Optical switching device, optical signal transceiver and optical communication system

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of optical communications. Provided are an optical switching device, an optical signal transceiver and an optical communication system. In the optical switching device, after an optical switching assembly transmits an optical signal to an optical signal transceiver, a control assembly receives optical power information and / or bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver, so as to obtain the optical power information and / or the bit error rate information of the optical signal, the control assembly then uses the optical power information and / or the bit error rate information to adjust a deflection angle of the optical signal, and the optical switching assembly uses the adjusted deflection angle to transmit the optical signal. In this way, the optical switching device receives optical power information and / or bit error rate information of an optical signal from the outside, and adjusts a deflection angle, thereby improving the accuracy of the deflection angle.

Description

Optical switching equipment, optical signal transceivers and optical communication systems

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application filed on April 15, 2025, with application number 202510479849.X, entitled "Optical Switching Equipment, Optical Signal Transceiver and Optical Communication System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of optical communication technology, and in particular to an optical switching device, an optical signal transceiver, and an optical communication system. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of communication technology, the demand for computing power for data processing is growing rapidly. To meet this demand, multiple computing units are grouped into clusters for computation, and these clusters are interconnected using optical cross-connect (OXC) technology. When interconnecting via OXC, optical switching equipment is typically used.

[0004] In optical switching equipment, optical switching components deflect optical signals so that the optical signals are output from designated output ports. The deflection angle directly affects the power of the output optical signal. However, optical switching components may experience accuracy deviations due to aging or temperature drift, resulting in potentially inaccurate deflection angles. Therefore, the deflection angle needs to be adjusted. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides an optical switching device, an optical signal transceiver, and an optical communication system, capable of adjusting the deflection angle to improve its accuracy. The technical solution adopted is as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides an optical switching device, which includes an optical switching component and a control component. The optical switching component is used to transmit a first optical signal to an optical signal transceiver. The control component is used to receive first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver, wherein the first optical power information is the optical power information of the first optical signal, and the first bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the first optical signal. The control component is also used to determine a first deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. The optical switching component is also used to adjust the deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first deflection angle to obtain a second optical signal, and transmit the second optical signal to the optical signal transceiver.

[0007] In the scheme shown in this application, after the optical switching component in the optical switching equipment transmits an optical signal to the optical signal transceiver, the control component receives optical power information and / or bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver to obtain the optical power information and / or bit error rate information of the optical signal. Then, it uses this optical power information and / or bit error rate information to adjust the deflection angle of the optical signal, and the optical switching component uses the adjusted deflection angle to transmit the optical signal. In this way, the optical switching equipment receives the optical power information and / or bit error rate information of the optical signal from the outside and adjusts the deflection angle, improving the accuracy of the deflection angle. Furthermore, since the optical power detected by the optical signal transceiver is higher than the optical power of the optical signal split out internally by the optical switching equipment, the accuracy of the deflection angle adjustment is also improved.

[0008] In one alternative approach, the control component receives first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information from the optical transceiver via the service optical fiber between the transceiver and the optical signal receiver. This simplifies the structure of the optical switching equipment because it allows transmission of optical power and / or bit error rate information without requiring additional connections.

[0009] In one alternative approach, when transmitting optical power information and / or bit error rate information via a service optical fiber, the control component includes a splitter module and a control module. The splitter module receives a third optical signal modulated with first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information via the service optical fiber between itself and the optical signal transceiver. It splits the third optical signal into a first sub-optical signal and a second sub-optical signal, outputs the first sub-optical signal to the control module, and outputs the second sub-optical signal to the optical switching component, thereby enabling the optical switching component to output the second sub-optical signal. The control module performs demodulation processing on the first sub-optical signal to obtain the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. Based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, it determines a first deflection angle of the first optical signal. Thus, in the optical switching equipment, optical power information and / or bit error rate information can be obtained by demodulating the optical signal.

[0010] In one optional embodiment, the control module includes a light sensor (LS) parsing unit and a control unit. The light sensor parsing unit demodulates the first sub-optical signal to obtain first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information, and sends the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the control unit. Based on the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information, the control unit determines a first deflection angle of the first optical signal. This allows the acquisition of optical power information and / or bit error rate information.

[0011] In one alternative approach, the control component can receive first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver via a signal transmission line between the transceiver and the optical signal transceiver. This way, the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information are not transmitted along with the service signal, reducing the impact on the service signal.

[0012] In one alternative approach, the control component receives first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information sent by the network management device via a signal transmission line between the control component and the network management device. The network management device obtains the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver. In this way, the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information are sent via the network management device without establishing a new signal transmission path. No additional hardware is required in the optical switching equipment, thus simplifying the structure of the optical switching equipment.

[0013] In one alternative approach, the control component sends a reporting instruction message to the optical transceiver, instructing the optical transceiver to send first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment. In this way, the control component can proactively acquire the optical power information and / or bit error rate information when needed.

[0014] In one alternative approach, after detecting that the optical power indicated by the first optical power information does not meet the requirements and / or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information does not meet the requirements, the control component determines a first deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. This allows for timely adjustment of the optical signal deflection angle, ensuring that the optical signal transceiver receives a higher-power optical signal.

