Thermal phase modulation module and thermo-optic modulator

Abstract

A thermal phase modulation module and a thermo-optic modulator. The thermal phase modulation module (100) comprises an optical waveguide (110) and at least one heating element (120). The optical waveguide (110) extends in a first direction (D1), and comprises an input end and an output end. The heating element (120) extends in the first direction (D1) and is spaced apart from the optical waveguide (110) in a second direction (D2), and projections of the optical waveguide (110) and the heating element (120) in the second direction (D2) at least partially overlap. The heating element (120) comprises a plurality of heating sections (121) sequentially arranged in the first direction (D1), and two ends of each heating section (121) are electrically coupled to a positive electrode (131) and a negative electrode (132), respectively. The thermal phase modulation module (100) can improve the heating efficiency of the heating element (120) on the optical waveguide (110), thereby enhancing device stability and reliability.

Description

Thermal phase modulation module and thermal optical modulator CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese invention patent application No. 202410320430.5, filed on March 19, 2024, entitled “Thermal Phase Modulation Module and Thermo-Optical Modulator”, and the disclosure of the priority claimed in this application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of optical waveguide technology, and in particular to a thermal phase modulation module and a thermo-optical modulator. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, the rapid development of emerging network applications such as the Internet of Things, autonomous driving, telemedicine, and distance education has placed higher demands on high-speed, high-capacity communication technologies. Optical communications, due to their high bandwidth, high reliability, low cost, and strong anti-interference capabilities, have achieved rapid development in this field. Loading high-speed electrical signals onto optical carriers is a core research topic. Electro-optical modulators, devices that convert electrical signals into optical signals, are core components in optical interconnect, optical computing, and optical communication systems. Modulator performance plays a crucial role in the transmission distance and speed of optical signals. With the increasingly urgent demand for high-speed, high-capacity communication technologies, higher requirements are being placed on the modulation rate of electro-optical modulators.

[0004] A thermo-optic modulator (TOM) is a device that uses thermal effects to alter the phase of light waves. It modulates the phase of light waves by introducing heat to control the refractive index of the material. This modulation method has widespread applications in optical communications, optical sensing, microwave engineering, and other fields.

[0005] However, with the increasingly urgent demand for high-speed, large-capacity, and integrated communication technology, people hope to ensure the modulation effect of the thermo-optical modulator while improving the thermo-optical modulation efficiency, which puts high demands on the structural design of the thermo-optical modulator. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a thermal phase modulation module and a thermo-optical modulator to improve thermal phase modulation efficiency and enhance device performance.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a thermal phase modulation module is provided, comprising an optical waveguide extending along a first direction and at least one heating element, the optical waveguide comprising an input end and an output end, respectively located at two ends of the first direction; the heating element extending along the first direction and spaced apart from the optical waveguide along a second direction different from the first direction, the heating element being configured to thermally shift the optical waveguide, with a projection of the optical waveguide along the second direction at least partially falling within the heating element; the heating element comprising a plurality of heating segments sequentially arranged along the first direction, each of the plurality of heating segments being electrically coupled to a positive electrode and a negative electrode, respectively, at two ends along the first direction.

[0008] In some embodiments, the plurality of heating segments are configured to be connected in parallel with each other.

[0009] In some embodiments, the heating element includes N electrical coupling points spaced apart along a first direction, and the N electrical coupling points are used to alternately electrically couple with the positive electrode and the negative electrode in sequence to form N-1 parallel heating segments; wherein N is a positive integer greater than 2.

[0010] In some embodiments, the lengths of the plurality of heating segments along the first direction are the same.

[0011] In some embodiments, the plurality of heating segments are spaced apart along the first direction.

[0012] In some embodiments, the optical waveguide includes a plurality of straight waveguide segments extending along a first direction and spaced apart along a third direction, and a curved waveguide segment connecting two adjacent straight waveguide segments; wherein, along the second direction, the projections of the plurality of straight waveguide segments at least partially overlap with the projection of the heating element.

