CN117477356A

CN117477356A - Optical amplifier, optical amplifying method and optical communication equipment

Info

Publication number: CN117477356A
Application number: CN202210872520.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王慎泽; 常志文; 张振振
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-20
Filing date: 2022-07-20
Publication date: 2024-01-30
Also published as: WO2024016851A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of optical communications, and in particular, to an optical amplifier, an optical amplifying method, and an optical communication device. The optical amplifier includes a controller, a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier, and a spectral tilt detection assembly. The three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier comprises a first amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage and a third amplifying stage which are arranged in series. The controller is configured to obtain an output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier via the spectral tilt detection assembly. The controller is also used for adjusting the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current which are connected to the second amplifying stage and the third amplifying stage according to the output spectrum gradient and the preset gradient under the condition of keeping the current value of the first driving current which is connected to the first amplifying stage unchanged until the output spectrum gradient is consistent with the preset gradient. The optical amplifier provided by the application is small in size and low in cost, has the function of outputting the adjustable spectrum gradient, and is high in applicability and practicality.

Description

Optical amplifier, optical amplifying method and optical communication equipment

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of optical technologies, and in particular, to an optical amplifier, an optical amplifying method, and an optical communication device.

Background

With the continuous development of optical communication technology, in order to solve the problem that the transmission distance of an optical signal is limited due to transmission loss, the use of an optical amplifier in the field of optical communication is becoming more and more popular. Therefore, the performance of optical amplifiers is also increasingly of interest.

The existing optical amplifier is generally an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) designed based on erbium-doped fiber (EDF), and mainly comprises two sections of erbium-doped fiber and optical devices such as an adjustable optical attenuator (variable optical attenuator, VOA), a pump laser and the like. However, the existing optical amplifier has a relatively single function, and has poor applicability and practicality because the optical devices such as erbium-doped fiber and pump laser occupy a relatively large space, and the existing optical amplifier has a relatively large limit on space volume and cost.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides an optical amplifier, an optical amplifying method, and an optical communication apparatus. The optical amplifier has the advantages of small volume, low cost, and strong applicability and practicality, and has the function of adjustable inclination of an output spectrum.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an optical amplifier. The optical amplifier includes a controller, a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier, and a spectral tilt detection assembly. The three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier comprises a first amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage and a third amplifying stage which are arranged in series. The controller is used for acquiring the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier through the spectral gradient detection assembly. The controller is further configured to adjust current values of the second driving current and the third driving current connected to the second amplification stage and the third amplification stage according to the output spectrum inclination and a preset inclination, under the condition that the current value of the first driving current connected to the first amplification stage is kept unchanged, until the output spectrum inclination of the optical amplifier is consistent with the preset inclination.

In the above implementation, the optical amplifier is mainly composed of a small-sized and low-cost spectral inclination detection assembly and a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier. And the controller can also adjust the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current in real time according to the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier detected by the spectrum gradient detection component and the preset gradient under the condition of keeping the current value of the first driving current accessed by the first amplifying stage unchanged, so as to ensure that the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier can be consistent with the preset gradient, and further the optical amplifier further has the function of adjusting the output spectrum gradient. Therefore, the optical amplifier provided by the application is small in size and low in cost, and has the function of outputting the adjustable spectrum gradient, and the optical amplifier is high in functional flexibility, and good in applicability and practicality.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the controller performs the following operations after each acquisition of the output spectrum inclination: if the output spectrum gradient is determined to be larger than the preset gradient, the current value of the second driving current is reduced, the current value of the third driving current is increased, and a new output spectrum gradient is acquired again. If the output spectrum gradient is determined to be smaller than the preset gradient, the current value of the second driving current is increased, the current value of the third driving current is reduced, and a new output spectrum gradient is acquired again. And if the inclination of the output spectrum is determined to be equal to the preset inclination, not adjusting the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current.

In the implementation, the controller reduces or increases the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current based on the comparison result of the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier detected in real time and the preset gradient, so as to ensure that the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier is consistent with the preset gradient. The adjusting mode is simple and reliable, and the adjusting efficiency of the output spectrum inclination of the optical amplifier can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the above-mentioned spectral gradient detection assembly includes a first optical splitter and an optical channel performance monitoring device. The first beam splitter is configured to split the first light beam output by the third amplifying stage into a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam. The optical channel performance monitoring device is used for acquiring and sending the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier to the controller according to the first sub-beam.

In the above-mentioned realization, the spectral gradient detection assembly comprises first beam splitter and OPM device, can be accurate obtain the output spectral gradient of optical amplifier through the OPM device for follow-up controller can be accurate adjust second drive current and third drive current's current value, can carry the regulation efficiency of optical amplifier's output spectral gradient like this.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical spectrum inclination detection assembly includes a first optical splitter, a second optical splitter, a first filter, a second filter, a first optical power detector, and a second optical power detector. The first beam splitter is configured to split a first light beam output from a third amplification stage of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier into a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam. The second beam splitter is configured to split the first sub-beam into a third sub-beam and a fourth sub-beam. The first filter is configured to extract a fifth sub-beam from the third sub-beam, and the second filter is configured to extract a sixth sub-beam from the fourth sub-beam. Here, the fifth sub-beam has a wavelength smaller than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam, and the sixth sub-beam has a wavelength larger than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam. The third optical power detector is configured to detect an optical power of the fifth sub-beam, and the fourth optical power detector is configured to detect an optical power of the sixth sub-beam. The controller is configured to determine an output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier based on the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam.

In the above-mentioned realization, the spectrum gradient detection subassembly comprises a plurality of optical splitters, wave filter and optical power detector, and its simple structure and with low costs can effectively reduce the structural complexity and the cost of optical amplifier when guaranteeing the stability of optical amplifier's output optical power to can further promote optical amplifier's suitability and practicality.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical amplifier further includes a first optical power detection component. The controller is used for acquiring the output optical power of the optical amplifier through the first optical power detection component. The controller is further configured to adjust a current value of the second driving current according to the output optical power and a target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier until the output optical power of the optical amplifier matches the target desired output optical power.

In the implementation, the optical amplifier can adjust the driving current of the second amplifying stage of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier in real time according to the output optical power and the target expected output optical power, so as to ensure that the output optical power can be stabilized at the target expected output optical power. Therefore, the output optical power of the optical amplifier provided by the application is stable and adjustable, and the performance and applicability of the optical amplifier can be further improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the controller is configured to perform, after each acquisition of the output optical power of the optical amplifier, the following operations: and if the output optical power is determined to be larger than the target expected output optical power, reducing the current value of the second driving current, and acquiring the new output optical power of the optical amplifier. And if the output optical power is determined to be smaller than the target expected output optical power, increasing the current value of the second driving current, and acquiring the new output optical power of the optical amplifier. If it is determined that the output optical power is equal to the target desired output optical power, the current value of the second driving current is not adjusted.

In the above implementation, the controller reduces or increases the current value of the second driving current based on the comparison result of the output optical power of the optical amplifier detected in real time and the target desired output optical power, thereby ensuring that the output optical power of the optical amplifier is consistent with the target desired output optical power value. The adjusting mode is simple and reliable, and the adjusting efficiency of the output optical power of the optical amplifier can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical amplifier further includes a second optical power detection component. The controller is used for acquiring the input optical power of the optical amplifier through the second optical power detection component. The controller is further configured to determine a first calibration current value of the first driving current, a second calibration current value of the second driving current, and a third calibration current value of the third driving current according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier, the target desired output optical power, and a preset calibration parameter set. Here, the calibration parameter set includes calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current corresponding to each of a plurality of desired output optical powers of the optical amplifier, a plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the plurality of desired output optical powers, and each of the plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the desired output optical powers.

In the above implementation, the controller may search and set calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current from a calibration parameter set preset in the optical amplifier according to the input optical power and the target expected output optical power of the optical amplifier. That is, the controller can set different calibration values for the first driving current, the second driving current and the third driving current to enable the optical amplifier to have different expected output optical powers and different expected gain points, so that the optical amplifier has the functions of adjustable output optical powers and adjustable output gains, and the functional flexibility and applicability of the optical amplifier can be further improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the controller is configured to: and calculating the actual gain point of the optical amplifier according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier and the target expected output optical power. And searching the calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current and the third driving current corresponding to the actual gain point and the target expected output light power from the calibration parameter set, and respectively determining the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value and the third calibration current value.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the controller is further configured to: and if the plurality of gain points in the calibration parameter set do not contain the actual gain point, searching a first gain point and a second gain point adjacent to the actual gain point from the plurality of gain points corresponding to the target expected output optical power. And determining an average value of the calibration current value of the second driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration value of the second driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the second calibration current value. And determining an average value of the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration value of the third driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the third calibration current value.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical amplifier further includes a first optical isolator and a second optical isolator, where the first optical isolator is connected to an input end of the optical amplifier, and the second optical isolator is connected to an output end of the optical amplifier.

