JP2014032274A - Optical modulator and drift control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrict drift without causing signal quality degradation, resulting from overlapping of low frequency signals.SOLUTION: An optical modulator is provided with ±N-order modulation light level detection means 30 for detecting a level Land a level L, which are separate from light emitted from the optical modulator 21, by N times of an integer of a modulation signal frequency, with the frequency of the incident light between them. After a DC bias voltage is initially set so that the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is appropriate, the level of a ±N-order modulation light component is detected every predetermined timing during a period in which a modulation signal Sm of non-modulated continuous wave is applied to the optical modulator 21. Based on its change with time, the drift direction of the optical modulator 21 is determined. Based on the determination result, the DC bias voltage is corrected so that the drift decreases.

Description

  The present invention relates to drift control of an optical modulator, and more particularly to a technique for applying an appropriate bias voltage to an optical modulator without causing unnecessary modulation components.

As an optical modulator, a waveguide type Mach-Zehnder type optical intensity modulator (LN modulator) is conventionally known. This modulator has an optical path configuration in which input light is split into two at 1: 1 and propagates through two waveguides to be combined, and the two waveguides depend on the direction and magnitude of the applied electric field. It is formed on a substrate made of an electro-optic crystal such as LiNbO ₃ that changes the refractive index and can be multiplexed by changing the optical phase passing through the waveguide by the electric field applied to the two waveguides. ing.

  For example, if an electric field is not applied to the two waveguides, the phase difference of the light passing through the two waveguides becomes 0, and the light is in-phase combined and emitted with emphasis on each other. When the electric field is applied in the opposite direction, the phase of the light in one waveguide advances by π / 2, the phase of the light in the other waveguide delays by π / 2, and the phase difference between the two lights becomes π, resulting in reverse phase multiplexing. Then, they interfere with each other, cancel each other, and are scattered inside the substrate and are not emitted. The voltage required for the phase difference of the light passing through these two waveguides to be π is called a half-wave voltage Vπ, and the amplitude of the half-wave voltage Vπ or less is modulated with reference to the DC bias voltage that determines the operating point. By applying the signal to the optical modulator, it is possible to emit light whose intensity is modulated according to the level of the modulation signal.

  It is known that the optical modulator having the above structure causes a so-called drift phenomenon in which the output characteristics of the optical modulator change with time due to the application amount of the DC bias voltage and the temperature change of the usage environment. Due to this drift phenomenon, when the output characteristics of light shift with respect to the applied DC bias voltage and the operating point shifts, the extinction ratio of light decreases, and a high S / N cannot be obtained.

  For this reason, conventionally, various techniques for suppressing the drift of the optical modulator have been proposed. As one of them, in Patent Document 1, a low frequency signal is superimposed on a modulation signal of an optical modulator, a light amount change related to the low frequency signal is monitored from an output light of the optical modulator, and a correlation between the light amount change and the low frequency is monitored. The bias point for the actual applied voltage is detected to correct the DC bias of the optical modulator.

JP 2005-309468 A

  However, as seen in Patent Document 1, when a low frequency signal is superimposed in addition to a DC bias and a modulation signal, each sideband of the modulated light output or a high frequency signal obtained by receiving the modulated light output is received. In each component, the superimposed low-frequency signal and unnecessary signal components of the higher-order sideband appear, and the signal quality deteriorates due to these unnecessary signal components.

