CN213302585U - Optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

The application provides an optical module, which comprises a circuit board, a power supply, an MCU (micro control unit) and a silicon optical chip, wherein the silicon optical chip is provided with an MZ modulator and a temperature sensor, the MZ modulator comprises an optical splitter, a first interference arm, a second interference arm, a phase converter and an optical combiner, wherein the optical splitter divides an optical signal without carrying information into a first light beam and a second light beam, the temperature sensor transmits a temperature signal of the MZ modulator to the MCU, the MCU generates a control signal according to the temperature signal and transmits the control signal to the phase converter, and the phase converter adjusts the phase of the light according to the control signal; when the working temperature of the MZ modulator changes, the MCU controls the phase converter to perform corresponding phase compensation at the moment, the phase of light output by the first interference arm or the second interference arm is adjusted to pi/2, and then the optical module provided by the application enables the silicon optical chip to be maintained at the optimal working point.

Description

Optical module

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to an optical module.

Background

The optical module is a tool for realizing the interconversion of optical signals and is one of key devices in optical communication equipment. The adoption of a silicon optical chip to realize a photoelectric conversion function has become a mainstream scheme adopted by a high-speed optical module.

In a silicon optical module, a silicon optical chip includes an MZ (Mach-Zehnder) modulator therein. An optical carrier signal emitted by the laser enters the MZ modulator, and a high-speed data stream is loaded on the optical carrier signal in a driving voltage mode to complete the modulation of light. Specifically, an optical carrier signal arriving at the MZ modulator is divided into two beams of light with the same amplitude and frequency, the two beams of light are transmitted through an upper branch and a lower branch (two arms), modulation voltages are respectively applied to modulation regions, and the refractive index of a modulator material is changed due to electro-optical induction, so that the phase difference occurs between the two branch signals. When the generated phase difference is pi/2, the relative output light intensity of the MZ modulator is in a linear relation with the electrode voltage, and the dynamic range and the conversion efficiency of the output signal are maximum values at the moment. Therefore, in order to ensure the quality of the output signal, the MZ modulator needs to be stabilized at an optimal operating point with a phase difference of pi/2.

Under the influence of the change of the working temperature of the modulator, the optimal working point of the modulator can drift, thereby causing the adverse effects of the deterioration of the quality of an output signal, the increase of the error rate and the like. At present, dynamic phase compensation is realized through an optical power detector, but the compensation algorithm is complex and two optical power detectors are needed, if one of the detectors fails, the complete machine module fails, and further the phase compensation cannot be completed.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The application provides an optical module to control a silicon optical chip to be in an optimal working point.

The application provides an optical module includes:

a circuit board;

the light source is electrically connected with the circuit board and is used for emitting light which does not carry signals;

the silicon optical chip is connected with the circuit board, an input optical port of the silicon optical chip is used for receiving the light which does not carry signals, and an output optical port of the silicon optical chip is used for outputting signal light;

the MCU is arranged on the circuit board, is electrically connected with the silicon optical chip and is used for receiving a temperature signal from a temperature sensor, generating a control signal according to the temperature signal and transmitting the control signal to the phase converter;

the silicon optical chip comprises:

the MZ modulator is used for modulating the light which does not carry the signal into signal light;

the temperature sensor is electrically connected with the MCU and used for transmitting the acquired temperature signal of the MZ modulator to the MCU;

wherein the MZ modulator comprises:

the optical splitter is used for splitting the light which does not carry the signal into a first light beam and a second light beam;

the input end of the first interference arm is connected with the first output end of the optical splitter;

the input end of the second interference arm is connected with the second output end of the optical splitter;

the phase converter is arranged on the first interference arm or the second interference arm, is electrically connected with the MCU, is used for receiving a control signal from the MCU, and performs phase adjustment on light output by the first interference arm or the second interference arm according to the control signal;

and the input end of the light combiner is connected with the output ends of the first interference arm and the second interference arm, and the light combiner is used for combining the signal light output by the first interference arm and the second interference arm after phase conversion into a beam of signal light.