In the implementation, two optical isolators are arranged at the input end side and the output end side of the optical amplifier to ensure the unidirectional propagation of the light beam in the optical amplifier, so that the influence of the reverse stray light on the function of the optical amplifier can be avoided, and the performance and the applicability of the optical amplifier can be further improved.

In a second aspect, the present application provides an optical amplification method suitable for use in an optical amplifier provided in the foregoing first aspect or any one of its possible implementations. The optical amplifier comprises a controller, a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier and a spectrum gradient detection assembly, wherein the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier comprises a first amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage and a third amplifying stage which are connected in series. The method comprises the following steps: and acquiring the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier through the controller and the spectral gradient detection assembly. And under the condition that the current value of the first driving current connected to the first amplifying stage is kept unchanged, the controller adjusts the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current connected to the second amplifying stage and the third amplifying stage according to the output spectrum gradient and the preset gradient until the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier is consistent with the preset gradient.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the following operations may be performed by the controller after each time the output spectrum inclination is obtained: if the output spectrum gradient is determined to be larger than the preset gradient, the current value of the second driving current is reduced, the current value of the third driving current is increased, and a new output spectrum gradient is acquired through the spectrum gradient detecting component again. If the output spectrum gradient is smaller than the preset gradient, the current value of the second driving current is increased, the current value of the third driving current is reduced, and a new output spectrum gradient is acquired through the spectrum gradient detecting component again. And if the inclination of the output spectrum is determined to be equal to the preset inclination, not adjusting the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the above-mentioned spectral gradient detection assembly includes a first optical splitter and an optical channel performance monitoring device. The first light beam output from the third amplifying stage may be split into a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam by the first beam splitter. The output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier may be obtained from the first sub-beam and sent to the controller by the optical channel performance monitoring device.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical spectrum inclination detection assembly includes a first optical splitter, a second optical splitter, a first filter, a second filter, a first optical power detector and a second optical power detector. The first light beam output from the third amplification stage of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier may be split into a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam by the first beam splitter. The first sub-beam may be split into a third sub-beam and a fourth sub-beam by the second beam splitter. A fifth sub-beam may be extracted from the third sub-beam by the first filter, and a sixth sub-beam may be extracted from the fourth sub-beam by the second filter, wherein a wavelength of the fifth sub-beam is smaller than a center wavelength of the first sub-beam, and a wavelength of the sixth sub-beam is greater than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam. The optical power of the fifth sub-beam may be detected by the third optical power detector, and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam may be detected by the fourth optical power detector. The controller may determine the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier based on the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical amplifier further includes a first optical power detection component. The output optical power of the optical amplifier may be obtained by a controller and the first optical power detecting component. The controller may adjust the current value of the second driving current according to the output optical power and the target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier until the output optical power of the optical amplifier matches the target desired output optical power.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the following operations may be performed by the controller after each time the output optical power of the optical amplifier is obtained: and if the output optical power is determined to be larger than the target expected output optical power, reducing the current value of the second driving current, and acquiring the new output optical power of the optical amplifier. And if the output optical power is determined to be smaller than the target expected output optical power, increasing the current value of the second driving current, and acquiring the new output optical power of the optical amplifier. If it is determined that the output optical power is equal to the target desired output optical power, the current value of the second driving current is not adjusted.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical amplifier further includes a second optical power detection component. The input optical power of the optical amplifier may be obtained by the controller and the second optical power detecting element. The controller may determine a first calibration current value of the first driving current, a second calibration current value of the second driving current, and a third calibration current value of the third driving current according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier, the target desired output optical power, and a preset calibration parameter set. The calibration parameter set includes calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current corresponding to each of a plurality of desired output optical powers of the optical amplifier, a plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the plurality of desired output optical powers, and each of the plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the desired output optical powers. The controller may set the current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current to the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value, respectively.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the controller may be configured to calculate, from the input optical power and the target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier, an actual gain point of the optical amplifier. The controller may find calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current corresponding to the actual gain point and the target desired output optical power from the calibration parameter set, and determine the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value, respectively.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, if it is determined by the controller that the actual gain point is not included in the plurality of gain points in the calibration parameter set, a first gain point and a second gain point adjacent to the actual gain point are found from a plurality of gain points corresponding to the target desired output optical power. And determining, by the controller, an average value of the second driving current calibration current value corresponding to the first gain point and the second driving current calibration current value corresponding to the second gain point as the second calibration current value. And determining, by the controller, an average value of the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the third calibration current value.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the optical amplifier further includes a first optical isolator and a second optical isolator, where the first optical isolator is connected to an input end of the optical amplifier, and the second optical isolator is connected to an output end of the optical amplifier.

In a third aspect, the present application also provides an optical communication apparatus. The optical communication device includes a signal light generator and an optical amplifier as described in the first aspect or any one of the first aspects, and the optical amplifier is configured to optically amplify the signal light output from the signal light generator.

The solutions provided in the second aspect and the third aspect are used to implement or cooperate with the optical amplifier provided in the first aspect or any optional manner of the first aspect, so that the same or corresponding beneficial effects as those of the first aspect can be achieved, which are not described herein.

In summary, by adopting the embodiment of the application, the volume of the optical amplifier can be reduced, the cost of the optical amplifier can be reduced, the optical amplifier has the performance of adjustable output spectrum inclination, and the applicability and the practicability of the optical amplifier can be effectively improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical amplifier according to the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an optical amplifier provided herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an optical amplifier provided herein;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an optical amplifier provided herein;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an optical amplifier provided herein;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an optical amplifier provided herein;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an optical amplifier provided herein;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart of an optical amplifying method provided in the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flow chart of another optical amplifying method provided in the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic flow chart of another optical amplifying method provided in the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical communication device provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings provided in the embodiments of the present application.

The existing optical amplifier has single function, and because the optical devices such as erbium-doped fiber and pump laser need to occupy larger space, the existing optical amplifier has larger limit on space volume and cost, so the applicability and practicability are poor.

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the application is as follows: how to improve the functional flexibility of the optical amplifier while reducing the volume and the cost of the optical amplifier, thereby improving the applicability and the practicability of the optical amplifier.

Example 1

To solve the above-described problems, the present application provides an optical amplifier. The optical amplifier is designed based on the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier with small volume and low cost, and the current values of the second amplifying stage and the third amplifying stage of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier can be flexibly adjusted according to the output spectrum gradient detected in real time and the preset gradient so as to ensure that the output spectrum gradient can be consistent with the preset gradient, thereby the optical amplifier also has the function of adjusting the output spectrum gradient. Therefore, the optical amplifier provided by the application is small in size and low in cost, and has the function of outputting the adjustable spectrum gradient, and the optical amplifier is high in functional flexibility, and good in applicability and practicality.

The structure and operation of the optical amplifier provided in the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 to 7.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the optical amplifier 100 provided herein may include a controller 10, a spectral tilt detection assembly 20, and a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30. Here, the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 includes at least three amplification stages, which are a first amplification stage 301, a second amplification stage 302, and a third amplification stage 303, respectively. The spectral tilt detection assembly 20 has one end connected to the output of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 and the other end connected to the output of the optical amplifier 100 for outputting the amplified target beam, or the other end directly serving as the output of the optical amplifier 100 for outputting the target beam. The controller 10 is also connected to a first amplification stage 301, a second amplification stage 302, a third amplification stage 303, and the spectral tilt detection assembly 20, respectively, in the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30

In actual operation, the optical amplifier 100 is mainly used for performing optical amplification on the received source beam to output an amplified target beam. In a specific amplifying process, in the case where the current value of the driving current (for convenience of distinction, will be described by replacing the first driving current I1) connected to the first amplifying stage 301 is a first calibration current value, the current value of the driving current (for convenience of distinction, will be described by replacing the second driving current I2) connected to the second amplifying stage 302 is a second calibration current value, and the current value of the driving current (for convenience of distinction, will be described by replacing the third driving current I3) connected to the third amplifying stage 303 is a third calibration current value, the controller 10 may keep the current value of the first driving current I1 connected to the first amplifying stage 301 unchanged, and obtain the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 based on the light beam detection output by the third amplifying stage 303 through the spectral tilt detection assembly 20. It should be appreciated that since the light beam output by the third amplification stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 may be approximately equivalent to the target light beam output by the optical amplifier 100, the spectral tilt detected based on the light beam output by the third amplification stage 303 may be regarded as the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100. Here, the output spectrum gradient refers to a gradient corresponding to an optical power line of the target light beam output from the optical amplifier 100, and may be generally considered approximately as a difference between an optical power corresponding to a minimum wavelength and an optical power corresponding to a maximum wavelength in the optical power spectrum.