  An object of the present invention is to solve this problem and to provide an optical modulation device and a drift control method thereof that can suppress drift without causing signal quality degradation due to superposition of low-frequency signals.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical modulation device according to claim 1 of the present invention includes:
An optical path that receives coherent light as incident light, splits into two, propagates through two waveguides, and is coupled, and at least one of the two waveguides depends on a voltage of a signal input from a signal input terminal. An optical modulator (21) having a characteristic of changing a phase of light propagating through the waveguide by changing a refractive index;
Bias voltage generating means (25) for generating a voltage-variable DC bias voltage serving as a reference of the operating point of the optical modulator;
Modulation signal generating means (26) for outputting a modulation signal of an unmodulated continuous wave having a predetermined amplitude;
A signal superimposing means (27) for superimposing a DC bias voltage output from the bias voltage generating means and a modulation signal output from the modulation signal generating means on a signal input terminal of the optical modulator;
From the light emitted from the optical modulator, a ± N-order modulated light component separated by an integer N times the frequency of the modulation signal is extracted across the frequency of the coherent light, and the level (L _{+ N} , L _−N ) is extracted. ± Nth order modulated light level detecting means (30) for detecting;
The DC bias voltage output from the bias voltage generating means is initialized to a value at which the operating point of the optical modulator is appropriate, and the modulation signal of the unmodulated continuous wave is given to the optical modulator after the initial setting. Determining the level of the ± Nth order modulated light component at a predetermined timing during the operation, and determining the drift direction of the operating point of the optical modulator based on the change over time of the level of the ± Nth order modulated light component, And a control unit (40) for correcting a DC bias voltage so as to reduce the drift based on the determination result.

A drift control method for an optical modulation device according to claim 2 of the present invention is
An optical path that receives coherent light having a predetermined frequency as incident light, splits into two, propagates through two waveguides, and is coupled, and at least one of the two waveguides is a voltage of a signal input from a signal input terminal In response to the optical modulator (21) having a characteristic of changing the phase of light propagating through the waveguide by changing the refractive index in accordance with the modulation signal, the modulation signal is superimposed on the DC bias voltage serving as the reference of the operating point. In a drift control method of a light modulation device that emits light whose intensity is modulated by the modulation signal,
Initializing the DC bias voltage to a value at which the operating point of the optical modulator is appropriate (S1 to S3, S1 ′, S2 ′);
After the initial setting of the DC bias voltage, at a predetermined timing during a period in which an unmodulated continuous wave is given as the modulation signal, the frequency of the coherent light is sandwiched between the integers N times of the modulation signal frequency ± Detecting and storing the level of the Nth order modulated light component (S4, S5, S3 ');
The drift direction of the operating point of the optical modulator is determined based on the time-dependent change in the level of the detected ± Nth order modulated light component, and the bias voltage is corrected so that the drift is reduced based on the determination result. Stage (S6-S8).

  Thus, in the present invention, the DC bias voltage is initially set so that the operating point of the optical modulator is appropriate, and at each predetermined timing in a period in which a modulation signal of an unmodulated continuous wave having a predetermined amplitude is given, Detects the level of the ± Nth order modulated light component that is an integer N times the modulation signal frequency across the incident light frequency, and determines the drift direction of the optical modulator based on the temporal change in the level of the ± Nth order modulated light component The DC bias voltage is corrected so that the drift is reduced based on the determination result.

  This is based on the knowledge that there is a difference between the tendency of the level change of the + N-order modulated light component and the tendency of the level change of the −N-order modulated light component due to the wavelength with respect to the drift of the optical modulator, With this configuration, in the present invention, the drift of the optical modulator can be suppressed without incurring signal quality degradation due to the superposition of low frequency signals.

The figure which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention Diagram showing characteristics of optical modulator Spectrum diagram of light emitted from the optical modulator when a DC bias equivalent to a phase difference of 0 is applied. Spectrum diagram of light emitted from the optical modulator when a DC bias equivalent to a phase difference of π is applied. Output characteristic diagram of ± Nth order light modulation component The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the control part of embodiment The figure which shows the structure of another embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the control part of another embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a light modulation device 20 to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, an optical modulator 21 is the above-described waveguide type Mach-Zehnder type optical intensity modulator (LN modulator), and is formed on a substrate made of an electro-optic crystal such as LiNbO ₃ .