Has the advantages that:

the application provides an optical module, which comprises a circuit board, a power supply, an MCU (micro control unit) and a silicon optical chip, wherein the silicon optical chip is provided with an MZ modulator and a temperature sensor, the MZ modulator comprises an optical splitter, a first interference arm, a second interference arm, a phase converter and an optical combiner, wherein the optical splitter divides an optical signal without carrying information into a first light beam and a second light beam, the temperature sensor transmits a temperature signal of the MZ modulator to the MCU, the MCU generates a control signal according to the temperature signal and transmits the control signal to the phase converter, and the phase converter adjusts the phase of the light according to the control signal; when the working temperature of the MZ modulator changes, the MCU controls the phase converter to perform corresponding phase compensation at the moment, the phase of the light output by the first interference arm or the second interference arm is adjusted to pi/2, and then the optical module provided by the application enables the silicon optical chip to be maintained at the optimal working point.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a connection relationship of an optical communication terminal;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an optical network unit;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a block diagram of an internal structure of an optical module according to an embodiment of 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 in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

One of the core links of optical communication is the interconversion of optical and electrical signals. Optical communication uses optical signals carrying information to transmit in information transmission equipment such as optical fiber/optical waveguide, and the information transmission with low cost and low loss can be realized by using the passive transmission characteristic of light in the optical fiber/optical waveguide; meanwhile, the information processing device such as a computer uses an electric signal, and in order to establish information connection between the information transmission device such as an optical fiber or an optical waveguide and the information processing device such as a computer, it is necessary to perform interconversion between the electric signal and the optical signal.

The optical module realizes the function of interconversion of optical signals and electrical signals in the technical field of optical fiber communication, and the interconversion of the optical signals and the electrical signals is the core function of the optical module. The optical module is electrically connected with an external upper computer through a golden finger on an internal circuit board of the optical module, and the main electrical connection comprises power supply, I2C signals, data signals, grounding and the like; the electrical connection mode realized by the gold finger has become the mainstream connection mode of the optical module industry, and on the basis of the mainstream connection mode, the definition of the pin on the gold finger forms various industry protocols/specifications.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of connection relationship of an optical communication terminal. As shown in fig. 1, the connection of the optical communication terminal mainly includes an optical network unit 100, an optical module 200, an optical fiber 101, and a network cable 103.

One end of the optical fiber 101 is connected with a far-end server, one end of the network cable 103 is connected with local information processing equipment, and the connection between the local information processing equipment and the far-end server is completed by the connection between the optical fiber 101 and the network cable 103; and the connection between the optical fiber 101 and the network cable 103 is completed by the optical network unit 100 having the optical module 200.

The optical port of the optical module 200 is connected to the optical fiber 101, and establishes a bidirectional optical signal connection with the optical fiber. The electrical port of the optical module 200 is connected to the optical network unit 100, and establishes bidirectional electrical signal connection with the optical network unit. The optical module realizes the interconversion between an optical signal and an electrical signal, thereby realizing the connection between the optical fiber 101 and the optical network unit 100.

Specifically, the optical signal from the optical fiber is converted into an electrical signal by the optical module and then input to the optical network unit 100, and the electrical signal from the optical network unit 100 is converted into an optical signal by the optical module and input to the optical fiber 101. The optical module 200 is a tool for realizing the mutual conversion of the photoelectric signals, and has no function of processing data, and in the photoelectric conversion process, the carrier of the information is converted between the light and the electricity, but the information itself is not changed.

The optical network unit 100 has an optical module interface 102 for accessing the optical module 200 and establishing a bidirectional electrical signal connection with the optical module 200. The optical network unit is provided with a network cable interface 104, which is used for accessing the network cable 103 and establishing bidirectional electric signal connection with the network cable 103; the optical module 200 is connected to the network cable 103 through an optical network unit. Specifically, the optical network unit transmits a signal from the optical module to the network cable and transmits the signal from the network cable to the optical module, and the optical network unit serves as an upper computer of the optical module to monitor the operation of the optical module.

To this end, the remote server establishes a bidirectional signal transmission channel with the local information processing device sequentially through the optical fiber 101, the optical module 200, the optical network unit 100, and the network cable 103.