After obtaining the output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100, the controller 10 may be further configured to adjust the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 of the second amplifying stage according to the output spectral inclination and the preset inclination (S0 is assumed here) until it confirms that the output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 is identical to the preset inclination S0. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the preset inclination S0, which means that the difference between the output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 and the preset inclination S0 is less than or equal to the first preset difference. Wherein the first preset difference is greater than or equal to 0. By the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 being greater than the preset tilt S0, it is meant that the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 is greater than the preset tilt S0 and the difference between the two is greater than the first preset difference. By the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 being smaller than the preset tilt S0, it is meant that the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 is smaller than the preset tilt S0 and the difference between the two is larger than the first preset difference.

Here, the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 is an integrated optical device made of semiconductor material, and is the same as the semiconductor laser in operation principle, and mainly uses the stimulated phenomenon of energy level transition for optical amplification. The three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 provided by the present application comprises three amplifying stages, each having at least one driving electrode for injecting a respective driving current for each amplifying stage, so that each amplifying stage can implement a respective optical amplifying function. In particular, in the case of a polarization sensitive device, the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 includes two driving electrodes for each amplification stage, and both driving electrodes are connected to a driving current, so that each amplification stage can amplify the received light beam in different polarization states. Taking the first amplifying stage 301 as an example, where the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 is a polarization-sensitive device, the first amplifying stage 301 may have two driving electrodes, and both driving electrodes may be connected to the first driving current I1, so that the first amplifying stage 301 can amplify the input light beam equally in different polarization states. And when the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 is not a polarization-sensitive device, each amplification stage included therein may have only one driving electrode. It should be understood that, in practical implementation, the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 provided in the present application may be specifically various types of semiconductor optical amplifiers, as long as it includes three amplifying stages, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

In addition, the first calibration current value of the first driving current I1, the second calibration current value of the second driving current I2, and the third calibration current value of the third driving current I3 described above are initial current values set for the three driving currents before the optical amplifier 100 performs optical amplification, and the adjustment of the current levels that may be involved later is based on the three calibration current values.

In the above-described implementation, the optical amplifier 100 is mainly composed of the spectral tilt detection assembly 20 and the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30, which are small in size and low in cost. In addition, the controller 10 included in the optical amplifier may also adjust the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 in real time according to the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 detected by the spectral gradient detecting component 20 and the preset gradient S0 under the condition of keeping the current value of the first driving current I1 accessed by the first amplifying stage 301 unchanged, so as to ensure that the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 can be consistent with the preset gradient S0, thereby making the optical amplifier 100 further have the function of adjusting the output spectral gradient. Therefore, the optical amplifier provided by the application is small in size and low in cost, and has the function of outputting the adjustable spectrum gradient, and the optical amplifier is high in functional flexibility, and good in applicability and practicality.

Further, in some alternative implementations, the controller 10 may adjust the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 in real time in the following adjustment manner, so that the output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 can be consistent with the preset inclination.

In a specific implementation, when the current value of the first driving current I1 connected to the first amplifying stage 301 is a first calibration current value, the current value of the second driving current I2 connected to the second amplifying stage 302 is a second calibration current value, and the current value of the third driving current I3 connected to the third amplifying stage 303 is a third calibration current value, the spectral gradient detecting unit 20 detects that the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 obtained at the first time (here, it is assumed to be T1) is a first gradient (here, it is assumed to be S1), and sends the first gradient S1 to the controller 10. After the first inclination S1 is obtained, the controller 10 may compare the first inclination S1 with a preset inclination S0.

In the first case, if the controller 10 determines that the first inclination S1 is greater than the preset inclination S0, it may decrease the current value of the second driving current I2 and increase the current value of the third driving current I3 (it should be understood that the controller 10 decreases the current value of the second driving current starting from the second calibration current value and increases the current value of the third driving current I3 starting from the third calibration current value), and after decreasing the current value of the second driving current I2 and increasing the current value of the third driving current I3, the controller 10 may again detect a new output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 through the spectral inclination detection assembly 20.

In the second case, if the controller 10 determines that the first inclination S1 is smaller than the preset inclination S0, it may increase the current value of the second driving current I2 and decrease the current value of the third driving current I3 (similarly, the controller 10 increases the current value of the second driving current starting from the second calibration current value and decreases the current value of the third driving current I3 starting from the third calibration current value), and after increasing the current value of the second driving current I2 and decreasing the current value of the third driving current I3, the controller 10 may again detect a new output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 through the spectral inclination detection assembly 20.

In the third case, if the controller 10 determines that the first inclination S1 is smaller than the preset inclination S0, it may not adjust the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3.

In the first case and the second case, the controller 10 obtains a new output spectrum inclination of the optical amplifier 100, compares the new output spectrum inclination with the preset inclination S0, and performs the operation corresponding to the first case or the second case again according to the comparison result. The controller 10 repeats the above adjustment operation until the controller 10 confirms that the inclination of the new output spectrum acquired by the controller is identical to the preset inclination S0 (i.e., the third case is satisfied).

Alternatively, in the above-described first case, the controller 10 may decrease the current value of the second driving current I2 by an equal amount by a preset step value (here, assumed to be X1 mA) when decreasing the current value of the second driving current I2. Meanwhile, when increasing the current value of the third driving current I3, the controller 10 may also increase the current value of the third driving current I3 by an equal amount by a preset step value (here, assumed to be X2 mA). Here, the step values X1 and X2 may be empirical values obtained by performing multiple experiments on the optical amplifier 100 based on the structure, capability, and tolerance requirements on the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100. For example, the X1 may be 20mA, and the X2 may be 10mA. In the second case described above, the controller 10 may increase the current value of the second driving current I2 by an equal amount by a preset step value (here, assumed to be X3 mA) when increasing the current value of the second driving current I2. Meanwhile, in reducing the current value of the third driving current I3, the controller 10 may also reduce the current value of the third driving current I3 by an equal amount by a preset step value (here, assumed to be X4 mA). Here, the step value X3 and the step value X4 may be empirical values obtained by performing a plurality of optical amplification experiments based on the structure of the optical amplifier 100. It should be appreciated that in practical implementations, the controller 10 may also decrease or increase the current value of the second driving current I2 or the third driving current I3 in a non-equal amount or in other possible manners, which is not limited in this application.

For example, assume that the second calibration current value is 870mA and the third calibration current value is 255mA. If the controller 10 determines that the first inclination S1 is greater than the preset inclination S0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be reduced by X1 mA, that is, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be controlled to be (870-X1) mA. Meanwhile, the controller 10 may also increase the current value of the third driving current I3 by X2mA, that is, control the current value of the third driving current I3 to be (255+x2) mA. The controller 10 may then again detect a new output spectral tilt (here assumed to be the second tilt S2) of the optical amplifier 100 as described above by the spectral tilt detection assembly 20. Then, the controller 10 may compare the second inclination S2 with the preset inclination S0. If the controller 10 determines that the second inclination S2 is equal to the preset inclination value, the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 may not be adjusted. If the controller 10 determines that the second inclination S2 is still greater than the preset inclination S0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be reduced by X1 mA again, that is, the current value of the second driving current I2 is controlled to be (870-2×x1) mA. Meanwhile, the current value of the third driving current I3 is increased by X2mA again, that is, the current value of the third driving current I3 is controlled to be (255+2xx2) mA. If the controller 10 determines that the second inclination S2 is smaller than the preset inclination S0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be increased by X3 mA, that is, the current value of the second driving current I2 is controlled to be (870-2×x1+x3) mA. Meanwhile, the current value of the third driving current I3 is reduced by X4mA, that is, the current value of the third driving current I3 is controlled to be (255+2×x2-X4) mA. Then, the controller 10 may acquire a new output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 again, and repeatedly perform the above-described comparison and current adjustment operations until it confirms that the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the preset gradient S0.

Further, after the controller 10 confirms that the new output spectral inclination acquired by the controller is consistent with the preset inclination S0, when the controller 10 confirms that the first preset adjustment time is reached, it may detect the new output spectral inclination of the optical amplifier 100 again through the spectral inclination detection assembly 20, and repeat the above operation based on the new output spectral inclination and the preset inclination S0. Here, the first preset adjustment time is a time at which the output spectrum inclination adjustment is started, which is preset by the optical amplifier 100.

In the above implementation, the controller 10 decreases or increases the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 based on the comparison result of the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 detected in real time with the preset gradient S0, thereby ensuring that the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the preset gradient S0. The adjustment method is simple and reliable, and can improve the adjustment efficiency of the output spectrum inclination of the optical amplifier 100.