  More specifically, the incident light Pin is received by the incident waveguide 21a, branched into two at the branching portion 21b, propagated through the two waveguides 21c and 21d, and combined at the coupling portion 21e, and in-phase combined. The light to be waved is emitted through an output waveguide 21f continuous with the coupling part 21e, and the light to be anti-phase-combined is scattered by the coupling part 21e and radiated into the substrate. The two waveguides 21c and 21d are sandwiched between electrodes (not shown) connected to the signal input terminal 21g and pass through the waveguides 21c and 21d according to the direction and magnitude of the electric field applied from the electrodes. The optical phase can be changed and combined to be combined. Note that the application of the electric field to the waveguide may be applied not only to the two waveguides in the opposite direction but also to only one of the waveguides.

  The optical modulator 21 receives coherent light having a wavelength λc (for example, 1550 nm, frequency fc) as incident light Pin, propagates through the two waveguides 21c and 21d, and transmits the signal input to the signal input terminal 21g. A phase difference corresponding to the voltage is given and combined, and the light is emitted after being strengthened or weakened by the phase difference.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the voltage of the signal applied to the optical modulator 21 and the intensity of the emitted light, and has an output characteristic that shows a periodic change with respect to the change of the signal voltage. It has an amplitude (Vπ) equal to the difference between the voltage V1 that cancels out by the wave and the voltage V2 (= V1 + Vπ) that strengthens to the maximum by in-phase multiplexing. The modulation signal Sm whose level is changed at Vπ volts is superimposed on the DC bias voltage Vb = V1 for determining the operating point, so that the optical modulation signal Pout whose intensity is modulated according to the level of the modulation signal Sm is maximized. Can be emitted at an extinction ratio of.

  A DC bias voltage Vb that determines the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is output from the bias voltage generating means 25. The bias voltage generator 25 varies the output DC bias voltage Vb under the control of the control unit 40 described later.

  The configuration of the modulation signal generating means 26 differs depending on the application of this apparatus. For example, when used as a part of a multiplier for obtaining a 100 GHz signal, if the signal is multiplied by 4, there is no predetermined amplitude of 25 GHz. A modulation signal Sm of a modulated continuous wave is generated. The amplitude of the modulation signal Sm is set to a value corresponding to a range in which the modulation characteristic of the modulator 21 has good linearity, which is equal to or less than the half-wave voltage Vπ.

  The bias voltage Vb and the modulation signal Sm are superimposed by the signal superimposing means 27 and given to the signal input terminal 21g of the optical modulator 21. The signal superimposing means 27 can be composed of an adder such as a bias T, and can also be composed of a circuit for matching the reference potential of the output of the modulation signal generating means 26 with the bias voltage Vb.

  On the other hand, the outgoing light Pout of the optical modulator 21 is branched by the first light branching means 28, one of which Pout 1 becomes the apparatus outgoing light, and the other Pout 2 enters the ± Nth order modulated light level detecting means 30.

  The ± Nth order modulated light level detecting means 30 splits the incident light Pout2 into two by the second light branching means 31, one of which is incident on the + Nth order modulated light filter 32 and the other is incident on the −Nth order modulated light filter 33. To do.

  These two filters are filters for extracting ± N-order modulated light components separated by an integer N times the modulation signal frequency fm across the frequency fc of the incident light Pin of the optical modulator 21. The modulation frequency fm In the case of = 25 GHz, if the order is N = 2, light modulation components that are 50 GHz apart from the incident light frequency fc are extracted from the plus side and the minus side, respectively. These modulation components are separated by a wavelength of about 0.4 nm corresponding to 50 GHz when the wavelength of the incident light Pin is 1550 nm. These extractions can be realized by using, for example, an FBG (fiber Bragg grating) or the like. .

The ± N-order modulated light components P _{+ N} and P _−N extracted by these two filters are incident on the light receivers 34 and 35, respectively, and their levels L _{+ N} and L _−N are detected.

Here, the relationship between the bias voltage of the optical modulator 21 and the spectrum of the output light will be described.
It is assumed that the bias voltage Vb and the modulation signal Sm are superimposed and input to the optical modulator 21, and the input signal is applied to the two waveguides with opposite polarities. If the phase difference of the light that has passed through the two waveguides is φ, the amplitude of the output light is proportional to cos φ.