[0013] In some embodiments, at least part of the heating element is provided with a first heat blocking portion on at least one side along the third direction, and the first heat blocking portion is used to inhibit the heat generated by the heating element from being conducted along the third direction; wherein the third direction is perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction.

[0014] In some embodiments, along the third direction, projections of at least a portion of the heat-generating element and at least a portion of the optical waveguide are within a projection range of the first heat blocking portion.

[0015] In some embodiments, a second heat blocking portion is provided on a side of at least a portion of the optical waveguide along the second direction and away from the heating element, and the second heat blocking portion is used to suppress the heat generated by the heating element from being conducted along the second direction.

[0016] In some embodiments, the second heat blocking portion is disposed opposite to the heating element, and a width of the second heat blocking portion along the third direction is greater than or equal to a width of the heating element along the third direction.

[0017] In some embodiments, the second heat blocking portion is connected to the first heat blocking portion.

[0018] In some embodiments, an isolation layer is further provided between the heating element and the optical waveguide, and the isolation layer is used to suppress light transmission between the optical waveguide and the heating element.

[0019] In some embodiments, the optical waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, a ridge waveguide, or a convex waveguide.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a thermo-optical modulator is provided, comprising the above-mentioned thermal phase modulation module.

[0021] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the heating element in the thermal phase modulation module is designed to be a plurality of heating segments arranged in sequence along a first direction, and the two ends of each heating segment are electrically coupled to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, respectively. This can improve the heating efficiency of the heating element on the optical waveguide and enhance the stability and reliability of the device.

[0022] It should be understood that the contents described in this section are not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] More details, features and advantages of the present disclosure are disclosed in the following description of exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a thermal phase modulation module of some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along the PP direction in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a thermal phase modulation module of other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a thermal phase modulation module of still some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a thermal phase modulation module of still some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view along the QQ direction in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view along the RR direction in Figure 5; Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a thermo-optical modulator of some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: Thermo-optical modulator 1000; Thermal phase modulation module 100, splitting unit 200, light combining unit 300; Optical waveguide 110, input end 111, output end 112, straight waveguide segment 113, first straight waveguide segment 113A, second straight waveguide segment 113B, third straight waveguide segment 113C, curved waveguide segment 114, heating element 120, heating segment 121, positive electrode 131, negative electrode 132, first thermal blocking portion 141, second thermal blocking portion 142; Substrate 101, waveguide layer 102, isolation layer 103; First electrical coupling point A1, second electrical coupling point A2, third electrical coupling point A3, fourth electrical coupling point A4, first direction D1, second direction D2, third direction D3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description.

[0026] In this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the use of terms such as "first" and "second" to describe various elements is not intended to limit the positional relationship, temporal relationship, or importance relationship of these elements. Such terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. In some examples, the first element and the second element may refer to the same instance of the element, while in some cases, based on the context of the description, they may also refer to different instances.

[0027] The terms used in the descriptions of the various examples described in this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific examples only and are not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, if the number of elements is not specifically limited, the element may be one or more. In addition, the term "and / or" used in this disclosure encompasses any one and all possible combinations of the listed items.

[0028] An embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure provides a thermal phase modulation module 100. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the thermal phase modulation module 100 includes an optical waveguide 110 and at least one heating element 120. The optical waveguide 110 extends along a first direction D1, and includes an input end 111 and an output end 112 respectively located at two ends of the first direction D1; the heating element 120 extends along the first direction D1 and is spaced apart from the optical waveguide 110 along a second direction D2 different from the first direction D1. The heating element 120 is used to perform thermal phase shifting on the optical waveguide 110; the projections of the optical waveguide 110 and the heating element 120 along the second direction D2 at least partially overlap; the heating element 120 includes a plurality of heating segments 121 arranged sequentially along the first direction D1, and each heating segment 121 is electrically coupled to a positive electrode 131 and a negative electrode 132 at two ends along the first direction D1, respectively.

[0029] The first direction D1 and the second direction D2 may be perpendicular to each other, and the second direction D2 may be parallel to the thickness direction of the thermal phase modulation module 100 .