In some possible implementations, please refer to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the spectral gradient detecting assembly 20 may specifically include a first beam splitter 201, a second beam splitter 202, a first filter 203, a second filter 204, a first optical power detector 205, and a second optical power detector 206. The first optical splitter 201 is connected to the second optical splitter 202 of the third amplifying stage 303. It should be understood that one end of the first beam splitter 201 is also connected to a target output end of the optical amplifier 100 for outputting the target beam, or directly outputs the target beam as an output end of the optical amplifier 100. The second optical splitter 202 is further connected to a first filter 203 and a second filter 204, respectively, the first filter 203 is further connected to a first optical power detector 205, and the second filter 204 is further connected to a second optical power detector 206. The controller 10 is also connected to a first optical power detector 205 and a second optical power detector 206, respectively.

In acquiring the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100, the first beam splitter 201 is configured to split the light beam (for convenience of distinction, a first light beam will be replaced with a description below) output from the third amplifying stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 to obtain a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam, and transmit the first sub-beam to the second beam splitter 202 and the second sub-beam to the outside of the optical amplifier 100. It will be appreciated that in the configuration shown in fig. 2, the second sub-beam is the target beam. Here, the value of the splitting ratio of the first beam splitter 201 (i.e., the optical power ratio of the first sub-beam and the second sub-beam) may be plural, so long as it is ensured that most of the optical energy of the first beam is emitted to the second optical power detection assembly 50. For example, the splitting ratio of the first splitter 201 may be 99:1. The second beam splitter 202 is configured to split the first sub-beam received by the second beam splitter to obtain a third sub-beam and a fourth sub-beam, and transmit the third sub-beam to the first filter 203 and the fourth sub-beam to the second filter 204. Similarly, the splitting ratio of the second beam splitter 202 (i.e., the optical power ratio of the third beam and the fourth sub-beam) may have a plurality of values, for example, 1:1. the first filter 203 is configured to filter the third sub-beam to extract a fifth sub-beam of a specific wavelength (here, a first wavelength is assumed) from the third sub-beam, and transmit the fifth sub-beam to the first optical power detector 205. Meanwhile, the second filter 204 is configured to filter the fourth sub-beam to extract a sixth sub-beam of a specific wavelength (here, a second wavelength is assumed) from the fourth sub-beam, and transmit the sixth sub-beam to the second optical power detector 206. Here, the first wavelength of the fifth sub-beam and the second wavelength of the sixth sub-beam are both preset, and the first wavelength of the fifth sub-beam is smaller than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam, and the second wavelength of the sixth sub-beam is larger than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam. Preferably, the first wavelength may be a minimum wavelength among all wavelengths smaller than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam in a band corresponding to the first sub-beam. The second wavelength may be the largest wavelength among all wavelengths greater than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam in the band corresponding to the first sub-beam. The first optical power detector 205 is configured to detect the optical power of the fifth sub-beam, and send the optical power of the fifth sub-beam to the controller 10. The second optical power detector 206 is configured to detect the optical power of the sixth sub-beam, and send the optical power value of the sixth sub-beam to the controller 10. The controller 10 is further configured to determine the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 based on the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam. Specifically, the controller 10 may calculate a difference between the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam, and determine the difference as a value of the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100.

It should be noted that, in actual implementation, the first beam splitter 201 and the second beam splitter 202 may be two independent optical devices, or may be different functional units in the same optical device. Likewise, the first and second filters 203 and 204 described above, and the first and second optical power detectors 205 and 206 described above, are also similar. In the case where these devices are all independent optical devices, the optical device according to the present application may be an optical device having a light splitting function in various forms, such as a common fusion-drawn cone-type optical device or a planar waveguide-type optical device. The filter according to the present application may be an optical filter having a wavelength selection function in various forms, such as a common dielectric film filter, a fiber bragg grating, an F-P (fabry-perot cavity) filter, or the like. The optical power detector related to the application can be an optical device with specific optical power detection functions in various forms, such as a Photodiode Detector (PD), a semiconductor optical detector, a photomultiplier tube and the like. The morphology of these devices may be selected according to actual design requirements, which is not particularly limited in this application.

In the above implementation, the spectral tilt detection assembly 20 is composed of a plurality of optical splitters, filters and optical power detectors, which has a simple structure and low cost, and can effectively reduce the structural complexity and cost of the optical amplifier 100 while ensuring the stability of the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100, so that the applicability and practicality of the optical amplifier 100 can be further improved.

In some possible implementations, please refer to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the spectral tilt detection assembly 20 may include a first optical splitter 201 and an optical channel performance monitoring (optical performance monitor, OPM) device 207. The first optical splitter 201 is connected to the third amplifying stage 303 and the OPM device 207, respectively. One end of the first beam splitter 201 is also connected to a target output end of the optical amplifier 100 for outputting a target beam, or directly outputs the target beam as an output end of the optical amplifier 100. The OPM device 207 is also connected to the controller 10.

In the process of acquiring the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100, the first beam splitter 201 is configured to split the first beam output by the third amplifying stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 to obtain a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam, and transmit the first sub-beam to the second beam splitter 202 and the second sub-beam to the outside of the optical amplifier 100. It will be appreciated that in the configuration shown in fig. 3, the second sub-beam is the target beam. The OPM apparatus 207 is configured to acquire an output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 based on the first sub-beam, and send the acquired output spectral gradient to the controller 10.

In the above implementation, the spectral gradient detecting assembly 20 is composed of the first optical splitter 201 and the OPM device 207, and the OPM device 207 can more accurately obtain the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100, so that the subsequent controller 10 can more accurately adjust the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3, so that the adjustment efficiency of the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 can be improved.

In some possible implementations, please refer to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the optical amplifier 100 may further include a first optical power detection assembly 40. The first optical power detecting component 40 is connected to the spectral gradient detecting component 20 and the controller 10, and one port of the first optical power detecting component is connected to an output end of the optical amplifier 100 for outputting the target beam, or directly used as the output end to output the target beam.

In actual operation, the controller 10 can obtain the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 through real-time detection by the first optical power detection assembly 40. Specifically, the controller 10 may control the first optical power detecting assembly 40 to detect the optical power of the second sub-beam outputted from the spectral gradient detecting assembly 20, and determine the optical power of the second sub-beam as the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100. Then, the controller 10 may maintain the current values of the first driving current I1 and the third driving current I3 unchanged, and adjust the current value of the second driving current I2 connected to the second amplifying stage 302 in real time according to the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 and its preset desired optical power (for convenience of distinction, the target desired optical power P0 will be replaced with a description later), until it determines that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is consistent with the target desired output optical power P0. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the target desired output optical power P0, which means that the difference between the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 and the target desired output optical power P0 is less than or equal to the second preset difference. Wherein the second preset difference is greater than or equal to 0. By the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 being greater than the target desired output optical power P0, it is meant that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is greater than the target desired output optical power P0 and the difference therebetween is greater than the second preset difference. By the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 being smaller than the target desired output optical power P0, it is meant that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is smaller than the target desired output optical power P0 and the difference between them is larger than the above-mentioned second preset difference.

It should be noted that, in practical implementation, the optical amplifier 100 provided in the present application may have a plurality of desired output optical powers, and the user may select the target desired output power P0 from the plurality of desired output optical powers according to practical requirements. The optical amplifier 100 can then operate as described above to ensure that its output optical power is stable at the target desired output optical power P0.

It should be noted that, in practical implementation, the first optical power detection assembly 40 may also be disposed between the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 and the spectral gradient detection assembly 20. With this configuration, since the spectral tilt detection unit 20 has a small energy loss of the light beam output from the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30, the first optical power detection unit 40 can provide the optical power of the light beam output from the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 detected by the first optical power detection unit as the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 to the controller 10.

In the above implementation, the optical amplifier 100 may adjust the driving current level of the second amplifier stage 302 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 in real time according to its output optical power and the target desired output optical power, so as to ensure that its output optical power can be stabilized at the target desired output optical power. Thus, the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 provided by the application is stable and adjustable, and the performance and applicability of the optical amplifier can be further improved.

Further, in some alternative implementations, the controller 10 may adjust the second drive current I2 current value in real time by adjusting the following manner to enable the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 to coincide with the target desired output optical power P0.

In a specific implementation, when the current value of the first driving current I1 connected to the first amplifying stage 301 is a first calibration current value, the current value of the second driving current I2 connected to the second amplifying stage 302 is a second calibration current value, and the current value of the third driving current I3 connected to the third amplifying stage 303 is a third calibration current value, it is assumed that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 detected by the controller 10 at the second time (here, it is assumed that T2) is the first output optical power (here, it is assumed that P1) by the first optical power detecting component 40. The controller 10 may then compare the first output optical power P1 with the target desired output optical power P0.