[0015] In one alternative approach, when a predetermined period is reached, the control component determines a first deflection angle of the first optical signal based on first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information. This allows the deflection angle of the optical signal to be adjusted based on a certain period, enabling the optical signal transceiver to receive a higher power optical signal.

[0016] In one alternative approach, the control component receives second optical power information and / or second bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver. The second optical power information is the optical power information of the second optical signal, and the second bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the second optical signal. Based on the first deflection angle, the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, and the second optical power information and / or the second bit error rate information, the control component determines a second deflection angle of the second optical signal. Based on the second deflection angle, the optical switching component adjusts the deflection angle of the second optical signal to obtain a fourth optical signal, and transmits the fourth optical signal to the optical signal transceiver. Thus, after receiving the optical power information and / or bit error rate information, the control component can continue to adjust the deflection angle of the optical signal to ensure that the optical signal transceiver receives a higher power optical signal.

[0017] Secondly, this application provides an optical signal transceiver, which includes an optical receiving component; the optical receiving component is used to receive a first optical signal from an optical switching device; the optical receiving component is further used to determine first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information of the first optical signal, and send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device, wherein the first bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the first optical signal.

[0018] In one alternative embodiment, the optical receiving component is configured to transmit the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical transmitting component in the optical signal transceiver.

[0019] The optical transmission component is used to transmit the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device via a service optical fiber connected to the optical switching device.

[0020] In one alternative embodiment, the optical transmitting component includes a light-emitting module and a modulator, wherein the light-emitting module is located in the input optical path of the modulator;

[0021] The light-emitting module is used to output light signals;

[0022] The modulator is used to modulate the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information onto the optical signal output by the light-emitting module to obtain a third optical signal, and then transmit the third optical signal to the optical switching equipment through the service optical fiber.

[0023] In one alternative embodiment, the optical receiving component is configured to transmit the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device via a signal transmission line between the optical switching device and the optical switching device.

[0024] In one alternative embodiment, the optical receiving component is configured to transmit the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device via a signal transmission line directly connected to the optical switching device; or...

[0025] The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the network management device through a signal transmission line between the network management device and the network management device, so that the network management device sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device.

[0026] In one alternative approach, when the optical receiving component detects the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, it sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device, thereby enabling timely transmission of the optical power information and / or bit error rate information.

[0027] In one alternative approach, the optical receiving component sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical switching device when a transmission period arrives. This periodic transmission of the optical power information and / or bit error rate information reduces the number of times the information is sent, thus conserving transmission resources.

[0028] In one alternative approach, the optical receiving component sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment after the optical power indicated by the first optical power information meets the reporting conditions and / or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information meets the reporting conditions. This method of sending optical power information and / or bit error rate information only when the reporting conditions are met reduces the number of times these information and / or bit error rate information are sent, thus saving transmission resources.

[0029] In one alternative approach, after receiving a reporting instruction message from the optical switching device, the optical receiving component sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical switching device, wherein the reporting instruction message is used to instruct the transmission of the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. Thus, the optical power information and / or bit error rate information can be transmitted according to the instruction.

[0030] In one alternative approach, the optical transceiver is an optical module; or, the optical transceiver is a co-packaged optics (CPO) optical transceiver.

[0031] For the effects of the second aspect and its various alternative methods, please refer to the descriptions in the first aspect and its alternative methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0032] Thirdly, this application provides an optical communication system, which includes the optical switching equipment described in the first aspect or any optional mode of the first aspect and the optical signal transceiver described in the second aspect or any optional mode of the second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the logical architecture for adjusting the deflection angle provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of an optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of an optical communication system in a data center provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of an optical communication system in a data center provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of an optical communication system in a data center provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an optical switching component provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a closed-loop adjustment of the deflection angle provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 8 is a waveform diagram of a service signal before and after modulation, provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a dual-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a dual-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a dual-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a dual-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a dual-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another architecture of a dual-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a single-fiber optical communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0048] The diagram illustrates: 1. First port array; 2. Second port array; 3. Optical switching component; 4. Control component; 01. Optical receiving component; 02. Optical transmitting component; 41. Optical splitting module; 42. Control module; 421. Optical tag parsing unit; 422. Control unit. Detailed Implementation

[0049] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] With the rapid development of communication technology, the demand for computing power for data processing is growing rapidly. For example, the amount of data processing required for artificial intelligence (AI) training is increasing dramatically. However, there is a significant gap between the computing power of individual computing units (such as graphics processing units (GPUs) or neural network processing units (NPUs) and the computing power requirements. The computing power of individual units cannot meet the demands of data processing. Therefore, multiple computing units are grouped into clusters for computation. During the computation process, the clusters communicate with each other through optical cross-connect (OXC) devices (also known as optical switching devices), thus forming an optoelectronic converged data center (DC) network architecture.