[0030] The thermal phase modulation module 100 may include a substrate 101, a waveguide layer 102, and a heating element 120 arranged along the second direction D2. The substrate 101 may be any substrate suitable for forming a waveguide thereon, such as a silicon substrate, a germanium substrate, a silicon-on-insulator substrate, a germanium-on-insulator substrate, a silicon-germanium-on-insulator substrate, a germanium-on-silicon substrate, a germanium-on-SOI substrate, a germanium-on-SOI substrate, a silicon-germanium-on-SOI substrate, and the like.

[0031] The material of the waveguide layer 102 may include, but is not limited to, silicon, germanium, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, etc. An optical waveguide 110 is formed on the waveguide layer 102. In some embodiments, the optical waveguide 110 may be a raised ridge waveguide located on a side of the waveguide layer 102 away from the substrate 101.

[0032] The heating element 120 can be a resistor layer located on the side of the waveguide layer 102 away from the substrate 101. The primary function of the resistor layer is to generate heat to change the refractive index of the waveguide material, thereby achieving optical modulation. The resistor layer material includes metals such as gold, silver, and copper, and can also include non-metallic materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene. The number of heating elements 120 can be one or multiple. Multiple heating elements 120 can be arranged in coordination with the structural layout of the optical waveguide 120. For example, they can be arranged sequentially along the extension direction of the optical waveguide 120.

[0033] The heating element 120 may include a plurality of heating segments 121 sequentially arranged along the first direction D1 . Both ends of each heating segment 121 are electrically coupled to the positive electrode 131 and the negative electrode 132 , respectively, so that the heating element 120 can be connected to an external power source to generate heat.

[0034] The size of the heating element 120 directly affects its efficiency in generating heat. To achieve effective thermo-optical modulation, the heating element 120 needs to be able to quickly and uniformly generate sufficient heat to change the refractive index of the waveguide material. At the same power, the longer the length of the heating element 120 extending along the first direction D1, the lower the heat generated per unit length, preventing the heating element 120 from being damaged by overheating. However, the longer the length, the larger the cross-sectional area of ​​the heating element 120 needs to be, which in turn leads to heat dispersion and poses greater challenges to the manufacturing process. Therefore, unilaterally increasing the length of the heating element 120 is not advisable. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, while maintaining the heating element 120 extending along the first direction to form a long strip of a certain length, the heating element 120 is divided into multiple heating segments 121, each of which is connected to a power supply. This allows the multiple heating segments 121 of the heating element 120 to generate heat simultaneously, thus achieving more uniform heating along the first direction and reaching the required temperature more quickly, shortening the modulation response time, and improving the thermal modulation efficiency and stability of the device.

[0035] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG1 , multiple heating segments 121 are configured to be connected in parallel. The ends of the multiple heating segments 121 can be electrically coupled to the same connection end of the positive electrode 131 and the same connection end of the negative electrode 132, respectively, via wiring. Connecting multiple heating segments 121 in parallel can reduce the power consumption of the heating element while meeting thermal modulation requirements, thereby improving thermal efficiency.

[0036] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1, the heating element 120 includes N electrical coupling points spaced apart along the first direction D1, and the N electrical coupling points are used to alternately electrically couple with the positive electrode 131 and the negative electrode 132 in sequence to form N-1 parallel heating segments; wherein N is a positive integer greater than 2, such as 3, 4, 5 or 10, etc.

[0037] As shown in FIG1 , a first electrical coupling point A1, a second electrical coupling point A2, a third electrical coupling point A3, and a fourth electrical coupling point A4 are sequentially spaced along a first direction D1. The first electrical coupling point A1 and the third electrical coupling point A3 are electrically coupled to the negative electrode 132 and the positive electrode 131, while the second electrical coupling point A2 and the fourth electrical coupling point A4 are electrically coupled to the positive electrode 131. This alternating connection of the positive and negative electrodes forms a heating segment 121 between any two adjacent electrical coupling points, and the three heating segments 121 are arranged in parallel, simplifying the electrical connection of the heating element 120.