In the first case, if the controller 10 determines that the first output optical power P1 is greater than the target desired output optical power P0, it keeps the current values of the first driving current I1 and the third driving current I3 unchanged and decreases the current value of the second driving current I2 (it is understood that the controller 10 decreases the current value of the second driving current starting from the second calibration current value). And after decreasing the current value of the second driving current I2, the controller 10 may again detect the new output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 through the first optical power detection assembly 40.

In the second case, if the controller 10 determines that the first output optical power P1 is smaller than the target desired output optical power P0, it keeps the current values of the first driving current I1 and the third driving current I3 unchanged and increases the current value of the second driving current I2 (similarly, the controller 10 increases the current value of the second driving current with the second calibration current value as a starting point, and after increasing the current value of the second driving current I2, the controller 10 may detect again the new output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 through the first optical power detecting component 40.

In the third case, if the controller 10 determines that the first output optical power P1 coincides with the target desired output optical power P0, it may not adjust the second driving current I2 current value.

In the first case and the second case, each time the controller 10 obtains a new output optical power of the optical amplifier 100, the new output spectral inclination may be compared with the target desired output optical power P0, and the operation corresponding to the first case or the second case may be performed again according to the comparison result. The controller 10 repeats the above-described adjustment operation until the controller 10 confirms that the new output light power it acquires matches the target desired output light power P0 (i.e., satisfies the third case described above).

Alternatively, the controller 10 may decrease the current value of the second driving current I2 by an equal amount by a preset step value (here, assumed to be X5 mA) while decreasing the current value of the second driving current I2. Similarly, when increasing the current value of the second driving current I2, the controller 10 may increase the current value of the second driving current I2 by a predetermined step value (here, X6mA is assumed). Here, the step value X5 and the step value X6 may be empirical values obtained by performing a plurality of optical amplification experiments on the optical amplifier 100. It should be appreciated that the controller 10 may also decrease or increase the second drive current I2 current value in a non-equal amount or other possible manner, which is not limited in this application.

Illustratively, assume that the second calibration current value is 870mA. After the first output optical power P1 is obtained, if the controller 10 determines that the first output optical power P1 is greater than the target desired output optical power P0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be reduced by X5mA, that is, the current value of the second driving current I2 is controlled to be (870-X5) mA. Then, the controller 10 may detect the new output optical power (here, the second output optical power P2) of the optical amplifier 100 again through the first optical power detecting module 40. The controller 10 may then compare the second output optical power P2 with the target desired output optical power P0. If the controller 10 determines that the second output light power P2 is equal to the preset inclination value, the second driving current I2 current value may not be adjusted. If the controller 10 determines that the second output optical power P2 is still greater than the target desired output optical power P0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be reduced by X5mA again, that is, the current value of the second driving current I2 is controlled to be (870-2×x5) mA. If the controller 10 determines that the second output optical power P2 is smaller than the target desired output optical power P0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be increased by X6mA, that is, the current value of the second driving current I2 is controlled to be (870-2×x5+x6) mA. Then, the controller 10 may acquire a new output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 again, and repeatedly perform the above-described operations of comparison and current adjustment until it confirms that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the target desired output optical power P0.

Further, after the controller 10 confirms that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the target desired output optical power P0, when the controller 10 confirms that the second preset adjustment time is reached, it may detect again by the first optical power detecting unit 40 a new output optical power of the optical amplifier 100, and repeat the above operations based on this new output optical power and the target desired output optical power P0. Here, the second preset adjustment time is a time at which the optical amplifier 100 is preset to turn on the output optical power adjustment.

In the above-described implementation, the controller 10 decreases or increases the current value of the second driving current I2 based on the comparison result of the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 detected in real time and the target desired output optical power P0, thereby ensuring that the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the target desired output optical power value P0. The adjustment method is simple and reliable, and can improve the adjustment efficiency of the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100.

In some possible implementations, before optical amplification, the optical amplifier 100 may determine and set the calibration current values (the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value) of the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2, and the third driving current I3, respectively, in the following manner.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the optical amplifier 100 may further include a second optical power detection assembly 50. The second optical power detecting component 50 is connected to the first amplifying stage 301 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 and the controller 10, and one port thereof is connected to the input/output end of the optical amplifier 100 for receiving the source beam, or directly used as the input end for receiving the source beam.

In actual operation, the controller 10 may obtain the input optical power of the optical amplifier 100 through real-time detection by the second optical power detection assembly 50. Specifically, the controller 10 may detect the optical power of the source beam through the second optical power detecting assembly 50 and determine the optical power of the source beam as the input optical power of the optical amplifier 100. Then, the controller 10 may determine the first calibration current value of the first driving current I1, the second calibration current value of the second driving current I2, and the third calibration current value of the third driving current I3 according to the detected input optical power of the optical amplifier 100, the target desired output optical power P0 as described above, and the calibration parameter set preset for the optical amplifier 100.

Here, the calibration parameter set includes a plurality of desired output optical powers of the optical amplifier 100, a plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the plurality of desired output optical powers, and calibration current values of the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2, and the third driving current I3 corresponding to each of the plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the desired output optical powers. Here, the gain points corresponding to the different desired output optical powers may be the same or may be different, which is not particularly limited in the present application. The calibration values of the first driving currents I1 corresponding to different desired output optical powers are different, and the calibration values of the first driving currents I1 corresponding to different gain points corresponding to a single desired output optical power are the same. It will be appreciated that the calibration value of the first drive current I1 is only related to the desired output optical power of the optical amplifier 100, irrespective of the gain point of the optical amplifier 100.

For example, see Table 1-1 below, which Table 1-1 provides a set of calibration parameters. As shown in Table 1-1, the set of calibration parameters may include two desired output optical powers, 20.5dBm and 15dBm, respectively. The calibration parameter set also comprises 5 different gain points corresponding to each expected output optical power of the two expected output optical powers. The 5 gain points corresponding to the desired output optical power values of 20.5dBm are 16.5dB, 17.5dB, 18.5dB, 19.5dB, 20.5dB, respectively. The 5 gain points corresponding to the desired output optical power with a value of 15dBm are 13dB, 14dB, 15dB, 16dB, 17dB, respectively. The calibration parameter set further comprises calibration current values of the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 corresponding to each expected gain point. The calibration values of the first drive currents I1 corresponding to different gain points are the same for the same desired output optical power. For example, when the desired output optical power is 20.5dBm, the nominal current values of the first drive current I1 corresponding to the gain point 16.5dB and the gain point 17.5dB are both 400mA. And the calibration current value of the second driving current I2 corresponding to the gain point of 16.5dB is 985mA, and the calibration current value of the third driving current I3 is 230mA. The second driving current I2 corresponding to the gain point 17.5dB has a nominal current value of 870mA, and the third driving current I3 has a nominal current value of 255mA.

TABLE 1-1 calibration parameter set

It should be noted that the calibration parameter sets shown in the foregoing table 1-1 are merely exemplary, and in an actual implementation, the calibration parameter sets provided in the present application may be implemented in other manners, and the actual values of the parameters included in the calibration parameter sets may also be other values, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

After determining the first, second and third calibration current values, the controller 10 may set the current values of the first, second and third driving currents I1, I2 and I3 to the first, second and third calibration current values.

In the above implementation, the controller 10 may search and set the calibration current values of the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2, and the third driving current I3 from the calibration parameter set preset in the optical amplifier 100 according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier 100 and the target desired output optical power P0. That is, the controller 10 can set different calibration values for the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 to enable the optical amplifier 100 to have different desired output optical powers and different desired gain points, which enables the optical amplifier 100 to have the functions of adjustable output optical power and adjustable output gain, and further improves the flexibility and applicability of the optical amplifier 100.

In some possible implementations, the controller 10 may calculate the actual gain point of the optical amplifier 100 based on the detected input optical power of the optical amplifier 100 and the target desired output optical power P0. Specifically, the controller 10 may calculate a difference between the target desired output optical power value P0 and the detected input optical power of the optical amplifier 100, and determine the difference as an actual gain point. Then, the controller 10 may find the calibration current values of the first, second and third driving currents I1, I2 and I3 corresponding to the actual gain point and the target desired output optical power P0 from the calibration parameter set, and determine the first, second and third calibration current values, respectively.

For example, assuming that the target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is 20.5dBm, the controller 10 detects that the input optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is 4dBm at the third time (here, T3) through the second optical power detection assembly 50, and the controller 10 may calculate that the actual gain point of the optical amplifier 100 at the third time T3 is 16.5dB. Then, the controller 10 may find the first calibration current value of the first driving current I1 corresponding to the desired output light power of 20.5dBm and the gain point of 16.5dB from the parameter calibration set to be 400mA, the second calibration current value of the second driving current I2 to be 985mA, and the third calibration current value of the third driving current I3 to be 230mA, thereby completing the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value determination.