[0051] In optoelectronic converged data center network architectures, optical switching equipment has attracted significant attention due to its numerous advantages, including large switching capacity, strong scalability, low latency, low power consumption, high fault isolation capability, and compatibility with multiple generations of optical modules. However, optical switching components, drive circuits, and optical sub-components in optical switching equipment can experience accuracy drift due to aging and temperature fluctuations, leading to performance degradation such as insertion loss and other reliability issues. Therefore, optical switching equipment typically places beam splitters before and after the optical switching components to determine the loss of the optical signal passing through the optical switching components. Based on this loss, the deflection angle of the optical signal is adjusted. Since beam splitters are used for spatial or fiber beam splitting, the insertion loss is relatively large, and the optical power of the split signal is generally low, resulting in a large detection error and low accuracy in adjusting the deflection angle. Furthermore, when using fiber beam splitting, the split optical signal enters the detection unit through an additional port array for detection, thus requiring additional port arrays.

[0052] This application provides an optical switching device. Referring to Figure 1, the optical switching device transmits an optical signal to an optical transceiver. The optical switching device also receives optical power information and / or bit error rate information transmitted from the optical transceiver. The optical power information is the optical power of the optical signal, and the bit error rate information is the bit error rate of the data carried on the optical signal. Using this optical power information and / or bit error rate information, the deflection angle of the optical signal is adjusted, and the adjusted deflection angle is used to transmit the optical signal. Thus, within the optical switching device, the optical power information and / or bit error rate information of the optical signal received by the optical signal receiver are used to adjust the deflection angle. Higher optical power and more accurate detection of optical power result in higher accuracy when adjusting the deflection angle. Furthermore, there is no need to install monitoring optical devices (such as port arrays in fiber optic splitting) within the optical switching device, reducing costs. In addition, the elimination of monitoring optical devices increases the integration of the optical switching device and reduces its size.

[0053] The optical communication system according to embodiments of this application will now be described.

[0054] Referring to Figure 2, an optical communication system includes an optical switching device and multiple optical transceivers. The optical switching device is connected to each optical transceiver via optical fiber (this optical fiber is used to transmit service signals). Each optical transceiver is connected to one port of the optical switching device, and different optical transceivers are connected to different ports of the optical switching device. The optical signal output from each optical transceiver can reach any other optical transceiver after passing through the optical switching device. Optical communication systems have various application scenarios; three possible scenarios are provided below.

[0055] Referring to Figure 3, optical switching equipment is used in parametric plane networks within computing clusters, such as parametric plane networks for AI training. In this parametric plane network, the optical communication system includes computing units, electrical switching equipment, and optical switching equipment. The computing units and electrical switching equipment are connected via optical fibers or cables. Optical modules are plugged into the electrical switching equipment, and these optical modules are connected to the optical switching equipment via optical fibers. Alternatively, the electrical switching equipment can be a co-packaged optics (CPO) communication device, where CPO refers to a communication device that integrates the functionality of optical modules. In Figure 3, the optical signal transceiver is the electrical switching equipment, and the multiple computing units connected to each electrical switching equipment can be understood as a computing cluster.

[0056] Referring to Figure 4, the optical communication system includes computing units and optical switching equipment. The computing units are connected to optical modules, and the optical switching equipment is connected to the optical modules of the computing units via optical fibers. Compared to parametric plane networks, this eliminates the need for electrical switching equipment, as seen in supernode networks. In Figure 4, the optical signal transceiver is represented by an optical module.

[0057] Referring to Figure 5, the optical communication system includes a computing unit and an optical switching device. The computing unit is a CPO (Content Optimizer) communication device, meaning it integrates the functions of an optical module and can directly emit optical signals without relying on an optical module. The optical switching device is connected to the computing unit via optical fiber. In Figure 5, the optical signal transceiver is the computing unit.

[0058] The optical switching equipment includes a first port array 1, a second port array 2, an optical switching component 3, and a control component 4. Both the first port array 1 and the second port array 2 include multiple ports. Each port is connected to an optical signal transceiver via an optical fiber, and different ports are connected to different optical signal transceivers. The first port array 1 can be used as both an input port array and an output port array, and the second port array 2 can be used as both an input port array and an output port array. The optical path between the first port array 1 and the second port array 2 is a spatial optical path. Optical switching component 3 is located between the first port array 1 and the second port array 2. Optical switching component 3 is electrically connected to control component 4. The number of optical switching engines included in optical switching component 3 is set according to actual needs. For example, when the optical switching device is connected to a single optical signal transceiver, a single optical fiber is used, and the optical communication system is a single-fiber optical communication system. This means that the single optical fiber serves as both the optical fiber for transmitting optical signals and the optical fiber for receiving optical signals. In this case, optical switching component 3 includes two optical switching engines. See Figure 6, optical switching component 3 includes a first switching engine and a second switching engine. When the optical switching device is connected to a single optical signal transceiver, two optical fibers are used, and the optical communication system is a dual-fiber optical communication system. Generally, in the two optical fibers, one fiber serves as the optical fiber for transmitting optical signals and the other fiber serves as the optical fiber for receiving optical signals. In this case, optical switching component 3 includes four optical switching engines, two of which are optical switching engines in the first direction and the other two are optical switching engines in the second direction. The first direction and the second direction are opposite transmission directions.

[0059] Optical switching engines include, but are not limited to, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) micromirrors, piezoelectric ceramics (such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT)), liquid crystals (LC), or liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS).

[0060] The optical signal transceiver includes an optical receiving component 01 and an optical transmitting component 02. The optical receiving component 01 includes a detector, a transimpedance amplifier, and a limiting amplifier, etc. The optical transmitting component 02 includes a laser and a modulator, etc.

