Active optical cable device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide an active optical cable device. In the active optical cable device, a transmitting end of a first optical module comprises an optical modulation module and a laser assembly. A transmitting end of a second optical module comprises an optical modulation module, and the optical modulation module can be coupled to the laser assembly in the first optical module by means of an optical fiber, so that the optical modulation modules at the two ends of the active optical cable device can share a same light source in a fiber-optic light guidance manner. On one hand, by reducing the number of laser assemblies, the power consumption and the hardware cost of the active optical cable device are reduced; on the other hand, by reducing the number of the laser assemblies, the number of failure points of the active optical cable device can be reduced, thereby reducing the failure rate of the active optical cable device.

Description

Technical Field of Active Optical Cable Equipment

[0001] This application relates to the field of optical communication technologies, and particularly to an active optical cable equipment. Background Art

[0002] With the development of cloud computing and AI (Artificial Intelligence), a large number of AOCs (Active Optical Cables, also known as optical cables with chips) are increasingly used as media for network interconnection in cloud computing infrastructures and AI supercomputer network infrastructures. To provide a high-performance network communication environment, the AOCs used in the infrastructure have a large bandwidth. For example, the AOCs used in AI supercomputer network infrastructures usually have a bandwidth of 400G or 800G. Currently, the hardware cost of AOCs on the market is relatively high, which is not conducive to reducing the construction cost of the infrastructure. Therefore, there is a need to propose a new solution. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Multiple aspects of this application provide an active optical cable equipment for sharing lasers in optical modules at both ends of an AOC device, thereby reducing the cost of the active optical cable and effectively reducing the failure rate of the active optical cable.

[0004] An embodiment of this application provides an active optical cable equipment, including: a first optical module, a second optical module, and an optical cable connected between the first optical module and the second optical module; wherein, the first optical module includes: a first optical transmitting end and a first optical receiving end; the second optical module includes: a second optical transmitting end and a second optical receiving end; the first optical transmitting end includes a first optical modulation module and a laser component; the second optical transmitting end includes a second optical modulation module; wherein, the first optical modulation module is coupled to the second optical receiving end through a first optical fiber in the optical cable; the second optical modulation module is coupled to the first optical receiving end through a second optical fiber in the optical cable; one output end of the laser component is coupled to the first optical modulation module, and the other output end is coupled to the second optical modulation module through a third optical fiber in the optical cable to provide a modulation light source for the first optical modulation module and the second optical modulation module.

[0005] Optionally, the laser component includes: a laser and a splitter; the laser is a continuous wavelength laser; wherein, the output end of the laser is coupled to the input end of the splitter, the first output end of the splitter is coupled to the first optical modulation module, and the second output end of the splitter is coupled to the second optical modulation module through the third optical fiber.

[0006] Optionally, the first optical modulation module includes a first number of optical modulators and drivers electrically connected to each optical modulator, and the second optical modulation module includes a second number of optical modulators and drivers electrically connected to each optical modulator; wherein, the first output end of the optical splitter is respectively connected to the optical input ends of the first number of optical modulators to couple a part of the laser beam emitted by the laser to the first number of optical modulators; the second output end of the optical splitter is coupled to one end of the third optical fiber, and the other end of the third optical fiber is respectively connected to the optical input ends of the second number of optical modulators to couple another part of the laser emitted by the laser to the second number of optical modulators.

[0007] Optionally, the first optical fiber includes: a first number of optical fibers; the second optical receiving end includes a first number of photodetectors and transimpedance amplifiers electrically connected to each photodetector; the first number of optical modulators and the first number of photodetectors are coupled and connected one by one through the first number of optical fibers.

[0008] Optionally, the second optical fiber includes: a second number of optical fibers; the first optical receiving end includes a second number of photodetectors and transimpedance amplifiers electrically connected to each photodetector; the second number of optical modulators and the second number of photodetectors are coupled and connected through the second number of optical fibers one by one.

[0009] Optionally, the splitting ratio of the optical splitter is determined according to the ratio of the first number to the second number.

[0010] Optionally, the third optical fiber includes: at least one polarization-maintaining optical fiber.

[0011] Optionally, the optical output end of the optical cable is fixedly connected to the second optical module through a second optical fiber connector.