Optionally, after calculating the actual gain point of the optical amplifier 100, if the controller 10 determines that the actual gain point is not included in the gain points in the calibration parameter set, it may find two gain points (assumed to be the first gain point and the second gain point) adjacent to the actual gain point from the gain points corresponding to the target desired output optical power P0. Here, the first gain point of the two gain points may be a smallest gain point among all gain points larger than the actual gain point among the plurality of gain points corresponding to the target desired output optical power P0, and the second gain point may be a largest gain point among all gain points smaller than the actual gain point among the plurality of gain points corresponding to the target desired output optical power P0. Then, the controller 10 may determine an average value of the calibration current value of the second driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration value of the second driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the second calibration current value. The controller 10 may further determine an average value of the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration value of the third driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the third calibration current value. Meanwhile, the controller 10 also finds a calibration value of the first driving current I1 corresponding to the target desired output optical power P0 from the calibration parameter set, and determines it as a first calibration current value.

For example, assuming that the target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is 20.5dBm, the controller 10 detects that the input optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is 3.5dBm at the third time (here, T3) through the second optical power detection component 50, and the controller 10 may calculate that the actual gain point of the optical amplifier 100 at the third time T3 is 17dB. The controller 10 may then find the first gain point 16.5dB and the second gain point 17.5dB adjacent to the actual gain point 17dB from the set of parameter calibrations. Further, the controller 10 may find that the calibrated current value of the second driving current I2 corresponding to the first gain point 16.5dB is 870mA, and the calibrated current value of the second driving current I2 corresponding to the second gain point 17.5dB is 985mA, and then determine that the second calibrated current value of the second driving current I2 is (985+870)/2 mA. Similarly, the controller 10 may find that the calibration current value of the third driving current I3 corresponding to the first gain point 16.5dB is 230mA, and the calibration current value of the third driving current I3 corresponding to the second gain point 17.5dB is 255mA, and then it may determine that the second calibration current value of the second driving current I2 is (230+255)/2 mA. In addition, the controller 10 may find that the current value of the first calibration current I1 corresponding to the target desired output optical power of 20.5dBm is 400mA, and may determine that the first calibration current value is 400mA.

The controller 10 thus completes the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value determination.

It should be appreciated that, in the case where the controller 10 obtains an actual gain point of the optical amplifier 100 and determines that the actual gain point is not included in the plurality of gain points in the calibration parameter set, the controller 10 may further determine to obtain the second calibration current value and the third calibration current value in other manners. For example, the controller 10 may control the second optical power detection assembly 50 to re-acquire a new input optical power, re-calculate a new actual gain point and look up from the calibration parameter set again at the new actual gain point. Alternatively, the controller 10 may further find a gain point closest to the actual gain point from the at least one gain point, determine a calibration current value of the second driving current I2 corresponding to the gain point as the second calibration current value, and determine a calibration current value of the third driving current I3 corresponding to the gain point as the third calibration current value.

In some possible implementations, please refer to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 6, the first optical power detecting component 40 may include a third optical splitter 401 and a third optical power detector 402. The second optical power detecting component 50 may include a fourth optical splitter 501 and a fourth optical power detector 502. The third optical splitter 401 is connected to the spectral gradient detecting assembly 20 and the third optical power detector 402, and one port thereof is connected to the output terminal of the optical amplifier 100, or directly serves as the output terminal of the optical amplifier 100. The third optical power detector 402 is also connected to the controller 10. The fourth optical splitter 501 is connected to the first amplification stage 301 and the fourth optical power detector 502, respectively, and its input is connected to the input of the optical amplifier 100 or directly as the input of the optical amplifier 100.

In actual operation, the fourth beam splitter 501 may be configured to split the source beam received by the fourth beam splitter into a seventh sub-beam and an eighth sub-beam, and transmit the seventh sub-beam to the fourth optical power detector 502 and the eighth sub-beam to the first amplifying stage 301. It should be understood that the eighth sub-beam should contain most of the light energy in the active beam, and preferably, the splitting ratio of the fourth beam splitter 501 (i.e., the optical power ratio of the eighth sub-beam to the seventh sub-beam) may be 97:3. The fourth optical power detector 502 is configured to detect the optical power of the seventh sub-beam, and send the optical power of the seventh sub-beam to the controller 10. The controller 10 can determine the input optical power of the optical amplifier 100 according to the optical power of the seventh sub-beam. The third beam splitter 401 may be configured to split the light beam it receives (i.e., the light beam originating from the output spectral tilt detection assembly 20) into a ninth sub-beam and a tenth sub-beam, and to emit the ninth sub-beam to the third optical power detector 402 and the tenth sub-beam to the outside of the optical amplifier 100. It should be understood that the tenth sub-beam should contain most of the light energy in the active beam, and preferably, the splitting ratio of the third beam splitter 401 (i.e., the optical power ratio of the tenth sub-beam to the ninth sub-beam) may be 99:1. The third optical power detector 402 is configured to detect the optical power of the ninth sub-beam, and send the optical power of the ninth sub-beam to the controller 10. The controller 10 can determine the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 according to the optical power of the ninth sub-beam.

In some possible implementations, please refer to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the optical amplifier provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the optical amplifier 100 may further include a first optical isolator 60 and a second optical isolator 70. Wherein one end of the first optical isolator 60 is connected to the second optical power detecting element 50, and the other end thereof is connected to the input end of the optical amplifier 100 and connected to the source beam (or the other end thereof is directly used as the input end of the optical amplifier 100 and connected to the source beam). One end of the second optical isolator 70 is connected to one end of the first optical power detecting element 40, and the other end thereof is connected to the output end of the optical amplifier 100 and is used for outputting the target beam (or the other end thereof is directly used as the output end of the optical amplifier 100 and is used for outputting the target beam). In actual operation, the first optical isolator 60 and the second optical isolator 70 described above are used to ensure unidirectional propagation of the light beam in the optical amplifier 100.

The optical isolator according to the present application may specifically be a bulk optical isolator, an all-fiber optical isolator, an integrated optical waveguide optical isolator, or an optical isolator that is independent of polarization, etc., and the specific type of the optical isolator according to the present application may be determined by the actual design requirement of the optical amplifier 100, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

In the above implementation, two optical isolators are disposed at the input end side and the output end side of the optical amplifier 100 to ensure unidirectional propagation of the light beam in the optical amplifier 100, so that the influence of the reverse stray light on the function of the optical amplifier 100 can be avoided, and the performance and applicability of the optical amplifier 100 can be further improved.

The connection between the devices described in the present application may be an electrical connection, or may be a physical optical connection or a spatial optical connection. In actual implementation, the specific connection manner between the devices may be determined by the actual transmission requirement of each device, which is not limited in this application.

It should be further noted that, the controller 10 according to the embodiments of the present application may specifically be any device having data processing and control functions, such as a CPU, a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Example two

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a flow chart of an optical amplifying method provided in the present application. The optical amplification method is applicable to the optical amplifier 100 described in the first embodiment, or the optical amplification method is performed by the optical amplifier 100 described in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the specific structure and the functional implementation of the optical amplifier 100 can be referred to together with the corresponding description in the first embodiment, which is not repeated here. As shown in fig. 8, the optical amplifying method may specifically include the following steps:

S801, obtaining the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier through a controller and a spectral gradient detection assembly.

In some possible implementations, the optical amplifier 100 may obtain the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 through the controller 10 and the spectral tilt detection assembly 20.

Alternatively, the optical amplifier 100 may split the first light beam output from the third amplification stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 into the first sub-beam and the second sub-beam by the first beam splitter 201. The first sub-beam may also be split into a third sub-beam and a fourth sub-beam by the second beam splitter 202. The fifth sub-beam is also extracted from the third sub-beam by the first filter 203 and the sixth sub-beam is extracted from the fourth sub-beam by the second filter 204. The wavelength of the fifth sub-beam is smaller than the central wavelength of the first sub-beam, and the wavelength of the sixth sub-beam is larger than the central wavelength of the first sub-beam. The optical power of the fifth sub-beam may also be detected by the first optical power detector 205 and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam may also be detected by the second optical power detector 206. Then, the controller 10 determines the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 according to the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam. Here, the specific implementation process of each function may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

Alternatively, the optical amplifier 100 may split the first light beam output from the third amplification stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 into the first sub-beam and the second sub-beam by the first beam splitter 201. The output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 is then obtained from the first sub-beam and sent to the controller 10 by the optical channel performance monitoring OPM device 207. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

S802, under the condition that the current value of the first driving current connected to the first amplifying stage is kept unchanged, the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current connected to the second amplifying stage and the third amplifying stage are adjusted according to the output spectrum gradient and the preset gradient by the controller until the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier is consistent with the preset gradient.