[0061] Optionally, when the optical signal transceiver is an optical module, some optical modules also include an optical digital signal processor (ODSP), which is electrically connected to both the optical receiving component 01 and the optical transmitting component 02. The ODSP provides service signals to the optical transmitting component 02; these service signals are electrical signals carrying service data. The ODSP also receives and processes the electrical signals transmitted by the optical receiving component 01. Furthermore, the ODSP can be used to determine information such as the bit error rate.

[0062] Optionally, when the optical signal transceiver is an optical module, some optical modules also include a microcontroller unit (MCU). The MCU is used to generate the tuning signals mentioned later.

[0063] Optionally, when the optical signal transceiver is a CPO optical signal transceiver, the optical signal transceiver also includes a processor, which may be a central processing unit or the like. The processor is electrically connected to the optical receiving component 01 and the optical transmitting component 02, respectively.

[0064] The optical receiving component 01 mentioned later determines the bit error rate information, either by itself or by converting the optical signal into an electrical signal and sending it to the ODSP or processor, which then determines the bit error rate and sends it to the optical receiving component 01.

[0065] Optionally, the optical communication system also includes a network management device. The network management device is connected to each device in the optical communication system via a signal transmission line, which can be an optical fiber or a network cable (such as a power cable). The network management device is used to issue commands to each device or to obtain the status of each device.

[0066] The following is an overview of the embodiments of this application. This application uses the example of communication between a first optical signal transceiver and a second optical signal transceiver via an optical switching device for illustration.

[0067] Referring to Figure 1, the second optical transceiver sends a first optical signal to the optical switching equipment. The first optical signal carries target data, which is the data sent from the second optical transceiver to the first optical transceiver. The first optical signal passes through the first port array 1 in the optical switching equipment and enters the optical switching component 3. The optical switching component 3 deflects the first optical signal at a certain angle to transmit it to the first optical transceiver. The optical receiving component 01 in the first optical transceiver receives the first optical signal and determines the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information of the first optical signal. The first bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the first optical signal. The optical receiving component 01 sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment. The control component 4 in the optical switching equipment receives first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information. Using this information, it determines a first deflection angle for the first optical signal. This first deflection angle can be the desired deflection angle after adjustment, or it can be the difference between the adjusted deflection angle and the previously used deflection angle. The control component 4 then notifies the optical switching component 3 of the first deflection angle. The optical switching component 3 uses this angle to adjust the deflection angle of the first optical signal to obtain a second optical signal. The optical switching component 3 then transmits the second optical signal to the first optical signal transceiver.

[0068] The optical receiving component 01 in the first optical signal transceiver receives the second optical signal and detects the second optical power information and / or the second bit error rate information of the second optical signal. The second bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the second optical signal. The optical receiving component 01 sends the second optical power information and / or the second bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment. The control component 4 receives the second optical power information and / or the second bit error rate information. The control component 4 uses the second optical power information and / or the second bit error rate information, the first deflection angle, and the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to determine the second deflection angle of the second optical signal. The second deflection angle can be the deflection angle to be achieved after adjusting the deflection angle of the second optical signal, or it can be the difference between the deflection angle of the second optical signal after this adjustment and the deflection angle used last time. The control component 4 notifies the optical switching component 3 of the second deflection angle. The optical switching component 3 uses the second deflection angle to adjust the deflection angle of the second optical signal to obtain a fourth optical signal. The optical switching component 3 sends the fourth optical signal to the first optical signal transceiver.

[0069] The optical receiving component 01 in the first optical signal transceiver also receives a fourth optical signal and determines the third optical power information and / or third bit error rate information of the fourth optical signal. This information is then fed back to the optical switching equipment, causing the control component 4 to use the third optical power information and / or third bit error rate information to determine whether the deflection angle adjustment is complete. If complete, the deflection angle adjustment stops; if not, the adjustment continues in the above manner until a suitable deflection angle is found. This suitable deflection angle can be such that the optical power of the optical signal received by the first optical signal transceiver is at its highest or exceeds a certain threshold, and / or the bit error rate is at its lowest or below a certain threshold.

[0070] The process of adjusting the deflection angle described above is a closed-loop adjustment process. Here, we take the use of optical power information as an example to describe the principle of closed-loop adjustment:

[0071] See Figure 7, Step 1, Start Adjustment.

[0072] Step 2: After waiting for a certain period of time, confirm that the optical power has reached a stable state, and record the optical power before adjusting the deflection angle.

[0073] Step 3: Adjust the deflection angle of the optical signal to be adjusted.

[0074] Step 4: After waiting for a certain period of time, determine that the optical power has reached a stable state, record the optical power after adjusting the deflection angle, and determine whether the optical power has increased after adjusting the deflection angle.

[0075] Step 5: If the angle of deflection of the light signal increases, continue to adjust it in the original direction and return to step 4.

[0076] Step 6: If no increase is found, switch to the opposite direction or the next dimension to adjust the deflection angle of the optical signal, return to step 4, and continue until the deflection angle that maximizes the optical power is found, and confirm that the adjustment is complete.

