. 17. However, as those skilled in the art can understand, various related technologies such as bus connection may be adopted. Furthermore, each of the above-mentioned components or modules may be implemented by hardware such as a processor, a memory, etc., but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0106] The above embodiments are used to exemplarily illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications may be made based on the above embodiments. For example, each of the above embodiments may be used alone, or a plurality of the above embodiments may be combined and used.

[0107] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the present invention determines the product of high-speed signals output from two electro-optical conversion units by an optical method or an optoelectronic method, and obtains the correlation amount of these two high-speed signals by an electrical averaging operation. According to the present invention, without the need to use a multiplier with a wide bandwidth, the correlation amount of two high-speed signals can be obtained only by using an electrical device with a low bandwidth. The implementation method is flexible and can be realized in an integrated or non-integrated manner. In addition, the application scenarios are diverse and suitable for monitoring the characteristics of high-speed signals / sub-signals in any transmitter. Furthermore, by adding the function of frequency shift by square-wave multiplication and shifting the correlation amount from direct current to the frequency of a low-frequency square wave, the 1 / f noise near direct current can be avoided.

[0108] <Embodiment of the third aspect> In an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device is provided, which includes the signal correlation amount determination device 1700 described in the embodiment of the second aspect, the content of which is incorporated herein. The electronic device may be, for example, a computer, a server, a workstation, a notebook computer, a smartphone, etc., but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0109] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 18, the electronic device 1800 may include a processor (for example, a central processing unit CPU) 1810 and a memory 1820, and the memory 1820 is connected to the central processing unit 1810. Among them, the memory 1820 can store various data, can also store a process 1821 for information processing, and can execute the program 1821 under the control of the processor 1810.

[0110] In some embodiments, the function of the signal correlation amount determination device 1700 is integrated into the processor 1810 and realized. Among them, the processor 1810 is configured to realize the signal correlation amount determination method described in the embodiment of the first aspect.

[0111] In some embodiments, the signal correlation amount determination device 1700 is arranged independently of the processor 1810. For example, the signal correlation amount determination device 1700 is configured as a chip connected to the processor 1810, and the function of the signal correlation amount determination device 1700 may be realized under the control of the processor 1810.

[0112] For example, the processor 1810 is configured to perform the following control, that is, by inputting the first signal into the first electro-optical conversion unit, causing the first electro-optical conversion unit to modulate the light to be modulated based on the input first signal to obtain a signal to be measured; by inputting the second signal into the second electro-optical conversion unit, causing the second electro-optical conversion unit to modulate the light to be modulated based on the input second signal to obtain a correlation signal; determining the first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; and determining the correlation amount of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

[0113] Also, as shown in FIG. 18, the electronic device 1800 may further include an input / output (I / O) device 1830, a display 1840, etc. Among them, the functions of these components are the same as those in the prior art, and the detailed description thereof is omitted here. Note that the electronic device 1800 does not necessarily include all the components shown in FIG. 18. Also, the electronic device 1800 may further include components not shown in FIG. 18, and for this, reference may be made to the related art.

[0114] In an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable program is further provided. When the program is executed on an electronic device, the program causes the computer to execute the signal correlation amount determination method described in the embodiment of the first aspect on the electronic device.

[0115] In an embodiment of the present invention, a storage medium storing a computer-readable program is further provided. The computer-readable program causes the computer to execute the signal correlation amount determination method described in the embodiment of the first aspect on an electronic device.

[0116] In addition, the above-described apparatus and method may be implemented by software or hardware, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software. The present invention further relates to a computer-readable program as described below, that is, when the program is executed by a logic component, the logic component realizes the above-described apparatus or component, or realizes the above-described various methods or steps by the logic component. The logic component may be, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a microprocessor, a processor used in a computer, or the like. The present invention further relates to a storage medium storing the above-described program, such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical hard disk, a DVD, a flash memory, or the like.

[0117] Furthermore, one or more combinations of the functional blocks described in the drawings and / or one or more combinations of the functional blocks may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic components, discrete gates or transistor logic components, discrete hardware assemblies, or any other suitable combination for performing the functions described herein. Also, one or more combinations of the functional blocks described in the drawings and / or one or more combinations of the functional blocks may further be configured as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors connected in communication with the DSP, or any other configuration combination.

[0118] Regarding the above-described embodiments and the like, the following additional notes are further disclosed.

[0119] (Additional Note 1) A method for determining a signal correlation quantity, By inputting a first signal into a first electro-optical conversion unit, causing the first electro-optical conversion unit to modulate the light to be modulated based on the input first signal and obtain a signal to be measured; By inputting a second signal into a second electro-optical conversion unit, causing the second electro-optical conversion unit to modulate the light to be modulated based on the input second signal and obtain a correlation signal; Determining a first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; and Including determining a correlation quantity between the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal. A method.

[0120] (Appendix 2) The method according to Appendix 1, wherein The first electro-optical conversion unit is a transmitter or a modulation segment of a part of a transmitter. A method.