Light in one waveguide with a DC bias applied (no optical signal phase difference due to DC bias) in which the light that has passed through the two waveguides is combined in phase when there is no modulation signal Is subjected to phase modulation of A sin ωt, the phase-modulated light is
exp (jA sin ωt) = ΣJ _n (a) e ^jnωt
Can be written. However, symbol Σ is a total from n = −∞ to + ∞, and J _n is an nth-order first-type Bessel function.

When attention is paid to the relationship of J _−n (x) = (− 1) ⁿ J _n (x), the spectrum of the phase-modulated light is schematically expressed as shown in FIG. , Ω = 2πfm).

  At this time, the light of the other waveguide is subjected to phase modulation of -A sin ωt having an opposite phase, so that the spectrum is expressed as shown in FIG.

  When these lights are multiplexed, the odd-order sideband components in (c) of FIG. 3 are suppressed, and only the even-order remains.

  On the other hand, when a modulation signal similar to the above is applied in a state where a DC bias voltage is applied such that light passing through the two waveguides is antiphase-combined when there is no modulation signal, the even order is suppressed, Only odd order remains.

  That is, when the DC bias that determines the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is set to a voltage that gives a phase difference π to the light in the two waveguides, odd-order sideband components appear in the output, and two If the voltage is set to give a phase difference of 0 to the light of one waveguide, the carrier wave and even-order sideband components will appear at the output.

  FIG. 4A shows the spectrum of the modulator output when the DC bias voltage is set to a voltage that gives the phase difference π. As described above, the component of the fundamental wave fc and its fundamental wave are shown in FIG. Even multiples of the modulation frequency fm ± 2fm, ± 4fm,... Even-order modulated wave components (sideband components) at distant positions are suppressed and theoretically become zero.

  On the other hand, when the operating point is shifted due to drift, the suppressed fundamental wave and even-order modulated wave components appear as shown in FIG. 4B.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the DC bias is set to a voltage that gives a phase difference of 0, the fundamental frequency fc is an odd multiple of the modulation frequency fm (= 2πω) ± fm, ± 3fm,. If the operating point is shifted due to drift from the state where the odd-order modulation wave component (sideband component) at the position is suppressed, the suppressed odd-order modulation wave component appears.

  Accordingly, when the DC bias voltage is initially set to a value at which the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is appropriate, for example, the level of the modulation component of the order suppressed to the minimum is monitored, and if the level exceeds a predetermined value. The operating point may be corrected by determining that the operating point shift due to drift has occurred.

  Here, paying attention to the ± N modulated light component that appears due to drift, the plus and minus modulated light components have a frequency difference of 2N · fm between them. The phase difference of becomes different. This becomes more conspicuous as the modulation frequency increases and the order increases.

  For example, in the case of ± second order modulated light components, the output characteristics F1 and F2 shown in FIG. 5 are shifted characteristics along the bias voltage axis, and the position Q at which the two cross each other is basically proper. It becomes an operating point.

  In the range from the intersection of the characteristics F1 and F2 to the respective minimum points, if the bias point moves relative to the characteristics to the left due to drift, the light level of the characteristics F1 increases, and the characteristics F2 The light level goes down. Conversely, when the bias point moves to the right relative to the characteristic, the light level of characteristic F1 decreases and the light level of characteristic F2 increases.

  Therefore, if the tendency of the level change of the ± 2nd order modulated wave component from the appropriate operating point corresponding to the intersection point Q is grasped, the direction in which the operating point is shifted can be specified.

  The control unit 40 performs control processing including the drift control processing, and performs initial setting processing and drift control processing when the apparatus is activated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure. The operation of the light modulation device 20 will be described below based on this flowchart.