[0077] Here, the opposite direction is the direction opposite to the currently adjusted deflection angle. The next dimension is the dimension that is different from the currently adjusted dimension. For example, generally speaking, an optical switching component includes two optical switching engines, and each optical switching engine has two adjustable dimensions, namely the x-direction dimension and the y-direction dimension. Thus, a total of four dimensions can be adjusted. We can fix one dimension and adjust the remaining dimensions until all dimensions are adjusted, or we can adjust multiple dimensions simultaneously.

[0078] This closed-loop adjustment process uses a ramping algorithm, which is only an example and is not limited to the embodiments in this application.

[0079] It should be noted that this explanation uses optical power information as an example. When using bit error rate information, the adjustment method is similar and will not be repeated here. When using both optical power and bit error rate information, it can be determined whether the optical power increases and whether the bit error rate decreases. If the optical power increases and the bit error rate decreases, the deflection angle of the optical signal continues to be adjusted in the original direction. Otherwise, the deflection angle of the optical signal is adjusted in the opposite direction or in the next dimension.

[0080] Optionally, each time the deflection angle of the optical signal is adjusted, the adjustment amount can be the same each time, or the adjustment amount of the deflection angle can be determined according to the magnitude of the change in optical power before and after the adjustment of the deflection angle. A large change requires a large adjustment amount, and a small change requires a small adjustment amount.

[0081] There are multiple ways for the first optical signal transceiver to send optical power information and / or bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment. Two feasible methods are provided below.

[0082] In Method 1, the first optical signal transceiver sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment through the service optical fiber, where the service optical fiber is the optical fiber used to transmit service signals.

[0083] In the first optical signal transceiver, the optical receiving component 01 receives the first optical signal, converts the first optical signal into an electrical signal, determines the power of the electrical signal, and directly determines the first optical power information, or determines the difference between the power and the previously detected power as the first optical power information. After performing a series of processing such as transimpedance amplification on the electrical signal, the optical receiving component 01 determines the first bit error rate information, which is the bit error rate or the difference between the bit error rate determined previously. Alternatively, after performing a series of processing such as transimpedance amplification on the signal, the first bit error rate information is output to the processor or ODSP mentioned above. The processor or ODSP determines the first bit error rate information and returns the first bit error rate information to the optical receiving component 01.

[0084] When transmitting first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information through a service optical fiber, it can be transmitted together with the service signal. The service signal is generally a high-speed signal. The MCU encodes the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information into a modulation signal. The modulation signal is a low-frequency, small-amplitude signal that can be superimposed on the service signal and is used to transmit auxiliary information. In this embodiment, the auxiliary information includes the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. The service signal is a high-speed signal, and the modulation signal is a low-speed signal; both are electrical signals. The frequency of the service signal is greater than the frequency of the modulation signal. For example, the frequency of the service signal is on the order of GHz to THz, and the frequency of the modulation signal is on the order of KHz to MHz.

[0085] The optical transmission component 02 includes a light-emitting module and a modulator. The light-emitting module is located in the input optical path of the modulator and can be a laser for outputting optical signals. The MCU outputs a modulation signal to the modulator. The modulator includes a superposition unit and a modulation unit, which are electrically connected. The superposition unit performs superposition processing (superposition processing is the direct addition of signal amplitudes) on the modulation signal, the driving signal of the modulation unit (which is a DC signal, also known as a bias voltage signal), and the service signal to obtain a superimposed electrical signal, which is then output to the modulation unit. The modulation unit modulates the superimposed electrical signal onto the optical signal to obtain a third optical signal, thereby achieving modulation of the service signal. Figure 8 provides a waveform diagram before and after modulation of the service signal. The modulation unit outputs the third optical signal to the optical switching equipment.

[0086] Optionally, since both the top-adjustment signal and the drive signal are low-speed signals, which are easy to superimpose, the superposition unit can first superimpose the top-adjustment signal and the drive signal to obtain the superimposed signal, and then perform superposition processing on the service signal and the superimposed signal to obtain the superimposed electrical signal.

[0087] Optionally, by connecting the wires transmitting the top adjustment signal and the drive signal, the top adjustment signal and the drive signal can be superimposed.

[0088] Optionally, the service signal and the superimposed signal can be superimposed using a bias-T circuit or an operational amplifier to obtain a superimposed electrical signal. This application does not limit the specific method used in this embodiment.

[0089] Optionally, the modulation unit is an electroabsorption modulator, a silicon photonic modulator, or a thin-film niobium lithium oxide modulator.

[0090] Alternatively, the optical transmission component 02 includes a driving module, an encoding module, and a laser. The driving module outputs a service signal to the laser, the encoding module encodes the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information into a modulation signal, and outputs the modulation signal to the laser. The laser modulates the modulation signal and the service signal simultaneously while outputting the optical signal to obtain a third optical signal, thereby achieving modulation of the service signal.

[0091] In the first method, the control component 4 in the optical switching equipment includes a splitting module 41 and a control module 42. The splitting module 41 is located on the optical path of the optical signal transmitted in the service optical fiber. The splitting module 41 receives a third optical signal modulated with first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information through the service optical fiber, splits the third optical signal into a first sub-optical signal and a second sub-optical signal, outputs the first sub-optical signal to the control module 42, and outputs the second sub-optical signal to the optical switching component 3, so that the optical switching component 3 sends the second sub-optical signal to the second optical signal transceiver without affecting the transmission of the service signal.