[0012] Optionally, the second optical fiber connector includes: a first connector body, a second connector body, and a fixing member; wherein, the optical output end of the optical cable is fixed in the first connector body, and the optical input end of the second optical module is fixed in the second connector body; a positioning pin is provided on the first connector body, and a positioning hole adapted to the positioning pin is provided on the second connector body; wherein, when the first connector body and the second connector body are aligned and connected through the positioning hole and the positioning pin, the optical output end of the optical cable in the first connector body is directly coupled to the optical input end of the second optical module in the second connector body; wherein, one end of the fixing member is provided on the first connector body after alignment and connection, and the other end is provided on the second connector body after alignment and connection to fix the first connector body and the second connector body.

[0013] Optionally, the optical input end of the optical cable is fixedly connected to the first optical module through a first optical fiber connector, and the optical output end of the optical cable is fixedly connected to the second optical module through a second optical fiber connector.

[0014] In the active optical cable device provided by the embodiment of the present application, the transmitting end of the first optical module may include an optical modulation module and a laser component. The transmitting end of the second optical module may include an optical modulation module and is coupled to the laser component in the first optical module through an optical fiber. Furthermore, the optical modulation modules at both ends of the active optical cable device can share the same light source through the optical fiber light guiding method. On the one hand, by reducing the number of laser components, the power consumption and hardware cost of the AOC device are reduced. On the other hand, by reducing the number of laser components, the number of failure points of the AOC device can be reduced, thereby reducing the failure rate of the AOC device. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The schematic embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation to the present application. In the drawings:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an active optical cable device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an active optical cable device provided by another exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an active optical cable device provided by yet another exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a first optical modulation module and a second optical modulation module sharing a laser component provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a connection schematic diagram of a second optical fiber connector provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. **Detailed Description**

[0021] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0022] The terms used in the embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application. The singular forms of "a", "the" and "said" used in the embodiments of the present application and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. "Plural" generally includes at least two, but does not exclude the case of including at least one.

[0023] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used herein is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " herein generally means that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0024] It should be noted that the descriptions such as "first" and "second" herein are used to distinguish different messages, devices, modules, etc., and do not represent the order and quantity, nor do they limit that "first" and "second" are of different types.

[0025] It should also be noted that the term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, so that a commodity or system including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such commodity or system. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "including a....." does not exclude the existence of another identical element in the commodity or system including the said element.

[0026] In some AOC devices, the AOC device consists of two optical modules and an optical cable between the two optical modules. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an AOC device with a bandwidth of 400G. As shown in Figure 1, the AOC device with a bandwidth of 400G includes optical module A, optical module B, and an 8-core optical cable between the two optical modules. Among them, each optical module of the AOC device includes an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. The 8-core optical cable forms 4 data transmission channels and 4 data reception channels between the optical transmitters and optical receivers of the two optical modules. Among them, any optical transmitter consists of 4 drivers, 4 optical modulators, and a laser. The optical receiver consists of 4 photodetectors and 4 transimpedance amplifiers. As shown in Figure 1, the optical transmitters at both ends of the AOC device each contain a laser. This solution with two lasers, on the one hand, makes the AOC device have high power consumption and cost. On the other hand, the lasers in each optical module are vulnerable failure points of the AOC device. When any one of the lasers fails, it will cause the entire AOC device to fail, thereby increasing the failure rate of the AOC device. In addition, the actual test results of the lasers in each optical module show that the lasers in each optical module have redundant power budgets, resulting in waste of redundant laser power and unable to utilize laser energy more reasonably.

[0027] In view of the above technical problems, in some embodiments of the present application, a solution is provided. The following will describe in detail the technical solutions provided by each embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an active optical cable device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The active optical cable device may include: a first optical module 10, a second optical module 20, and an optical cable 30 connected between the first optical module 10 and the second optical module 20.

[0029] Among them, the first optical module 10 and the second optical module 20 are mainly used for: through the optoelectronic conversion mechanism, converting the electrical signal to be transmitted into an optical signal, or converting the received optical signal into an electrical signal. The active optical cable device can be connected between two devices to realize the communication interaction between the two devices.