[0038] In some embodiments, the lengths of the multiple heating segments 121 along the first direction D1 are the same. The potential difference across the multiple heating segments 121 is the same, and their lengths are further set to be equal. This allows each heating segment 121 to have the same or nearly the same resistance and heating power, thereby improving heating uniformity and thereby increasing the reliability and service life of the device.

[0039] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3 , the plurality of heating segments 121 are spaced apart along the first direction D1 . The heating element 120 may extend discontinuously along the first direction D1 , for example, the plurality of heating segments 121 are disconnected.

[0040] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG4 , the optical waveguide 110 includes a plurality of straight waveguide segments 113 extending along a first direction D1 and spaced apart along a third direction D3, and a curved waveguide segment 114 connecting two adjacent straight waveguide segments 113; wherein the projections of the plurality of straight waveguide segments 113 and the heating element 120 along the second direction D2 at least partially overlap.

[0041] The optical waveguide 110 may be a multi-segment folded structure consisting of alternating straight waveguide segments 113 and curved waveguide segments 114. The plurality of straight waveguide segments 113 are spaced apart along the second direction D2. The extension directions of the plurality of straight waveguide segments 113 may be parallel or non-parallel. The projections of the plurality of straight waveguide segments 113 along the second direction D2 may be partially or entirely located within the projection of the heating element 120 along the second direction D2.

[0042] As shown in FIG4 , the linear waveguide segments 113 include a first linear waveguide segment 113A, a second linear waveguide segment 113B, and a third linear waveguide segment 113C, all of which are parallel to each other. The projections of the first linear waveguide segment 113A, the second linear waveguide segment 113B, and the third linear waveguide segment 113C along the second direction D2 are all located within the projection range of the heating element 120. This allows the heat generated by the heating element 120 to act on these linear waveguide segments to achieve thermal modulation. By folding the optical waveguide 110 multiple times to form multiple linear waveguide segments 113 that overlap with the heating element 120, a greater amount of phase modulation can be achieved within the same area, improving the efficiency of thermal modulation.

[0043] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, at least part of the heating element 120 is provided with a first heat blocking portion 141 on at least one side along the third direction D3, and the first heat blocking portion 141 is used to suppress the heat generated by the heating element 120 from being conducted along the third direction D3; wherein the third direction D3 is perpendicular to both the first direction D1 and the second direction D2.

[0044] In some embodiments, the first direction D1 is the length direction of the heating element 120 , the second direction D2 is the direction perpendicular to the plane of the substrate 101 , that is, the thickness direction of the heating element 120 , and the third direction D3 is the width direction of the heating element 120 .

[0045] The first heat blocking portion 141 can be provided on one side of the heating element 120 along the third direction D1, or can be provided on both sides at the same time. In some examples, the first heat blocking portion 141 can be made of a material with low thermal conductivity, such as gallium oxide. In other examples, the first heat blocking portion 141 can also be in the form of a groove, for example, a groove having a certain depth is etched on one or both sides of the heating element 120 along the third direction D3, so that the structural continuity of the heating element 120 along the second direction D2 is destroyed, thereby blocking the heat from being conducted outward along the third direction D3.

[0046] The first heat blocking portion 141 can prevent the heat generated by the heating element 120 from being conducted along the third direction D3 , so that the heat can be concentrated and conducted toward the location of the optical waveguide 110 , thereby improving heat utilization and modulation efficiency.

[0047] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6 , along the third direction D3 , projections of at least a portion of the heat-generating element 120 and at least a portion of the optical waveguide 110 are within the projection range of the first heat blocking portion 141 .

[0048] The first heat blocking portion 141 includes a lower edge and an upper edge that are opposite to each other along the second direction D2. The lower edge of the first heat blocking portion 141 is close to the side where the substrate 101 is located, and the distance between the lower edge and the upper surface of the substrate 101 facing the waveguide layer 102 is less than or equal to the minimum distance between the optical waveguide 110 and the substrate 101. The distance between the upper edge of the first heat blocking portion 141 and the upper surface of the substrate 101 is greater than the maximum distance between the upper surface of the heating element 120 and the upper surface of the substrate 101. In other words, the depth of the first heat blocking portion 141 along the second direction D2 is greater than the maximum height between the heating element 120 and the optical waveguide 110. This further defines the heat conduction path between the heating element 120 and the optical waveguide 110, allowing the generated heat to be quickly and concentratedly conducted to the optical waveguide 110, thereby improving heat utilization and modulation efficiency.