Common information processing apparatuses include routers, switches, electronic computers, and the like; the optical network unit is an upper computer of the optical module, provides data signals for the optical module, and receives the data signals from the optical module, and the common upper computer of the optical module also comprises an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and the like.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an optical network unit structure. The following describes the optical network unit in the optical communication terminal in the foregoing embodiment with reference to fig. 2. As shown in fig. 2, the optical network unit 100 includes a circuit board 105, and a cage 106 is disposed on a surface of the circuit board 105; an electrical connector connected to the circuit board 105 is provided in the cage 106, and is used for connecting an electrical port of an optical module such as a gold finger; the cage 106 is provided with a heat sink 107, and the heat sink 107 has a convex structure such as a fin for increasing a heat radiation area.

The optical module 200 is inserted into the optical network unit 100, specifically, an electrical port of the optical module is inserted into an electrical connector in the cage 106, and an optical port of the optical module is connected to the optical fiber 101.

The cage 106 is located on the circuit board 105 of the optical network unit 100, and the electrical connectors on the circuit board 105 are wrapped in the cage; the optical module is inserted into the cage, the cage fixes the optical module, and heat generated by the optical module is conducted to the cage through the optical module housing and finally diffused through the heat sink 107 on the cage.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an optical module structure provided in an embodiment of the present application, fig. 4 is an exploded schematic diagram of the optical module structure, and an optical module in an optical communication terminal in the foregoing embodiment is described below with reference to fig. 3 and fig. 4. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, an optical module 200 provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes an upper housing 201, a lower housing 202, an unlocking handle 203, an electrical port 204, an optical port 205, a circuit board 300, a silicon optical chip 400, a light source 500, a first optical fiber ribbon 600, a second optical fiber ribbon 700, and an optical fiber interface 800, wherein the silicon optical chip 400 and the light source 500 are disposed on the same side surface of the circuit board 300.

As shown in fig. 3, the upper housing 201 and the lower housing 202 form a two-opening package cavity, specifically, two ends (204, 205) in the same direction may be opened, or two openings in different directions may be opened; one of the openings is an electrical port 204 for inserting into an upper computer such as an optical network unit, the other opening is an optical port 205 for connecting an external optical fiber to an internal optical fiber, and the photoelectric devices such as the circuit board 300, the silicon optical chip 400 and the light source 500 are positioned in the packaging cavity.

The upper shell 201 and the lower shell 202 are generally made of metal materials, which is beneficial to realizing electromagnetic shielding and heat dissipation; the assembly mode of combining the upper shell and the lower shell is adopted, so that devices such as a circuit board and the like can be conveniently installed in the shell, the shell of the optical module can not be generally integrated, and therefore when the devices such as the circuit board and the like are assembled, the positioning component, the heat dissipation structure and the electromagnetic shielding structure cannot be installed, and production automation is not facilitated.

The unlocking handle 203 is positioned on the outer wall of the packaging cavity/lower shell 202, and the tail end of the unlocking handle is pulled to enable the unlocking handle to move relatively on the surface of the outer wall; when the optical module is inserted into the upper computer, the unlocking handle fixes the optical module in the cage of the upper computer, and the clamping relation between the optical module and the upper computer is released by pulling the unlocking handle, so that the optical module can be drawn out from the cage of the upper computer.

The circuit board 300 is generally a rigid circuit board, which can also perform a bearing function due to its relatively rigid material, for example, the rigid circuit board can stably bear a chip; when the optical transceiver is positioned on the circuit board, the rigid circuit board can also provide stable bearing; the hard circuit board can also be inserted into an electric connector in the upper computer cage, and specifically, a metal pin/golden finger is formed on the surface of the tail end of one side of the hard circuit board and is used for being connected with the electric connector; these are not easily implemented with flexible circuit boards.

A flexible circuit board is also used in a part of the optical module to supplement a rigid circuit board; the flexible circuit board is generally used in combination with a rigid circuit board, for example, the rigid circuit board may be connected to the optical transceiver device through the flexible circuit board.