In some possible implementations, the optical amplifier 100 may maintain the current value of the first driving current connected to the first amplifying stage unchanged by the controller 10, and adjust the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 connected to the second amplifying stage 302 and the third amplifying stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 according to the output spectral gradient and the preset gradient of the optical amplifier 100 at the same time, until the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier 100 coincides with the preset gradient S0.

Specifically, each time the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 is obtained by the controller 10 and the output spectral tilt detection assembly 20, the optical amplifier 100 may perform the following operations by the controller 10: if it is determined that the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier 100 is greater than the preset tilt S0, the current value of the second driving current I2 may be decreased, the current value of the third driving current I3 may be increased, and a new output spectral tilt may be acquired again through the controller 10 and the spectral tilt detection assembly 20. If it is determined that the output spectral inclination is smaller than the preset inclination S0, the current value of the second driving current I2 is increased, the current value of the third driving current I3 is decreased, and a new output spectral inclination is acquired again through the controller 10 and the spectral inclination detection assembly 20. If the inclination of the output spectrum is determined to be equal to the preset inclination S0, the current values of the second driving current I2 and the third driving current I3 are not adjusted. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

Further, referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of an optical amplifying method provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 8, the optical amplifying method may further include the steps of:

S803, the output optical power of the optical amplifier is obtained through the controller and the first optical power detection assembly.

In some possible implementations, the optical amplifier 100 may obtain the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 through the controller 10 and the first optical power detection assembly 40. For a specific process, the process of obtaining the output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 by the controller 10 in combination with the first optical power detecting component 40 is omitted here.

S804, adjusting, by the controller, a current value of the second driving current according to the output optical power and the target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier until the output optical power of the optical amplifier coincides with the target desired output optical power.

In some possible implementations, the optical amplifier 100 may adjust the current value of the second drive current I2 by the controller 10 according to its acquired output optical power and the target desired output optical power P0 of the optical amplifier 100 until the optical amplifier 100 determines that its output optical power may stop in conformity with the target desired output optical power P0.

In particular, the optical amplifier 100 may perform the following operations by the controller 10 each time its own output optical power is obtained by the controller 10: if it is determined that the output optical power is greater than the target desired output optical power P0, the current value of the second driving current I2 is reduced, and a new output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is acquired again through the controller 10 and the first optical power detecting assembly 40. If it is determined that the output optical power is smaller than the target desired output optical power P0, the current value of the second driving current I2 is increased, and a new output optical power of the optical amplifier 100 is acquired again through the controller 10 and the first optical power detecting assembly 40. If it is determined that the output optical power is equal to the target desired output optical power P0, the current value of the second driving current I2 is not adjusted. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

Here, the step S803 and the step S804 may be performed before the step S801, which is not particularly limited in this application.

Further, referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of an optical amplifying method provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 10, before step S801 or step S803, the optical amplifying method may further include the steps of:

s805, acquiring the input optical power of the optical amplifier through the controller and the second optical power detection assembly.

In some possible implementations, the optical amplifier 100 may obtain its own input optical power through the controller 10 and the second optical power detection assembly 50. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

S806, determining a first calibration current value of the first driving current, a second calibration current value of the second driving current and a third calibration current value of the third driving current according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier, the target expected output optical power and a preset calibration parameter set through the controller.

In some possible implementations, the optical amplifier 100 may determine, by the controller 10, the first calibration current value of the first driving current I1, the second calibration current value of the second driving current I2, and the third calibration current value of the third driving current I3 according to its own input optical power, the target desired output optical power P0, and a preset calibration parameter set, before performing the optical amplification. Wherein the calibration parameter set includes calibration current values of the first, second, and third driving currents corresponding to a plurality of desired output optical powers of the optical amplifier 100, a plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the plurality of desired output optical powers, and each of the plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the desired output optical powers.

Specifically, the optical amplifier 100 may calculate the actual gain point of the optical amplifier 100 according to the previously detected input optical power and the target desired output optical power P0 by the controller 10. Then, the optical amplifier 100 may find calibration current values of the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2, and the third driving current I3 corresponding to the above-mentioned actual gain point and the target desired output optical power P0 from the calibration parameter set by the controller 10, and determine the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value, respectively. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

Alternatively, if the optical amplifier 100 determines that the actual gain point calculated as described above is not included in the plurality of gain points in the calibration parameter set through the controller 10, the first gain point and the second gain point adjacent to the actual gain point may be found from the plurality of gain points corresponding to the target desired output optical power P0. Then, an average value of the calibration current value of the second driving current I2 corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration current value of the second driving current I2 corresponding to the second gain point may be determined as the second calibration current value by the controller 10. The average value of the calibration current value of the third driving current I3 corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration current value of the third driving current I3 corresponding to the second gain point may also be determined as the third calibration current value by the controller 10. Further, the calibration current of the first driving current I1, which corresponds to the target desired output light power P0, may also be determined as the above-described first calibration current value by the controller 10. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

S807 sets, by the controller, current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current to a first calibration current value, a second calibration current value, and a third calibration current value, respectively.

In some possible implementations, after the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value are obtained by the optical amplifier 100, the current values of the first driving current I1, the second driving current I2, and the third driving current I3 may be set to the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value, and the third calibration current value in sequence by the controller 10. The specific process may refer to the corresponding process described in the first embodiment, and will not be described herein.

In the optical amplifying method provided in the present application, the optical amplifier 100 is configured based on the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30, and the magnitudes of the driving currents connected to the second amplifying stage 302 and the third amplifying stage 303 of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier 30 can be adjusted according to the output spectral tilt measured in real time by the controller 10 included so that the output spectral tilt thereof can be stabilized at the preset tilt S0. Through the amplification method provided by the application, the optical amplifier 100 can be ensured to have the performance of adjustable inclination of an output spectrum while the volume is small and the cost is low, so that the applicability and the practicability of the optical amplifier 100 can be effectively improved.

The embodiment of the application also provides optical communication equipment. Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical communication device provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the optical communication device 1000 includes a signal light generator 200 and the optical amplifier 100 described above. The signal light generator 200 is connected to the optical amplifier 100.

In actual operation, the signal light generator 200 is configured to generate signal light and transmit the signal light to the optical amplifier 100. The optical amplifier 100 optically amplifies the signal light and outputs the amplified signal light.

It should be noted that fig. 11 only shows some functional devices included in the optical communication apparatus 1000, and in an actual implementation, the optical communication apparatus 1000 may further include other devices such as a power source, a microprocessor, an analog-to-digital converter (analog digital converter, ADC), etc., and the specific structure of the optical communication apparatus 1000 is not limited in this application.

In practical applications, the optical communication device 1000 may be an optical transmitter in a coherent optical communication system, an integrated light source in a laser radar, an optical line terminal (optical line terminal, OLT) in an optical communication network, an optical network unit (optical network unit, ONU), or the like. The signal light generator 200 is specifically a device having an optical modulation function.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, or method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth" and the like in the description and in the claims of this application and in the drawings, are used for distinguishing between different objects and not for describing a particular sequential order. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed steps or elements but may include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Reference herein to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly appreciate that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, these functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The foregoing embodiments have been provided for the purpose of illustrating the technical solution and advantageous effects of the present application in further detail, and it should be understood that the foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solution of the present application should be included in the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An optical amplifier, comprising a controller, a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier and a spectral tilt detection assembly, wherein the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier comprises a first amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage and a third amplifying stage which are arranged in series;

the controller is used for acquiring the output spectral gradient of the optical amplifier through the spectral gradient detection assembly;

the controller is further configured to adjust current values of the second driving current and the third driving current connected to the second amplification stage and the third amplification stage according to the output spectrum inclination and a preset inclination, under the condition that the current value of the first driving current connected to the first amplification stage is kept unchanged, until the output spectrum inclination of the optical amplifier is consistent with the preset inclination.

2. The optical amplifier of claim 1, wherein the controller, after each acquisition of the output spectral tilt, performs the following operations:

if the output spectrum gradient is determined to be larger than the preset gradient, reducing the current value of the second driving current, increasing the current value of the third driving current, and acquiring a new output spectrum gradient again;

if the output spectrum gradient is smaller than the preset gradient, increasing the current value of the second driving current, reducing the current value of the third driving current, and acquiring a new output spectrum gradient again;

and if the inclination of the output spectrum is determined to be equal to the preset inclination, not adjusting the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current.

3. An optical amplifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spectral tilt detection assembly comprises a first optical splitter and an optical channel performance monitoring device;

the first beam splitter is used for splitting the first light beam output by the third amplifying stage into a first sub-light beam and a second sub-light beam;

the optical channel performance monitoring device is used for acquiring and sending the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier to the controller according to the first sub-beam.