[0049] 7 , at least a portion of the optical waveguide 110 is provided with a second heat blocking portion 142 along the second direction D2 and away from the heating element 120 . The second heat blocking portion 142 is used to suppress the heat generated by the heating element 120 from being conducted along the second direction D2 .

[0050] The second heat barrier 142 can be located between the waveguide layer 102 and the substrate 101. The second heat barrier 142 can be made of a material with low thermal conductivity, such as gallium oxide, and can also be in the form of a trench. The second heat barrier 142 can inhibit the conduction and diffusion of heat toward the substrate 101, thereby reducing heat loss and improving the thermal utilization and modulation efficiency of the thermal phase modulation module.

[0051] It can be understood that the cross-sectional view along the QQ direction shown in Figure 6 and the cross-sectional view along the RR direction shown in Figure 7 can be cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the thermal phase modulation module 100 under different embodiments, or can be cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the thermal phase modulation module 100 at different positions in the same embodiment.

[0052] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7 , the second heat blocking portion 142 may be disposed opposite to the heating element 120 , and the width of the second heat blocking portion 142 along the third direction D3 is greater than or equal to the width of the heating element 120 along the third direction D3 .

[0053] Here, facing arrangement means that the projection of the heating element 120 is within the projection range of the second heat blocking portion 142 along the second direction D2, so that the heat generated by the heating element 120 can be blocked as much as possible from continuing to diffuse toward the substrate 101 side, reducing heat loss.

[0054] In some embodiments, the second heat blocking portion 142 is connected to the first heat blocking portion 141. The second heat blocking portion 142 and the first heat blocking portion 141 can be made of the same material, and the end of the second heat blocking portion 142 or a position near the end is connected to the first heat blocking portion 141.

[0055] In some examples, the second heat blocking portion 142 and the first heat blocking portion 141 can be grooves connected to each other, so that a continuous heat insulation groove or heat insulation cavity surrounding the heating element 120 and the optical waveguide 110 can be formed, thereby preventing heat from being conducted outward in different directions and reducing heat loss to a greater extent.

[0056] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , an isolation layer 103 is further provided between the heating element 120 and the optical waveguide 110 . The isolation layer 103 is used to reduce light loss between the optical waveguide and the heating element.

[0057] The isolation layer 103 is made of a material with high light transmittance, such as transparent glass, quartz, or polymer film. These materials allow light waves to propagate within them without significant absorption. When light propagates in the waveguide, the isolation layer 103 acts like a barrier, separating the light from the heating element 120. Due to the high transmittance of the isolation layer 103, light can pass through the isolation layer 103 smoothly without being absorbed. The thickness and refractive index of the isolation layer 103 can be adjusted to minimize reflection and scattering of light at the interface between the isolation layer 103 and the optical waveguide 110 or the heating element 120, allowing for more efficient light transmission and modulation and reducing light loss.

[0058] In some embodiments, the optical waveguide 110 may be a rectangular waveguide, a ridge waveguide, or a convex waveguide.

[0059] An embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure provides a thermo-optical modulator 1000 . As shown in FIG8 , the thermo-optical modulator 1000 includes a thermal phase modulation module 100 .

[0060] In some embodiments, the thermal-optical modulator 1000 further includes a light splitting unit 200 and a light combining unit 300. The light splitting unit 200 receives an external input optical signal and is respectively connected to the input ends 111 of the two thermal phase modulation modules 100. The light combining unit 300 is respectively connected to the output ends 112 of the two thermal phase modulation modules 100.

[0061] The optical splitting unit 200 may use a Y-branch beam splitting optical waveguide, and the optical combining element 300 may use a Y-branch beam combining optical waveguide. In one example, the optical splitting unit 200 is specifically a 1 / 2 optical splitter, which is used to split the optical signal into two branch optical signals at a splitting ratio of 1:1 and output them to the input terminals 111 of the two thermal phase modulation modules 100, respectively. The optical combining unit 300 is specifically a 2-in-1 optical combiner, which is used to combine the two modulated branch optical signals received from the output terminals 112 of the two thermal phase modulation modules 100 into one modulated optical signal and output it.