[0030] Among them, the AOC device may further include a connector (Host Connector) connected to the optical modules at both ends, and this connector is used to connect the AOC device to an external device. The external device may include, but is not limited to, devices such as a host, a high-definition display, a TV box, a server, a switch, and a router in the application scenario. As shown in Figure 2, the first optical module 10 may be connected to the first connector 11 to connect to an external device through the first connector 11. Correspondingly, the second optical module 20 may be connected to the second connector 21 to connect to an external device through the second connector 21.

[0031] In this embodiment, when communication devices are respectively connected to both ends of the AOC device, for the convenience of description, the external device connected to the first connector 11 in the AOC device is described as the first device, and the external device connected to the second connector 21 in the AOC device is described as the second device. Among them, the first optical module 10 may be connected to the first device through the first connector 11, and the second optical module 20 may be connected to the second device through the second connector 21. When the first device has a signal transmission requirement, the first optical module 10 may convert the electrical signal sent by the first device into an optical signal and transmit the optical signal to the second optical module 20 through the first optical fiber in the optical cable 30. After receiving the optical signal, the second optical module 20 may convert the optical signal into an electrical signal and provide the electrical signal to the second device. Thus, the transmission-reception process from the first device to the second device is realized. Correspondingly, when the second device has a signal transmission requirement, the second optical module 20 may convert the electrical signal sent by the second device into an optical signal and transmit the optical signal to the first optical module 10 through the second optical fiber in the optical cable 30. After receiving the optical signal, the first optical module 10 may convert the optical signal into an electrical signal and provide the electrical signal to the first device. Thus, the transmission-reception process from the second device to the first device is realized.

[0032] As shown in Figure 2, the first optical module 10 may include: a first optical transmitting end 101 and a first optical receiving end 102; the second optical module 20 includes: a second optical transmitting end 201 and a second optical receiving end 202. During the transmission-reception process between the first device and the second device, the first optical transmitting end 101 is configured to receive the electrical signal to be transmitted sent by the first device, convert the electrical signal into an optical signal, and transmit the optical signal to the second optical receiving end 202 through the first optical fiber connected to the first optical transmitting end 101. The second optical receiving end 202 is configured to receive the optical signal, convert the optical signal into an electrical signal, and provide the electrical signal to the second device connected thereto. During the transmission-reception process between the second device and the first device, the second optical transmitting end 201 is configured to receive the electrical signal to be transmitted sent by the second device, convert the electrical signal into an optical signal, and transmit it to the first optical receiving end 102 through the second optical fiber connected to the second optical transmitting end 201. The first optical receiving end 102 is configured to receive the optical signal, convert the optical signal into an electrical signal, and provide the electrical signal to the first device connected thereto. In this embodiment, the use of "first" and "second" to define the optical fibers is only for distinguishing optical fibers with different connection relationships and different functions, and does not limit the number and connection order of the optical fibers.

[0033] Optionally, the optical modules at both ends of the AOC device may further include a retimer. Among them, the retimer is used to reorganize the signal of the previous stage and then transmit it to the next stage, and has the function of restoring data, reducing the possibility of data transmission errors. In some embodiments, the retimer may be implemented based on a DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chip, or may be implemented based on a CDR (Clock and Data Recovery) chip. Optionally, the retimer chip may be independently set, or may be integrated in other modules. For example, the retimer chip may be integrated in the driver of the optical modulator. The optional implementation manner with the retimer independently set will be exemplarily described below.

[0034] As shown in Figure 2, the first optical module 10 includes a first retimer 12. The first retimer 12 includes: connected to the first The transmit - end retimer 121 connected to the optical transmit - end 101 and the receive - end retimer 122 connected to the first optical receive - end 102. Among them, the transmit - end retimer in the first connector 11, the first retimer 12, and the first optical transmit - end 101 can be cascaded in sequence. The transmit - end retimer in the first retimer 12 can re - organize the electrical signal transmitted by the first connector 11 and then transmit it to the first optical transmit - end 101. The first optical receive - end 102, the receive - end retimer in the first retimer 12, and the first connector 11 are cascaded in sequence. The receive - end retimer in the first retimer 12 can re - organize the electrical signal transmitted by the first optical receive - end 102 and then transmit it to the first connector 11.