[0092] The control module 42 converts the first sub-optical signal into an electrical signal and performs demodulation processing on the electrical signal to obtain first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information. The control module 42 uses the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to determine the first deflection angle of the first optical signal.

[0093] In optical switching equipment, the location and structure of the splitting module 41 are different. In the optical switching equipment shown in Figure 9, the splitting module 41 is located on the input optical path of the second port array 2. The splitting module 41 is an optical fiber splitter. The splitting module 41 splits the third optical signal into a first sub-optical signal and a second sub-optical signal, outputs the first sub-optical signal to the control module 42, and outputs the second sub-optical signal to the second port array 2. The second port array 2 inputs the second sub-optical signal to the optical switching component 3 to transmit the second sub-optical signal to the second optical signal transceiver.

[0094] Optionally, referring to Figure 10, the control module 42 includes an optical tag parsing unit 421 and a control unit 422. The optical tag parsing unit 421 is electrically connected to the control unit 422, and the optical tag parsing unit 421 is connected to the beam splitting module 41 via optical fiber. The optical tag parsing unit 421 receives a first sub-optical signal from the beam splitting module 41, converts the first sub-optical signal into an electrical signal through a detector (also called a photoelectric converter) therein, and performs demodulation processing on the electrical signal to obtain first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information. The optical tag parsing unit 421 sends the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the control unit 422. The control unit 422 uses the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to determine a first deflection angle of the first optical signal.

[0095] In the optical switching device shown in Figure 11, the beam splitter 41 is located on the optical path between the second port array 2 and the optical switching component 3. The beam splitter 41 is a beam splitter. After the third optical signal is input from the second port array 2, it passes through the beam splitter 41. The beam splitter 41 splits the third optical signal into a first sub-optical signal and a second sub-optical signal, outputs the first sub-optical signal to the control module 42, and inputs the second sub-optical signal to the optical switching component 3.

[0096] Optionally, referring to Figure 12, the control module 42 includes an optical tag parsing unit 421 and a control unit 422. The optical tag parsing unit 421 is electrically connected to the control unit 422 and is located on the output optical path of the beam splitting module 41. After the beam splitting module 41 outputs the first sub-optical signal, the optical tag parsing unit 421 receives the first sub-optical signal, converts it into an electrical signal, and performs demodulation processing on the electrical signal to obtain first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information. The optical tag parsing unit 421 sends the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the control unit 422. The control unit 422 uses the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to determine the first deflection angle of the first optical signal.

[0097] Optionally, when the optical switching component 3 deflects the optical signal using a MEMS micromirror, the MEMS micromirror includes multiple deflection modules, each corresponding to a port. The optical switching device stores the correspondence between the detector identifier and the deflection module identifier in the optical tag parsing unit 421. When the optical tag parsing unit 421 sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the control module 42, it also carries the detector identifier. Thus, after receiving the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, the control unit 422 can use the detector identifier to locate the deflection module that adjusts the deflection angle, and the control unit 422 controls the deflection module to deflect by the first deflection angle.

[0098] When the optical switching component 3 deflects the optical signal through LC or LCOS, the optical switching device stores the correspondence between the detector identifier and the voltage region identifier in the optical tag parsing unit 421. When the optical tag parsing unit 421 sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the control module 42, it will also carry the detector identifier. In this way, after the control unit 422 receives the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, it can use the detector identifier to find the voltage region for adjusting the deflection angle. The control unit 422 controls the voltage applied to the voltage region to adjust the deflection angle of the first optical signal and obtain the second optical signal.

[0099] Method 2: The first optical signal transceiver sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical switching equipment via a signal transmission line. This signal transmission line can be a network cable or an optical fiber cable.

[0100] Referring to Figure 13, there is a direct signal transmission line between the first optical signal transceiver and the optical switching equipment. For example, there is a direct signal transmission line between the optical receiving component 01 in the first optical signal transceiver and the control component 4 of the optical switching equipment, and the optical receiving component 01 sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the control component 4. As another example, there is a direct signal transmission line between the optical transmitting component 02 of the first optical signal transceiver and the control component 4 of the optical switching equipment, and the optical receiving component 01 sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical transmitting component 02, and the optical transmitting component 02 sends first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the control component 4.

[0101] Optionally, when the optical switching component 3 deflects the optical signal through a deflection module, the optical switching equipment stores the correspondence between the port of the signal transmission line and the identifier of the deflection module. When the control component 4 receives the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, it records the receiving port, uses the port to find the corresponding deflection module, and the control component 4 controls the deflection module to deflect by a first deflection angle. When the optical switching component 3 is implemented through LC or LCOS, the situation is similar to that of the deflection module, and will not be described in detail here.

[0102] Alternatively, referring to Figure 14, there is a signal transmission line between the first optical signal transceiver and the network management device. For example, in the first optical signal transceiver, a signal transmission line is provided between the optical receiving component 01 and the network management device. The optical receiving component 01 directly sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the network management device. Or, other components of the first optical signal transceiver (such as the optical transmitting component 02) are connected to the network management device via signal transmission lines. The optical receiving component 01 sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to these other components, which in turn send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the network management device. The network management device sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device via the signal transmission line between itself and the optical switching device.