[0062] It should be understood that in this specification, the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships or dimensions based on the orientations or positional relationships or dimensions shown in the accompanying drawings, and these terms are used only for the convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0063] Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature identified as "first," "second," or "third" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. Throughout the present disclosure, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0064] In this disclosure, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, terms such as "mounted," "connected," "connect," and "fixed" should be understood broadly. For example, they may refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integration; mechanical connections, electrical connections, or communication; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal connections between two components or interactions between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in this disclosure based on specific circumstances.

[0065] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include the first and second features being in direct contact, or may include the first and second features being in contact not directly but through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above," "above," and "above" a second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below," "below," and "below" a second feature includes the first feature being directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0066] This specification provides many different embodiments or examples that can be used to implement the present disclosure. It should be understood that these different embodiments or examples are purely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure in any way. Those skilled in the art can conceive of various changes or replacements based on the disclosure of the specification of the present disclosure, all of which should be included within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A thermal phase modulation module, comprising: an optical waveguide extending along a first direction, the optical waveguide comprising an input end and an output end respectively located at two ends of the first direction; at least one heating element extending along the first direction, the heating element and the optical waveguide being spaced apart along a second direction different from the first direction, the heating element being configured to perform thermal phase shifting on the optical waveguide, and projections of the optical waveguide and the heating element along the second direction at least partially overlapping; The heating element includes a plurality of heating segments sequentially arranged along the first direction, and two ends of each of the plurality of heating segments along the first direction are electrically coupled to the positive electrode and the negative electrode respectively.

2. The thermal phase modulation module according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of heat generating segments are configured to be connected in parallel to each other.

3. The thermal phase modulation module according to claim 2, wherein: The heating element includes N electrical coupling points spaced apart along the first direction, the N electrical coupling points being used to alternately electrically couple with the positive electrode and the negative electrode in sequence to form N-1 parallel heating segments; Wherein, N is a positive integer greater than 2.

4. The thermal phase modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The lengths of the plurality of heating segments along the first direction are the same.

5. The thermal phase modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The plurality of heating segments are spaced apart along the first direction.

6. The thermal phase modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The optical waveguide includes a plurality of straight waveguide segments extending along a first direction and spaced apart along a third direction, and a curved waveguide segment connecting two adjacent straight waveguide segments; Wherein, along the second direction, the projections of the plurality of straight waveguide segments at least partially overlap with the projection of the heating element.

7. The thermal phase modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: At least one side of at least part of the heating elements along the third direction is provided with a first heat blocking portion, the first heat blocking portion being used to inhibit heat generated by the heating elements from being conducted along the third direction; The third direction is perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction.

8. The thermal phase modulation module according to claim 7, wherein: Along the third direction, projections of at least a portion of the heat-generating element and at least a portion of the optical waveguide are within a projection range of the first heat blocking portion.

9. The thermal phase modulation module according to claim 7, wherein: A second heat blocking portion is provided on a side of at least a portion of the optical waveguide along the second direction and away from the heating element, and the second heat blocking portion is used to suppress the heat generated by the heating element from being conducted along the second direction.

10. The thermal phase modulation module according to claim 9, wherein: The second heat blocking portion is arranged opposite to the heating element, and a width of the second heat blocking portion along the third direction is greater than or equal to a width of the heating element along the third direction.

11. The thermal phase modulation module according to claim 9, wherein: The second heat blocking portion is connected to the first heat blocking portion.

12. The thermal phase modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: An isolation layer is further provided between the heating element and the optical waveguide, and the isolation layer is used to suppress light transmission between the optical waveguide and the heating element.

13. The thermal phase modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The optical waveguide is a rectangular waveguide, a ridge waveguide or a convex waveguide. 14 . A thermo-optical modulator comprising the thermal phase modulation module according to claim 1 .

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