[0035] Correspondingly, as shown in Figure 2, the second optical module 20 includes a second retimer 22. Among them, the second retimer 22 includes: the transmit - end retimer 221 connected to the second optical transmit - end 201 and the receive - end retimer 222 connected to the second optical receive - end 202. The second connector 21, the transmit - end retimer in the second retimer 22, and the second optical transmit - end 201 can be cascaded in sequence. The transmit - end retimer in the second retimer 22 can re - organize the electrical signal transmitted by the second connector 21 and then transmit it to the second optical transmit - end 201. The second optical receive - end 202, the receive - end retimer in the second retimer 22, and the second connector 21 are cascaded in sequence. The receive - end retimer in the second retimer 22 can re - organize the electrical signal transmitted by the second optical receive - end 202 and then transmit it to the second connector 21.

[0036] Among them, the first optical transmit - end 101 and the second optical transmit - end 201 can, through an optical modulation method, modulate the optical signal input by an external light source according to the information carried by the electrical signal to be transmitted, so as to obtain a modulated optical signal. In this embodiment, to reduce the hardware cost and failure rate of the AOC device, the first optical transmit - end 101 and the second optical transmit - end 201 can share the same external light source. Among them, the external light source can be a laser light source or any other high - energy light source. The following will take the laser light source as an example for specific description.

[0037] As shown in Figure 2, the first optical emission end 101 may include a first optical modulation module 103 and a laser component 104. The second optical emission end 201 may include a second optical modulation module 203. The first optical modulation module 103 and the second optical modulation module 203 may share the laser light source provided by the laser component 104. Among them, any optical modulation module may be composed of an optical modulator and a driver, and the optical modulator may be implemented as an optical modulation chip.

[0038] Among them, as shown in Figure 2, the first optical modulation module 103 may be coupled to the second optical reception end 202 through the first optical fiber 301 in the optical cable 30; the second optical modulation module 203 may be coupled to the first optical reception end 102 through the second optical fiber 302 in the optical cable 30. Among them, one output end of the laser component 104 may be coupled to the first optical modulation module 103, and the other output end may be coupled to the second optical modulation module 203 through the third optical fiber 303 in the optical cable 30 to provide a modulated light source for the first optical modulation module 103 and the second optical modulation module 203.

[0039] In this embodiment, the so-called coupling refers to a connection method of connecting components to transmit optical signals between components. The coupling may include direct coupling, coupling through a lens, and coupling through an optical fiber coupling device. Combination, refractive coupling, or polarization coupling are not limited in this embodiment. Among them, direct coupling may include directly connecting the end face of the optical fiber to the coupler of the optical modulator chip, or connecting the end face of the optical fiber to the coupler of the optical modulator chip through an optical fiber connector, an optical fiber adapter, or an optical fiber socket. Among them, lens coupling may include using a lens to couple the light beam from the light source into the coupler of the optical modulator chip, or using a lens to couple the light beam from the light source into the optical fiber; or using a lens to couple the light emitted from the optical fiber into the coupler of the optical modulator chip. Among them, optical fiber coupler coupling may include using specially designed optical fiber coupling devices, such as couplers, beam splitters, and coupling rods, etc., to transmit the light beam from the optical fiber to the coupler of the optical modulator chip, or to couple the light beam from the light source to the coupler or the optical fiber of the optical modulator chip. Among them, refractive coupling may include using the principle of refraction to refract the light beam from the light source into the optical fiber through an optical element with a refraction function, such as a prism or a rhombic lens, or to refract the light beam from the optical fiber onto the coupler of the optical modulator chip. Among them, polarization coupling may include converting the light beam from the light source into a specific polarization state through a polarization optical element and then coupling it into the optical fiber, or converting the light beam emitted from the optical fiber into a specific polarization state and then coupling it onto the coupler of the optical modulator chip.