The surface of the end part of the circuit board 300 is provided with a golden finger, the golden finger is composed of mutually independent pins, the circuit board is inserted into the electric connection in the cage, the golden finger is in conductive connection with a clamping elastic sheet in the electric connector, the golden finger can be arranged on the surface of one side of the circuit board, and the golden finger is generally arranged on the upper surface and the lower surface of the circuit board in consideration of the large requirement on the number of the pins; the golden finger is used for establishing electrical connection with the upper computer, and the specific electrical connection can be power supply, grounding, I2C signals, communication data signals and the like.

The circuit board 300 is provided with circuit traces, electronic components (such as capacitors, resistors, triodes, and MOS transistors), and chips (such as an MCU, a laser driver, a limiting amplifier chip, a clock data recovery CDR, a power management chip, and a data processing chip DSP).

The silicon photonics chip 400 itself has no light source, and the light source 500 serves as an external light source for the silicon photonics chip 400. The light source 500 can be a laser box, a laser chip is packaged in the laser box, the laser chip emits light to generate a laser beam, the light source 500 is used for providing emission laser for the silicon optical chip 400, the laser becomes a preferred light source for optical modules and even optical fiber transmission by better single-wavelength characteristics and better wavelength tuning characteristics, other types of light such as LED light and the like are generally not adopted by common optical communication systems, and even if the light source is adopted in a special optical communication system, the characteristics of the light source and the chip components are greatly different from the laser, so that the optical modules adopting the laser and the optical modules adopting other light sources have large technical differences, and a person skilled in the art generally does not think that the two types of optical modules can give technical inspiration each other.

The bottom surface of the silicon optical chip 400 and the bottom surface of the light source 500 are respectively arranged on the substrate, the silicon optical chip and the light source are optically connected, the light path is very sensitive to the position relation between the silicon optical chip and the light source, and materials with different expansion coefficients are deformed to different degrees, so that the realization of a preset light path is not facilitated; in the embodiment of the application, the silicon optical chip and the light source are arranged on the same substrate, and the substrate made of the same material deforms to equivalently influence the positions of the silicon optical chip and the light source, so that the relative position of the silicon optical chip and the light source is prevented from being greatly changed; it is preferable that the expansion coefficient of the substrate material is close to that of the silicon optical chip and/or the light source material, the main material of the silicon optical chip is silicon, the light source can be kovar metal, and the substrate is generally selected from silicon or glass.

There are many relations between the substrate and the circuit board 300, one of them is as shown in fig. 4, the circuit board 300 has an opening penetrating the upper and lower surfaces, the silicon optical chip and/or the light source is arranged in the opening, thus, the silicon optical chip and/or the light source can simultaneously fan heat to the upper surface of the circuit board and the lower surface of the circuit board, the substrate is arranged at one side of the circuit board, the silicon optical chip and/or the light source penetrates the opening of the circuit board and then is placed on the heat dissipation substrate, the substrate plays a role of bearing and heat dissipation; in another mode, the circuit board is not provided with an opening, the substrate is arranged on the circuit board, specifically, the substrate is arranged on the surface of the circuit board or embedded in the circuit board, and the silicon optical chip and the light source are arranged on the surface of the substrate.

The bottom surface of the light source 500 is disposed on the substrate, and the light source 500 emits light through the side surface, and the emitted light enters the silicon photonics chip 400. Silicon is used as a main substrate of the silicon optical chip, silicon is not an ideal luminescent material, and a light source cannot be integrated in the silicon optical chip 400, so that an external light source 500 is required to provide the light source. The light provided by the light source 500 to the silicon optical chip is emitted light with a single wavelength and stable power, and does not carry any data, and the emitted light is modulated by the silicon optical chip 400 to realize loading of data into the emitted light.

The bottom surface of the silicon photonics chip 400 is disposed on a substrate, and the side surface of the silicon photonics chip 400 receives emitted light from a light source; the modulation of the emitted light and the demodulation of the received light are completed by a silicon optical chip, and a bonding pad electrically connected with a circuit board in a routing way is arranged on the surface of the silicon optical chip; specifically, the circuit board provides a data signal from the upper computer to the silicon optical chip, the silicon optical chip modulates the data signal into emitted light, and received light from the outside is demodulated into an electric signal through the silicon optical chip and then is output to the upper computer through the circuit board.