[0121] (Appendix 3) The method according to Appendix 1, wherein The second electro-optical conversion unit outputs a finite number of states. A method.

[0122] (Appendix 4) The method according to Appendix 1, wherein Determining the first product signal of the signal to be measured and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method means Performing optoelectronic conversion and multiplication operations on the sum of the optical signal of the signal to be measured and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal, The first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in parallel, and the optical signal of the signal to be measured and the optical signal of the correlation signal are respectively output by the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit. A method.

[0123] (Appendix 5) The method according to Appendix 4, wherein The first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators; or A method in which the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are different modulation segments of the same modulator.

[0124] (Appendix 6) The method according to Appendix 1, Determining the first product signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optical method includes performing photoelectric conversion on the product of the optical signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal, A method in which the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series, and the product of the optical signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal is output after the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are connected in series.

[0125] (Appendix 7) The method according to Appendix 6, A method in which the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators.

[0126] (Appendix 8) The method according to any one of Appendices 1 to 7, Before inputting the second signal into the second electro-optical conversion unit, the method further includes performing multiplication of the second signal and a low-frequency square wave to obtain a second product signal, Obtaining the correlation signal by modulating the modulation-waiting light by inputting the second signal into the second electro-optical conversion unit includes modulating the DC light by inputting the product of the second product signal and the low-frequency square wave into the second electro-optical conversion unit to obtain the correlation signal.

[0127] (Appendix 9) The method according to Appendix 8, Before performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal, the method further includes performing multiplication of the first product signal and the low-frequency square wave to obtain a third product signal, Determining the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal is A method including performing an electrical averaging operation on the product of the first product signal and the low-frequency square wave to determine the correlation amount between the measurement waiting signal and the correlation signal.

[0128] (Appendix 10) An electronic device, Including a memory and a processor, A computer program is stored in the memory, The processor is configured to realize the method for determining the signal correlation amount described in any one of Appendices 1 to 9 by executing the computer program.

[0129] (Appendix 11) A storage medium storing a computer-readable program, The computer-readable program causes a computer to execute the method for determining the signal correlation amount described in any one of Appendices 1 to 9 in an electronic device.

[0130] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and any changes to the present invention belong to the technical scope of the present invention as long as they do not depart from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining a signal correlation quantity, comprising: a first signal input unit configured to input a first signal to a first electro-optic conversion unit, so that the first electro-optic conversion unit modulates modulation-waiting light based on the first signal input thereto to obtain a measurement-waiting signal; a second signal input unit configured to input a second signal to a second electro-optic conversion unit, so that the second electro-optic conversion unit modulates modulation-waiting light based on the second signal input thereto to obtain a correlation signal; a first signal processing unit for determining a first product signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal by an optoelectronic method or an optical method; and a second signal processing unit for determining a correlation quantity between the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first electro-optic conversion unit is a transmitter or a modulation segment of a part of a transmitter.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second electro-optic conversion unit outputs a finite number of states.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit are connected in parallel, the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit respectively output an optical signal of the measurement-waiting signal and an optical signal of the correlation signal, the first signal processing unit includes an optoelectronic multiplier, and the optoelectronic multiplier is used to perform optoelectronic conversion and multiplication operations on the sum of the optical signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators; or the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit are different modulation segments of the same modulator.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit are connected in series, the first electro-optic conversion unit and the second electro-optic conversion unit output a product of the optical signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal after being connected in series, the first signal processing unit includes an optoelectronic conversion unit, and the optoelectronic conversion unit is used to perform optoelectronic conversion on the product of the optical signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the optical signal of the correlation signal to obtain the first product signal.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first electro-optical conversion unit and the second electro-optical conversion unit are modulation segments of different modulators. **Claim 8** The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first multiplication unit configured to multiply the second signal by a low-frequency square wave to obtain a second product signal before inputting the second signal to the second electro-optical conversion unit, wherein the second signal input unit is configured to input the second product signal to the second electro-optical conversion unit, so that the second electro-optical conversion unit modulates the modulation-waiting light based on the second product signal to obtain the correlation signal. **Claim 9** The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a second multiplication unit configured to multiply the first product signal by the low-frequency square wave to obtain a third product signal before performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal, wherein the second signal processing unit is configured to perform an electrical averaging operation on the third product signal after multiplying the first product signal by the low-frequency square wave, so as to determine a correlation amount between the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal. **Claim 10** A method for determining a signal correlation amount, comprising: inputting a first signal to a first electro-optical conversion unit, so that the first electro-optical conversion unit modulates modulation-waiting light based on the input first signal to obtain a measurement-waiting signal; inputting a second signal to a second electro-optical conversion unit, so that the second electro-optical conversion unit modulates modulation-waiting light based on the input second signal to obtain a correlation signal; determining a first product signal of the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal by a photoelectric method or an optical method; and determining a correlation amount between the measurement-waiting signal and the correlation signal by performing an electrical averaging operation on the first product signal.

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