[0040] Based on the AOC device shown in FIG. 2, when the first device connected to the first optical module 10 has a signal transmission requirement, the first optical modulation module 103 can modulate the optical signal emitted by the laser component 104 according to the electrical signal sent by the first device to obtain a modulated optical signal. The modulated optical signal is coupled into the first optical fiber 301 in the optical cable 30 and is transmitted by the first optical fiber 301 to the second optical receiving end 202 in the second optical module 20. Correspondingly, when the second device connected to the second optical module 20 has a signal transmission requirement, the second optical modulation module 203 can receive the electrical signal sent by the second device and receive the optical signal emitted by the laser component 104 through the third optical fiber 303 in the optical cable 30. Furthermore, the second optical modulation module 203 can modulate the received optical signal according to the electrical signal sent by the second device to obtain a modulated optical signal. The modulated optical signal is coupled into the second optical fiber 302 in the optical cable 30 and is transmitted by the second optical fiber 302 to the first optical receiving end 102 in the first optical module 10.

[0041] In this embodiment, the first optical module and the second optical module at both ends of the AOC device can share the light source provided by the same laser component through optical fibers. Only one laser component is required for an AOC device to achieve the conversion from electrical signals to optical signals. On the one hand, by reducing the number of laser components, the power consumption and hardware cost of the AOC device are reduced. On the other hand, by reducing the number of laser components, the number of failure points of the AOC device can be reduced, thereby reducing the failure rate of the AOC device. In addition, by sharing the light source provided by the laser component, the power of the existing laser component can be fully utilized, and the waste of laser energy can be reduced.

[0042] In some alternative embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the laser component 104 includes: a laser and a beam splitter. Optionally, the laser can be a continuous wavelength laser (CW) to provide a continuous light source to the first optical modulation module 103 and the second optical modulation module 203. The wavelength of the laser can be between 850 nm and 1550 nm. Among them, the beam splitter is used to distribute a beam of light into multiple optical paths according to the proportion corresponding to the optical power. In some embodiments, the beam splitter can be composed of incident and exit slits, a mirror, and a dispersion element. Among them, the output end of the laser is coupled to the input end of the beam splitter for injecting the laser emitted by the laser into the beam splitter. Among them, the beam splitter has at least two output ends. The first output end of the beam splitter is coupled to the first optical modulation module 103, and the second output end of the beam splitter is coupled to the second optical modulation module 203 through the third optical fiber.

[0043] FIG. 4 schematically shows the optical paths of the laser 1041 and the beam splitter 1042 included in the laser component 104. As shown in FIG. 4, the laser beam output by the laser 1041 can be split by the beam splitter 1042 to obtain two laser beams. One beam is incident on the first optical modulation module 103, and the other beam is incident on the second optical modulation module 203 through the third optical fiber 303.

[0044] Optionally, the splitting ratio of the optical splitter can be determined according to the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity. For example, the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity can be used as the splitting ratio of the optical splitter. In some embodiments, when the number of optical modulators included in the first optical modulation module and the second optical modulation module is the same, the optical splitter can distribute the laser beam corresponding to 50% of the optical power to the first optical modulation module 103 and the laser beam corresponding to 50% of the optical power to the second optical modulation module 203 in a 50% ratio. Optionally, the optical power of the laser can be determined according to the number of optical modulators included in the first optical modulation module and the second optical modulation module respectively. The magnitude of the optical power of the laser can be such that, when splitting is performed according to the splitting ratio, the intensity requirements of the incident optical signals for the first optical modulation module and the second optical modulation module are satisfied.

[0045] Wherein, the first optical modulation module and the second optical modulation module may each include a plurality of optical modulators. As shown in FIG. 3, the first optical modulation module 103 may include a plurality of optical modulators and drivers connected to each optical modulator, and each driver may be connected to a transmit - end retimer. The number of optical modulators is associated with the bandwidth of the AOC device. One optical modulator is used to modulate the input optical signal according to an input electrical signal of one path to obtain the modulated optical signal corresponding to this path of electrical signal, and the modulated optical signal carries the complete information carried by the electrical signal. Among them, the larger the bandwidth of the AOC device, the more the number of optical modulators included in the first optical modulation module. For example, in an AOC device with a bandwidth of 400G, the optical modulation module of a single optical transmit - end may be composed of 4 optical modulators, and each optical modulator is connected to the receiving - end through an optical fiber with a bandwidth of 100G to provide 4 transmission channels of 100G. Another example is that in an AOC device with a bandwidth of 800G, the optical modulation module of a single optical transmit - end may be composed of 8 optical modulators, and each optical modulator is connected to the receiving - end through an optical fiber with a bandwidth of 100G to provide 8 transmission channels of 100G.