As shown in fig. 4, both the first fiber optic ribbon 600 and the second fiber optic ribbon 700 are formed by combining a plurality of optical fibers; in the present embodiment, the first fiber optic ribbon 600 is a transmitting fiber optic ribbon and the second fiber optic ribbon 700 is a receiving fiber optic ribbon; one end of the first optical fiber ribbon 600 is connected with the silicon optical chip 400, and the other end is connected with the optical fiber interface 800; one end of the second optical fiber ribbon 700 is connected with the silicon optical chip 400, and the other end is connected with the optical fiber interface 800; the fiber interface 800 is connected with an external optical fiber. It can be seen that the silicon optical chip 400 and the optical fiber interface 800 are optically connected through the first optical fiber ribbon 600 and the second optical fiber ribbon 700, and the optical fiber interface 800 is optically connected with the external optical fiber of the optical module.

The light source 500 transmits the emitted light without carrying signals to the silicon optical chip 400, the silicon optical chip 400 modulates the emitted light without carrying signals, specifically, data is loaded into the emitted light without carrying signals, and then the emitted light without carrying signals is modulated into the emitted light with carrying data signals, the emitted light with data signals is transmitted to the optical fiber interface 800 through the first optical fiber ribbon 600 and is transmitted to the external optical fiber through the optical fiber interface 800, so that the light with data signals is transmitted to the external optical fiber of the optical module, and the electric signals are converted into the light signals.

Optical signals from external optical fibers are transmitted to the optical fiber interface 800, then transmitted to the silicon optical chip 400 through the second optical fiber ribbon 700, demodulated into electrical signals by the silicon optical chip 400, and output to an upper computer through a circuit board, so that the optical signals are converted into the electrical signals.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an internal structure of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present application. To accomplish the modulation of light, the silicon optical chip 400 includes an MZ modulator, which includes an optical splitter, a first interference arm, a second interference arm, a first modulation electrode, a second modulation electrode, and an optical combiner, as shown in fig. 5. The optical splitter is used for receiving light from the light source 500; the first output end of the optical splitter is connected with one end of the first interference arm, the second output end of the optical splitter is connected with one end of the second interference arm, the first modulation electrode is arranged on the first interference arm, and the second modulation electrode is arranged on the second interference arm; the optical splitter divides the received light into two beams which are respectively transmitted to the first interference arm and the second interference arm, for convenience of description, the two beams of decomposed light are respectively marked as a first light beam and a second light beam, the light intensity between the first light beam and the second light beam can be the same or different, and the first light beam and the second light beam are both direct current optical signals which do not carry data; a first modulation electrode is arranged on the first interference arm, the first modulation electrode utilizes the photoinduction to change the refractive index of a modulator material, a modulation electric signal output by the circuit board 300 is converted into a modulation optical signal, and a modulation optical signal is utilized to convert a direct current optical signal without carrying data, namely a first light beam, on the first interference arm into a first alternating optical signal carrying data; a second modulation electrode is arranged on the second interference arm, the second modulation electrode utilizes the photoinduction to change the refractive index of a modulator material, a modulation electric signal output by the circuit board 300 is converted into a modulation optical signal, and a direct current optical signal which does not carry data, namely a second light beam, on the second interference arm is converted into a second alternating optical signal which carries data by utilizing the modulation optical signal; the first alternating optical signal and the second alternating optical signal are out of phase. The other end of the first interference arm is connected with a first input end of the light combiner, the other end of the second interference arm is connected with a second input end of the light combiner, and the light combiner combines the first alternating light signal and the second alternating light signal into a beam of signal light, so that information is loaded into light to form an information-carrying light signal, and the modulation process of the emitted light is completed.

The MZ modulator is used to implement the interference of light to complete the coherent modulation process, and applies a modulation electrical signal to a phase modulation region formed on an optical waveguide of the MZ modulator to modulate the outgoing light emitted from the light source 500, thereby outputting an optical signal. MZ modulators may modulate optical signals using various modulation methods, such as phase modulation, amplitude modulation and polarization modulation, or a combination of various modulation methods. Wherein the phase modulation is an area of an electrode formed on the MZ modulator optical waveguide, and the refractive index of the optical waveguide under the electrode is changed by applying an electric signal to the electrode. The substantial optical path length of the optical waveguide in the phase modulation region can be changed. Thus, the phase modulation region can change the phase of the optical signal propagating through the optical waveguides, and then modulate the optical signal by providing a phase difference between the optical signals propagating through the two optical waveguides.