[0103] Optionally, after receiving the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information sent by the first optical signal transceiver, the network management device records the identifier of the first optical signal transceiver. When sending the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information to the optical switching device, the network management device simultaneously sends the identifier of the first optical signal transceiver, which may be the media access control (MAC) address of the first optical signal transceiver, etc. The optical switching device records the correspondence between the identifier of the optical signal transceiver and the identifier of the deflection module. When the control component 4 receives the first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information, it records the identifier of the first optical signal transceiver, uses the identifier of the first optical signal transceiver to find the corresponding deflection module, and the control component 4 controls the deflection module to deflect a first deflection angle. When the optical switching component 3 is implemented through LC or LCOS, the situation is similar to that of the deflection module, and will not be described in detail here.

[0104] In the optical communication system shown in Figures 9 to 14, this is a two-fiber optical communication system. The optical switching equipment is connected to both the first and second optical signal transceivers via two optical fibers. For both the first and second optical signal transceivers, the control component 4 includes two beam splitters 41. One beam splitter 41 is used to split the optical signal transmitted in the first direction, and the other beam splitter 41 is used to split the optical signal transmitted in the second direction, which are opposite to each other. Thus, one beam splitter 41 splits optical signal A, which carries the optical power information and / or bit error rate information of the optical signal transmitted in the second direction. The other beam splitter 41 splits optical signal B, which carries the optical power information and / or bit error rate information of the optical signal transmitted in the first direction, enabling adjustment of the deflection angle of the optical signals transmitted in both directions.

[0105] In one alternative embodiment, referring to Figure 15, the optical switching device is connected to the first and second optical signal transceivers via an optical fiber. Since the bidirectional optical signals pass through the same devices, the deflection angle can be adjusted by detecting the optical power and bit error rate of the optical signal transmitted in one direction. In this case, the first and second optical signal transceivers also include a beam splitter 03 to enable simultaneous bidirectional optical signal transmission. Figure 15 shows the beam splitting module 41 as an optical fiber beam splitter; in another implementation, a beam splitter can also be used for beam splitting.

[0106] In one alternative approach, the triggering conditions for the control component 4 to determine the deflection angle include, but are not limited to: determining the deflection angle each time optical power information and / or bit error rate information is received, such as determining the first deflection angle upon receiving first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information; or, periodically determining the deflection angle, such as with a period of 20ms, which can be the same as the transmission period of optical power information, etc. That is, when the period for determining the deflection angle is reached, the first deflection angle is determined using the most recently received first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information.

[0107] Alternatively, after detecting that the optical power indicated by the first optical power information does not meet the requirements and / or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information does not meet the requirements, the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information are used to determine the first deflection angle.

[0108] The optical power indicated by the first optical power information not meeting the requirements includes, but is not limited to: the optical power indicated by the first optical power information being lower than a first threshold, or the optical power indicated by the first optical power information being lower than the value of the first optical power being greater than a second threshold, the first optical power being the optical power indicated by the previously received optical power information, or a power threshold.

[0109] The first bit error rate information indicates that the bit error rate does not meet the requirements, including but not limited to: the first bit error rate information indicates that the bit error rate is higher than the third threshold, or the first bit error rate information indicates that the bit error rate is higher than the fourth threshold, the first bit error rate is the bit error rate indicated by the previously received bit error rate information, or a bit error rate threshold.

[0110] In one optional approach, the triggering conditions for the first optical signal transceiver to transmit the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information include, but are not limited to: detecting the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information; or reaching the period for transmitting the optical power information and / or the bit error rate information, such as the period being 10ms; or the optical power indicated by the first optical power information meeting the reporting conditions and / or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information meeting the reporting conditions; or receiving a reporting indication message sent by the optical switching equipment, the reporting indication message being used to indicate the transmission of the optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information.

[0111] The reporting conditions for the optical power indicated by the first optical power information include, but are not limited to: the optical power indicated by the first optical power information is lower than the fifth threshold, or the optical power indicated by the first optical power information is lower than the second optical power by a value greater than the sixth threshold, where the second optical power is the optical power indicated by the previously detected optical power information, or a power threshold.

[0112] The bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information meets the reporting conditions, including but not limited to: the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information is higher than the seventh threshold, or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information is higher than the second bit error rate by a value greater than the eighth threshold, the second bit error rate is the bit error rate indicated by the previously detected bit error rate information, or a bit error rate threshold.

[0113] Optionally, when the optical switching device sends the aforementioned reporting indication message to the first optical signal transceiver, it may send the reporting indication message periodically. The reporting indication message can be sent via a signal transmission line directly connected to the first optical signal transceiver, or it can be sent via a network management device.

[0114] The above thresholds can be set based on empirical values ​​or simulation settings.

[0115] All of the above-mentioned optional technical solutions can be combined in any way to form the optional embodiments of this application, and will not be described in detail here.