[0046] Optionally, the first optical modulation module includes a first quantity of optical modulators and drivers electrically connected to each optical modulator, and the second optical modulation module includes a second quantity of optical modulators and drivers electrically connected to each optical modulator; wherein, any driver is used to drive the optical modulator connected thereto to perform the modulation operation of the optical signal. Wherein, any optical modulator may include at least one optical input end; wherein, any optical input end is used to receive the incident light ray from the optical splitter. The first quantity can be 1, 2, 8, 16 or other quantities, which are not limited in this embodiment. The incident light rays. The first quantity can be 1, 2, 8, 16 or other quantities, which are not limited in this embodiment.

[0047] Inside the first optical transmitter, the first output end of the optical splitter is respectively connected to the optical input ends of the first number of optical modulators to couple a part of the laser beam emitted by the laser to the first number of optical modulators. Among them, the second output end of the optical splitter is coupled to one end of the third optical fiber, and the other end of the third optical fiber is respectively connected to the optical input ends of the second number of optical modulators to couple another part of the laser beam emitted by the laser to the second number of optical modulators. Among them, the optical input end of any optical modulator is implemented as a coupler on the optical modulator chip. The way of coupling the laser beam to the optical modulator may include the way of grating coupling (also known as vertical coupling) or end-face coupling (also known as horizontal coupling), which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0048] In some alternative embodiments, the third optical fiber may include: at least one polarization-maintaining optical fiber. Among them, the polarization-maintaining optical fiber is used to transmit linearly polarized light so that the linear polarization direction of the transmitted light beam remains unchanged, reducing the influence of polarization state drift on the modulation effect.

[0049] Optionally, the first optical fiber may include: the first number of optical fibers; the second optical receiver includes the first number of photodetectors (PDs) and a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) electrically connected to each photodetector, and each trans-impedance amplifier may be connected to a receiver retimer. The first number of optical modulators and the first number of photodetectors are coupled and connected one by one through the first number of optical fibers. That is, one optical modulator in the first transmitter is coupled to one photodetector in the second optical receiver through one optical fiber to form a communication channel. Among them, the photodetectors in the second optical receiver are used to receive the modulated optical signal through the optical fiber coupled to them and convert the modulated optical signal to obtain an electrical signal. The converted electrical signal is amplified by the trans-impedance amplifier and then transmitted to the corresponding second device through a connector.

[0050] Accordingly, the second optical fiber includes: a second number of optical fibers; a first optical receiving end, including a second number of photodetectors, a second number of optical modulators, and a second number of photodetectors, which are coupled and connected one by one through the second number of optical fibers. That is, one optical modulator in the second transmitting end is coupled to one photodetector in the first optical receiving end through one optical fiber to form a communication channel. Among them, the photodetector in the first optical receiving end is used to receive the modulated optical signal through the optical fiber coupled thereto, and convert the modulated optical signal to obtain an electrical signal. The converted electrical signal is amplified by a transimpedance amplifier and then transmitted to the corresponding first device through a connector. Among them, the second number may be the same as the first number, and the second number may be 4, 6, 8 or other numbers, which are not limited in this embodiment.

[0051] In the above embodiments, when the AOC device provides N data transmission channels from the first optical module to the second optical module, the number of optical fibers included in the first optical fiber is N; when the AOC device provides M data transmission channels from the second optical module to the first optical module, the number of optical fibers included in the second optical fiber is M. The number of optical fibers included in the third optical fiber required for the first optical module and the second optical module to share a light source is one. Then, in this embodiment, the total number of optical fibers included in the optical cable is M + N + L. When M = N, the total number of optical fibers included in the optical cable is 2N + L

[0052] In some alternative embodiments, the optical input end of the optical cable 30 can be detachably connected to the first optical module 10 through the first optical fiber connector 13, and the optical output end of the cable 30 can be detachably connected to the second optical module 20 through the second optical fiber connector 23, so as to facilitate the replacement of components.