As shown in fig. 5, an optical module provided in this embodiment of the present application further includes an MCU900 in addition to the aforementioned silicon optical chip 400, light source 500, first optical fiber ribbon 600, second optical fiber ribbon 700, and optical fiber interface 800, the silicon optical chip further includes a temperature sensor, and the MZ modulator further includes a phase converter. In order to ensure the quality of an output signal, the MZ modulator needs to be stabilized at an optimal working point of a phase difference pi/2 state. However, under the influence of the change of the operating temperature of the MZ modulator, the optimal operating point of the MZ modulator may drift, so that the MZ modulator is stabilized at the optimal operating point where the phase difference is not maintained in the pi/2 state, thereby causing adverse effects such as poor signal quality and increased bit error rate. Therefore, the optical module provided by the embodiment of the application is used for ensuring that the optimal working point is in a stable state for a long time through the temperature sensor and the phase converter.

Temperature sensor in this application can survey the operating temperature of MZ modulator, and turn into digital signal with the real-time temperature signal of MZ modulator, digital signal can be voltage signal or current signal, turn into voltage signal in order to realize the real-time temperature signal with the MZ modulator, in this application embodiment, can set up thermistor in temperature sensor inside, turn into voltage signal with the real-time temperature signal of MZ modulator through thermistor, also can choose for use other modes to turn into digital signal such as voltage with temperature signal. The voltage or the current converted by the temperature sensor can change along with the change of the working temperature of the MZ modulator, the voltage or the current signal converted by the temperature sensor is transmitted to the MCU, the MCU generates a control signal according to the received voltage or current signal, and when the MCU detects that the voltage converted by the temperature sensor changes, the phase converter is controlled by the control signal to perform phase compensation adjustment on the MZ modulator, so that the phase difference of the MZ modulator is kept at pi/2, and the optimal working point is maintained. Specifically, the working temperature of the MZ modulator corresponds to the voltage or current converted by the temperature sensor one by one, and the voltage or current converted by the temperature sensor is different at different working temperatures; meanwhile, the voltage or current converted by the temperature sensor corresponds to the phase value of the MZ modulator one to one, the voltage or current converted by the temperature sensor is different, and the phase value of the Z modulator is different. And transmitting the light beam after phase conversion to an MZ modulator, and modulating the received light beam by the MZ modulator to obtain a modulated optical signal.

As shown in fig. 5, the silicon optical chip 400 in the embodiment of the present application further includes an MZ driver, the MZ driver is respectively connected to the first modulation electrode and the second modulation electrode, the MZ driver is configured to apply the modulation electrical signal output by the circuit board to the first modulation electrode and the second modulation electrode, respectively, and the first modulation electrode and the second modulation electrode respectively implement modulation of light input to the first interference arm and the second interference arm according to the modulation electrical signal.

In the embodiment of the application, the temperature sensor is used for detecting the working temperature of the MZ modulator, and in order to accurately monitor the working temperature of the MZ modulator, the temperature sensor may be integrated on the MZ modulator, or the temperature sensor may be attached to a close distance of the MZ modulator, so as to directly obtain the working temperature of the MZ modulator; because a certain linear or nonlinear relationship exists between the working temperature of the MZ modulator and the working temperature of the silicon optical chip, the temperature sensor can also be arranged in the silicon optical chip, at this time, the temperature monitored by the temperature sensor is the working temperature of the silicon optical chip, and then the working temperature of the MZ modulator is converted into the working temperature of the MZ modulator according to the linear or nonlinear relationship existing between the working temperature of the MZ modulator and the working temperature of the silicon optical chip.