[0116] The preceding text uses the transmission of first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information as an example for illustration. The above scheme can be used to transmit any optical power information and / or bit error rate information, and the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0117] In this application, the terms "first" and "second," etc., are used to distinguish identical or similar items that have substantially the same function and purpose. It should be understood that there is no logical or temporal dependency between "first" and "second," nor does it limit the quantity or order of execution. It should also be understood that although the following description uses the terms "first" and "second," etc., to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of various examples, a first optical signal transceiver can be referred to as a second optical signal transceiver, and similarly, a second optical signal transceiver can be referred to as a first optical signal transceiver. Both the first and second optical signal transceivers can be optical signal transceivers, and in some cases, they can be separate and different optical signal transceivers.

[0118] The phrase "A and / or B" in the preceding text can be understood to include three cases: A, B, and A and B.

[0119] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application, and such modifications or substitutions should all be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An optical switching device, characterized in that, The optical switching equipment includes an optical switching component and a control component; The optical switching component is used to send a first optical signal to the optical signal transceiver. The control component is used to receive first optical power information and / or first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver, wherein the first optical power information is the optical power information of the first optical signal, and the first bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the first optical signal; The control component is further configured to determine a first deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information; The optical switching component is further configured to adjust the deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first deflection angle to obtain a second optical signal, and send the second optical signal to the optical signal transceiver.

2. The optical switching device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control component is configured to receive the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver via a service optical fiber between the transceiver and the optical signal transceiver.

3. The optical switching device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control component includes a beam splitting module and a control module; The optical splitter is used to receive a third optical signal modulated with the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information through the service optical fiber between the optical signal transceiver and the optical signal transceiver, split the third optical signal into a first sub-optical signal and a second sub-optical signal, output the first sub-optical signal to the control module, and output the second sub-optical signal to the optical switching component. The control module is used to demodulate the first sub-optical signal to obtain the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, and to determine the first deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. The optical switching component is also used to output the second sub-optical signal.

4. The optical switching device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The control module includes an optical tag parsing unit and a control unit; The optical tag parsing unit is used to demodulate the first sub-optical signal to obtain the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, and send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the control unit. The control unit is used to determine a first deflection angle of the first optical signal based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information.

5. The optical switching device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control component is used to receive the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver via a signal transmission line between the transceiver and the optical signal transceiver.

6. The optical switching device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The control component is used to receive the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver via a signal transmission line directly connected to the optical signal transceiver. or, The control component is used to receive the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information sent by the network management device through a signal transmission line between the network management device and the network management device, wherein the network management device obtains the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver end.

7. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The control component is further configured to send a reporting instruction message to the optical transceiver, wherein the reporting instruction message is configured to instruct the optical transceiver to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device.

8. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The control component is used to determine the first deflection angle based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information after detecting that the optical power indicated by the first optical power information does not meet the requirements and / or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information does not meet the requirements. or, Upon reaching a defined period, the first deflection angle is determined based on the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information.

9. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The control component is further configured to receive second optical power information and / or second bit error rate information from the optical signal transceiver, wherein the second optical power information is the optical power information of the second optical signal, and the second bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the second optical signal; The control component is further configured to determine the second deflection angle of the second optical signal based on the first deflection angle, the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information, and the second optical power information and / or the second bit error rate information; The optical switching component is further configured to adjust the deflection angle of the second optical signal based on the second deflection angle to obtain a fourth optical signal, and send the fourth optical signal to the optical signal transceiver.

10. An optical signal transceiver, characterized in that, The optical signal transceiver includes an optical receiving component; The optical receiving component is used to receive a first optical signal from the optical switching device; The optical receiving component is further configured to determine the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information of the first optical signal, and send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device, wherein the first bit error rate information is the bit error rate information of the data carried on the first optical signal.

11. The optical signal transceiver according to claim 10, characterized in that, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical transmitting component in the optical signal transceiver. The optical transmission component is used to transmit the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device via a service optical fiber connected to the optical switching device.

12. The optical signal transceiver according to claim 11, characterized in that, The optical transmitting component includes a light-emitting module and a modulator, wherein the light-emitting module is located in the input optical path of the modulator; The light-emitting module is used to output light signals; The modulator is used to modulate the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information onto the optical signal output by the light-emitting module to obtain a third optical signal, and then transmit the third optical signal to the optical switching equipment through the service optical fiber.

13. The optical signal transceiver according to claim 10, characterized in that, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device via a signal transmission line between the optical switching device and the optical switching device.

14. The optical signal transceiver according to claim 13, characterized in that, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device through a signal transmission line directly connected to the optical switching device. or, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the network management device through a signal transmission line between the network management device and the network management device, so that the network management device sends the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device.

15. The optical signal transceiver according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device when it detects the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information. or, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device when the transmission period is reached. or, The optical receiving component is used to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device after the optical power indicated by the first optical power information meets the reporting conditions and / or the bit error rate indicated by the first bit error rate information meets the reporting conditions. or, The optical receiving component is configured to send the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information to the optical switching device after receiving a reporting instruction message sent by the optical switching device, wherein the reporting instruction message is used to instruct the sending of the first optical power information and / or the first bit error rate information.

16. The optical signal transceiver according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that, The optical signal transceiver is an optical module; or, the optical signal transceiver is a co-packaged optical signal transceiver.

17. An optical communication system, characterized in that, The optical communication system includes the optical switching equipment as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 and the optical signal transceiver as described in any one of claims 10 to 16.

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