[0053] Optionally, between any optical fiber connector and its corresponding optical module, a positioning pin (or alignment pin) and a positioning hole can be used for alignment connection. A positioning pin can be provided on any optical fiber connector, and a positioning hole can be provided on the corresponding optical module. Based on the insertion and extraction of the positioning pin and the positioning hole, the detachable connection between the optical fiber connector and the optical module can be realized.

[0054] In some alternative embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the optical output end of the optical cable 30 can be fixedly connected to the second optical module 20 through the second optical fiber connector 23. That is, the optical cable 30 and the second optical module 20 are non-detachable. The following will be described exemplarily with reference to FIG. 5.

[0055] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 5, the second optical fiber connector includes: a first connector body 231, a second connector body 232, and a fixing member 233. Among them, the optical output end of the optical cable 30 is fixed in the first connector body 231, and the optical input end of the second optical module 20 is fixed in the second connector body 232.

[0056] Among them, a positioning pin is provided on the first connector body 231, and a positioning hole adapted to the positioning pin may be provided on the second connector body 232, so that the first connector body 231 and the second connector body 232 are aligned and connected through the positioning hole and the positioning pin. Of course, in some other embodiments, a positioning hole may be provided on the first connector body, and a positioning pin may be provided on the second connector body, which is not shown in the figure. Among them, when the first connector body 231 and the second connector body 232 are aligned and connected through the positioning hole and the positioning pin, the optical output end of the optical cable 30 in the first connector body 2311 can be directly coupled to the optical input end of the second optical module 20 in the second connector body 232. Furthermore, the laser output by the laser assembly can be coupled to the second optical module 20.

[0057] Among them, one end of the fixing member 233 can be arranged on the first connector body 231 after alignment and connection, and the other end can be arranged on the second connector body 232 after alignment and connection to fix the first connector body 231 and the second connector body 232. Optionally, the fixing member 233 can be implemented as the "U-shaped" fixing member shown in FIG. 5, or can be implemented as a circlip fixing member, which is not limited in this embodiment. Based on the positioning pin, the positioning hole, and the fixing member, the connection stability between the optical cable 30 and the second optical module can be increased, and the risk of increased optical loss caused by loosening at the coupling point can be reduced.

[0058] In some other alternative embodiments, the optical input end of the optical cable can be fixedly connected to the first optical module through the first optical fiber connector, and the optical output end of the optical cable can be fixedly connected to the second optical module through the second optical fiber connector. That is, the optical cable is a non-detachable structure with both the first optical module and the second optical module, so as to reduce the risk of loosening at the optical fiber coupling point, thereby reducing the risk of mismatch between the optical power after splitting and the optical power required by the optical modulator.

[0059] Among them, the optical fiber connector can be an MPO (Multi-fiber Push on) connector. The MPO connector is a multi-core connector standard. Usually, multiple-core optical fibers are arranged in a row, and one row or multiple rows of optical fibers are in the same MPO connector. For example, in some embodiments, one row arranged in the MPO connector may include 12 cores, and multiple rows may include 24 cores or more. In this embodiment, according to the different bandwidths of the AOC, optical fiber connectors with different core numbers can be selected. For example, for an AOC with a bandwidth of 400G, each optical emission end of the optical module of the AOC has 4 transmission channels with a bandwidth of 100G, and each optical reception end has 4 transmission channels with a bandwidth of 100G. Then, a total of 8 optical fibers are required to connect the two optical emission ends and the two optical reception ends corresponding to the two optical modules, and one optical fiber is required to connect the laser components of the two optical modules. The total number of optical fibers is 9. Therefore, a 12-core MPO optical fiber connector can be used. Another example, for an AOC with a bandwidth of 800G, each optical emission end of the optical module of the AOC has 8 transmission channels with a bandwidth of 100G, and each optical reception end has 8 transmission channels with a bandwidth of 100G. Then, a total of 16 optical fibers are required to connect the two optical emission ends and the two optical reception ends corresponding to the two optical modules, and one optical fiber is required to connect the laser components of the two optical modules. The total number of optical fibers is 17. Therefore, a 24-core MPO optical fiber connector can be used, which will not be elaborated here.