The application provides an optical module, which comprises a circuit board, a power supply, an MCU (micro control unit) and a silicon optical chip, wherein the silicon optical chip is provided with an MZ modulator and a temperature sensor, the MZ modulator comprises an optical splitter, a first interference arm, a second interference arm, a first modulation electrode, a second modulation electrode, a phase converter and an optical combiner, the first interference arm is connected with a first output end of the optical splitter, the second interference arm is connected with a second output end of the optical splitter, the optical splitter divides an optical signal without carrying information into a first light beam and a second light beam, the first modulation electrode converts a modulation electrical signal output by the circuit board into a modulation optical signal, and converts the first light beam into first alternating signal light according to the modulation optical signal; the second modulation electrode converts the modulation electrical signal output by the circuit board into a modulation optical signal and converts the second light beam into second alternating signal light according to the modulation optical signal; the temperature sensor converts the temperature signal of the MZ modulator into a digital signal, the digital signal is transmitted to the MCU, when the working temperature of the MZ modulator changes, the digital signal transmitted to the MCU changes, at the moment, the MCU controls the phase converter to perform corresponding phase compensation, the phase difference between the first alternating signal light and the second alternating signal light is kept to be pi/2, and then the optical module provided by the application enables the silicon optical chip to be maintained at the optimal working point.

The optical module provided by the application can perform dynamic phase compensation on the basis of not additionally adding an optical power detector, the phase difference of two alternating light signals of the MZ modulator is pi/2 all the time, and the MZ modulator works at the optimal working point.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (9)

1. A light module, comprising:

a circuit board;

the light source is electrically connected with the circuit board and is used for emitting light which does not carry signals;

the silicon optical chip is connected with the circuit board, an input optical port of the silicon optical chip is used for receiving the light which does not carry signals, and an output optical port of the silicon optical chip is used for outputting signal light;

the MCU is arranged on the circuit board, is electrically connected with the silicon optical chip and is used for receiving a temperature signal from a temperature sensor, generating a control signal according to the temperature signal and transmitting the control signal to the phase converter;

the silicon optical chip comprises:

the MZ modulator is used for modulating the light which does not carry the signal into signal light;

the temperature sensor is electrically connected with the MCU and used for transmitting the acquired temperature signal of the MZ modulator to the MCU;

wherein the MZ modulator comprises:

the optical splitter is used for splitting the light which does not carry the signal into a first light beam and a second light beam;

the input end of the first interference arm is connected with the first output end of the optical splitter;

the input end of the second interference arm is connected with the second output end of the optical splitter;

the phase converter is arranged on the first interference arm or the second interference arm, is electrically connected with the MCU, and is used for receiving a control signal from the MCU and carrying out phase adjustment on light output by the first interference arm or the second interference arm according to the control signal;

and the input end of the light combiner is connected with the output ends of the first interference arm and the second interference arm, and the light combiner is used for combining the signal light output by the first interference arm and the second interference arm after phase conversion into a beam of signal light.

2. The optical module of claim 1, wherein the MZ modulator further comprises:

the first modulation electrode is arranged on the first interference arm, converts a modulation electric signal output by the circuit board into a modulation optical signal, and converts the first light beam into first alternating signal light according to the modulation optical signal;

and the second modulation electrode is arranged on the second interference arm, converts the modulation electric signal output by the circuit board into a modulation optical signal, and converts the second light beam into second alternating signal light according to the modulation optical signal.

3. The optical module of claim 1, wherein the phase converter is configured to adjust the phase of the light output from the first interference arm or the second interference arm to pi/2 according to a control signal.

4. The optical module of claim 2, wherein the silicon optical chip further comprises:

the MZ driver is arranged on the circuit board, is electrically connected with the first modulation electrode and the second modulation electrode, and is used for applying the modulation electric signal output by the circuit board to the first modulation electrode and the second modulation electrode.

5. The optical module of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor is disposed on the silicon optical chip.

6. The optical module of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor is disposed within the MZ modulator.

7. The optical module of claim 1, wherein a thermistor is disposed in the temperature sensor for converting the temperature signal of the MZ modulator into a voltage signal.

8. The optical module according to claim 2, characterized in that the phases of the first alternating signal light and the second alternating signal light are different.

9. The light module of claim 1, wherein neither the first light beam nor the second light beam carries a signal.

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