4. The optical amplifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spectral tilt detection assembly comprises a first optical splitter, a second optical splitter, a first filter, a second filter, a first optical power detector, and a second optical power detector;

the first optical splitter is used for splitting a first light beam output by a third amplifying stage of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier into a first sub-light beam and a second sub-light beam;

the second beam splitter is used for splitting the first sub-beam into a third sub-beam and a fourth sub-beam;

the first filter is used for extracting a fifth sub-beam from the third sub-beam, and the second filter is used for extracting a sixth sub-beam from the fourth sub-beam, wherein the wavelength of the fifth sub-beam is smaller than the central wavelength of the first sub-beam, and the wavelength of the sixth sub-beam is larger than the central wavelength of the first sub-beam;

the third optical power detector is used for detecting and obtaining the optical power of the fifth sub-beam, and the fourth optical power detector is used for detecting and obtaining the optical power of the sixth sub-beam;

the controller is configured to determine an output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier based on the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam.

5. The optical amplifier of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising a first optical power detection assembly;

the controller is used for acquiring the output optical power of the optical amplifier through the first optical power detection component;

the controller is further configured to adjust a current value of the second driving current according to the output optical power and a target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier until the output optical power of the optical amplifier is consistent with the target desired output optical power.

6. The optical amplifier of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to, after each acquisition of the output optical power of the optical amplifier, perform the following operations:

if the output optical power is determined to be larger than the target expected output optical power, reducing the current value of the second driving current, and acquiring new output optical power of the optical amplifier;

if the output optical power is smaller than the target expected output optical power, increasing the current value of the second driving current, and acquiring new output optical power of the optical amplifier;

if the output optical power is determined to be equal to the target expected output optical power, the current value of the second driving current is not adjusted.

7. The optical amplifier according to any one of claims 1-6, further comprising a second optical power detection assembly;

the controller is used for acquiring the input optical power of the optical amplifier through the second optical power detection component;

the controller is further configured to determine a first calibration current value of the first driving current, a second calibration current value of the second driving current, and a third calibration current value of the third driving current according to an input optical power of the optical amplifier, a target expected output optical power, and a preset calibration parameter set, where the calibration parameter set includes a plurality of expected output optical powers of the optical amplifier, a plurality of gain points corresponding to each expected output optical power of the plurality of expected output optical powers, and a calibration current value of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current corresponding to each gain point of the plurality of gain points corresponding to each expected output optical power.

8. The optical amplifier of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to:

calculating an actual gain point of the optical amplifier according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier and the target expected output optical power;

And searching the calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current and the third driving current corresponding to the actual gain point and the target expected output light power from the calibration parameter set, and respectively determining the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value and the third calibration current value.

9. The optical amplifier of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

if the fact that the actual gain point is not included in the gain points in the calibration parameter set is determined, a first gain point and a second gain point which are adjacent to the actual gain point are found out from the gain points corresponding to the target expected output optical power;

determining an average value of the calibration current value of the second driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration value of the second driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the second calibration current value;

and determining an average value of the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration value of the third driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the third calibration current value.

10. The optical amplifier of any of claims 1-9, further comprising a first optical isolator and a second optical isolator, wherein the first optical isolator is coupled to an input of the optical amplifier and the second optical isolator is coupled to an output of the optical amplifier.

11. An optical amplification method, wherein the method is applied to an optical amplifier, the optical amplifier comprises a controller, a three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier and a spectrum gradient detection assembly, and the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier comprises a first amplifying stage, a second amplifying stage and a third amplifying stage which are arranged in series;

the method comprises the following steps:

acquiring, by the controller and the spectral tilt detection assembly, an output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier;

and under the condition that the current value of the first driving current connected to the first amplifying stage is kept unchanged, the controller adjusts the current values of the second driving current and the third driving current connected to the second amplifying stage and the third amplifying stage according to the output spectrum gradient and the preset gradient until the output spectrum gradient of the optical amplifier is consistent with the preset gradient.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein adjusting the current values of the second and third drive currents that the second and third amplification stages have switched in according to the output spectral tilt and a preset tilt until the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier corresponds to the preset tilt comprises:

after each acquisition of the output spectral tilt, performing, by the controller:

if the output spectrum gradient is determined to be larger than the preset gradient, reducing the current value of the second driving current, increasing the current value of the third driving current, and acquiring a new output spectrum gradient again through the spectrum gradient detection assembly;

if the output spectrum gradient is smaller than the preset gradient, the current value of the second driving current is increased, the current value of the third driving current is reduced, and a new output spectrum gradient is acquired through the spectrum gradient detection assembly again;

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the spectral tilt detection assembly comprises a first beam splitter and an optical channel performance monitoring device;

the obtaining, by the controller and the spectral tilt detection assembly, the output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier, comprising:

splitting the first light beam output by the third amplifying stage into a first sub-beam and a second sub-beam by the first beam splitter;

an output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier is obtained from the first sub-beam and sent to the controller by the optical channel performance monitoring device.

14. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the spectral tilt detection assembly comprises a first beam splitter, a second beam splitter, a first filter, a second filter, a first optical power detector, and a second optical power detector;

splitting a first light beam output by a third amplification stage of the three-electrode semiconductor optical amplifier into a first sub-light beam and a second sub-light beam by the first beam splitter;

Splitting the first sub-beam into a third sub-beam and a fourth sub-beam by the second beam splitter;

extracting a fifth sub-beam from the third sub-beam through the first filter, and extracting a sixth sub-beam from the fourth sub-beam through the second filter, wherein the wavelength of the fifth sub-beam is smaller than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam, and the wavelength of the sixth sub-beam is larger than the center wavelength of the first sub-beam;

the third optical power detector is used for detecting the optical power of the fifth sub-beam, and the fourth optical power detector is used for detecting the optical power of the sixth sub-beam;

an output spectral tilt of the optical amplifier is determined by the controller from the optical power of the fifth sub-beam and the optical power of the sixth sub-beam.

15. The method of any of claims 11-14, wherein the optical amplifier further comprises a first optical power detection assembly;

the method further comprises the steps of:

acquiring the output optical power of the optical amplifier through a controller and the first optical power detection assembly;

and adjusting, by the controller, a current value of the second drive current according to the output optical power and a target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier until the output optical power of the optical amplifier coincides with the target desired output optical power.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said adjusting, by the controller, the current value of the second drive current in accordance with the output optical power and a target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier until the output optical power of the optical amplifier coincides with the target desired output optical power, comprises:

after each time the output optical power of the optical amplifier is obtained, the controller performs the following operations:

17. The method of any of claims 11-16, wherein the optical amplifier further comprises a second optical power detection assembly;

the method further comprises the steps of:

Acquiring the input optical power of the optical amplifier through the controller and the second optical power detection assembly;

determining, by the controller, a first calibration current value of the first driving current, a second calibration current value of the second driving current, and a third calibration current value of the third driving current according to an input optical power of the optical amplifier, a target desired output optical power, and a preset calibration parameter set, wherein the calibration parameter set includes a plurality of desired output optical powers of the optical amplifier, a plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the plurality of desired output optical powers, and calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current, and the third driving current corresponding to each of the plurality of gain points corresponding to each of the desired output optical powers;

and setting the current values of the first driving current, the second driving current and the third driving current to be the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value and the third calibration current value respectively through the controller.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the setting, by the controller, the first nominal current value of the first drive current, the second nominal current value of the second drive current, and the third nominal current value of the third drive current according to the input optical power of the optical amplifier, a target desired output optical power, and a preset set of nominal parameters, comprises:

Calculating, by the controller, an actual gain point of the optical amplifier from the input optical power and a target desired output optical power of the optical amplifier;

and searching the calibration current values of the first driving current, the second driving current and the third driving current corresponding to the actual gain point and the target expected output light power from the calibration parameter set through the controller, and respectively determining the first calibration current value, the second calibration current value and the third calibration current value.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

if the controller determines that the actual gain point is not included in the gain points in the calibration parameter set, a first gain point and a second gain point which are adjacent to the actual gain point are found from the gain points corresponding to the target expected output optical power;

determining, by the controller, an average value of the calibration current value of the second driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration current value of the second driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the second calibration current value;

And determining, by the controller, an average value of the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the first gain point and the calibration current value of the third driving current corresponding to the second gain point as the third calibration current value.

20. The method of any of claims 11-19, wherein the optical amplifier further comprises a first optical isolator and a second optical isolator, wherein the first optical isolator is coupled to an input of the optical amplifier and the second optical isolator is coupled to an output of the optical amplifier.

21. An optical communication apparatus comprising a signal light generator and an optical amplifier according to any one of claims 1 to 10 for optically amplifying the signal light output from the signal light generator.