[0060] Based on this implementation manner, when the second optical modulation module shares the same laser component with the first optical modulation module through an optical fiber, fixedly connecting the third optical fiber to the second optical modulation module can effectively reduce the risk of poor contact of the optical coupling surface caused by hardware plugging and unplugging. Thus, the laser beam transmitted by the third optical fiber to the second optical modulation module can be sensed by the optical input end of the second optical modulation module as much as possible. In the case of sharing a light source, the transmission loss caused by sharing is reduced, and the optical power conducted to the second optical modulation module is increased.

[0061] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0062] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be realized by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate means for implementing the specified functions in one or more flows in the flowchart and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram. Specified functions.

[0063] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory generate a manufactured article including instruction means that implement the specified functions in one or more flows in the flowchart and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram.

[0064] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, such that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the specified functions in one or more flows in the flowchart and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram.

[0065] It should also be noted that the term "including", "comprising" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, commodity or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising a....." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device comprising the said element.

[0066] The above are only embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications can be made to the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

Claims 1. An active optical cable device, wherein, Comprising: A first optical module, a second optical module, and an optical cable connected between the first optical module and the second optical module; wherein, the first optical module includes: a first optical transmitting end and a first optical receiving end; the second optical module includes: a second optical transmitting end and a second optical receiving end; the first optical transmitting end includes a first optical modulation module and a laser component; the second optical transmitting end includes a second optical modulation module; wherein, the first optical modulation module is coupled to the second optical receiving end through a first optical fiber in the optical cable; the second optical modulation module is coupled to the first optical receiving end through a second optical fiber in the optical cable; one output end of the laser component is coupled to the first optical modulation module, and the other output end is coupled to the second optical modulation module through a third optical fiber in the optical cable to provide a modulation light source to the first optical modulation module and the second optical modulation module.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein The laser component includes: a laser and a splitter; the laser is a continuous wavelength laser; wherein, the output end of the laser is coupled to the input end of the splitter, the first output end of the splitter is coupled to the first optical modulation module, and the second output end of the splitter is coupled to the second optical modulation module through the third optical fiber.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein, The first optical modulation module includes a first number of optical modulators and drivers electrically connected to each optical modulator, and the second optical modulation module includes a second number of optical modulators and drivers electrically connected to each optical modulator; wherein, the first output end of the splitter is respectively connected to the optical input ends of the first number of optical modulators to couple a part of the laser beam emitted by the laser to the first number of optical modulators; the second output end of the splitter is coupled to one end of the third optical fiber, and the other end of the third optical fiber is respectively connected to the optical input ends of the second number of optical modulators to couple another part of the laser emitted by the laser to the second number of optical modulators.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein The first optical fiber includes: a first number of optical fibers; the second optical receiving end includes a first number of photodetectors and transimpedance amplifiers electrically connected to each photodetector; the first number of optical modulators and the first number of photodetectors are coupled and connected one by one through the first number of optical fibers.

5. The device according to claim 3, wherein The second optical fiber includes: a second number of optical fibers; the first optical receiving end includes a second number of photodetectors and transimpedance amplifiers electrically connected to each photodetector; the second number of optical modulators and the second number of photodetectors are coupled and connected one by one through the second number of optical fibers. One by one coupling connection.

6. The device according to claim 3, wherein, The splitting ratio of the splitter is determined according to the ratio of the first number and the second number.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The third optical fiber includes: at least one polarization maintaining optical fiber.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein The optical output end of the optical cable is fixedly connected to the second optical module through a second optical fiber connector.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The second optical fiber connector includes: a first connector body, a second connector body, and a fixing member; wherein, the optical output end of the optical cable is fixed in the first connector body, and the optical input end of the second optical module is fixed in the second connector body; a positioning pin is provided on the first connector body, and a positioning hole adapted to the positioning pin is provided on the second connector body; wherein, when the first connector body and the second connector body are aligned and connected through the positioning hole and the positioning pin, the optical output end of the optical cable in the first connector body is directly coupled with the optical input end of the second optical module in the second connector body; wherein, one end of the fixing member is disposed on the first connector body after alignment and connection, and the other end is disposed on the second connector body after alignment and connection to fix the first connector body and the second connector body.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The optical input end of the optical cable is fixedly connected to the first optical module through a first optical fiber connector, and the optical output end of the optical cable is fixedly connected to the second optical module through a second optical fiber connector.

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