The initial setting process is for setting the DC bias to a value at which the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is appropriate at the time of starting the apparatus. Here, the bias voltage generating means is provided with the modulation signal Sm being applied. The DC bias voltage Vb output from the control unit 25 is varied within a range of ± Vπ, the levels L _{+ N} and L _−N of ± N-order (even number) modulated light components are observed, and a value Vb1 that minimizes the sum is initially set. Set (S1 to S3).

  By the initial setting process, the fundamental wave and even-order modulation wave components are sufficiently suppressed, and the state shown in FIG. 4A is obtained. The emitted light Pout of the optical modulator 21 has frequencies fc ± fm and fc ± 3fm. ,... Are included.

  Here, since the emitted light Pout can be regarded as a combination of ± 1st order modulated light components having a frequency difference of 2fm, if this is incident on the light receiver, an electric signal having a frequency of 2fm can be obtained. Thus, it is possible to double the modulation signal Sm.

The control unit 40 obtains the levels L _{+ N} and L _−N of ± N-order modulated light components each time a certain time elapses during such modulation processing, and M times (M is 1 or more). An integer) averaging process is performed, and increase / decrease determination of the processing results A (+ N) and A (−N) is performed (S4 to S6).

  As described above, when the second-order modulated light component is observed, if the output characteristic moves to the low voltage side (the operating point drifts to the high voltage side), the level of the + second-order modulated light component decreases, and − The level of the secondary modulated light component increases. Conversely, when the output characteristic moves to the high voltage side (the operating point drifts to the low voltage side), the level of the + 2nd order modulated light component increases and the level of the −2nd order modulated light component decreases.

  Therefore, when the average value A (+ N) decreases and the average value A (−N) increases, it is determined that the operating point drifts to the high voltage side, and the DC bias voltage Vb is set to a predetermined amount. Correction is made to reduce ΔV (S7). Further, when the average value A (+ N) increases and the average value A (−N) decreases, it is determined that the operating point drifts to the low voltage side, and the DC bias voltage Vb is set to a predetermined amount. Correction is made higher by ΔV (S8). When there is no increase / decrease change, it is determined that the operating point is held at an appropriate position, and the process returns to step S4.

  With the above processing, the drift of the operating point of the optical modulator 21 can be suppressed without superimposing unnecessary low-frequency signals.

  In the above embodiment, the order of the modulated light component to be observed is ± 2nd order, but higher order signals such as ± 4th order and ± 6th order may be used.

  Moreover, not only the even order that minimizes the level when the operating point is in an appropriate state, but also the odd order such as ± 1st order and ± 3rd order that the level is maximized when the operating point is in an appropriate state. The configuration may be such that the modulated light component is extracted, and after the DC bias voltage is initially set to a voltage at which the odd-order modulated light component is maximized, the direction of drift may be determined based on the change with time of these levels.

  In the above embodiment, when the DC bias voltage for initializing the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is initially set, the level sum of the ± Nth order modulated light components is minimized (when the modulation signal is input). Alternatively, the initial setting of the bias voltage at which the operating point of the optical modulator 21 is appropriate can be performed without inputting a modulation signal.

  In that case, branching means 51 and a light receiver 52 for detecting the level of the emitted light Pout of the light modulator 21 are provided as in the light modulation device 20 'shown in FIG. A light receiver 53 for detecting the level of the radiated light Prad radiated from the coupling portion 21e is provided.

  Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the level of the emitted light Pout or the radiated light Prad is stored while varying the bias voltage within a range of ± Vπ without inputting a modulation signal at the time of initial setting (S1 ′). The bias is initially set to a voltage at which the output light Pout is minimum (or the level of the radiation light Prad is maximum) or a voltage at which the level of the output light Pout is maximum (or the level of the radiation light Prad is minimum) (S2 ′). After that, the modulation signal Sm is input (S3 ′).

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Optical modulation apparatus, 21 ... Optical modulator, 25 ... Bias voltage generation means, 26 ... Modulation signal generation means, 27 ... Signal superimposition means, 28 ... First optical branching means, 30 ... ± N-order modulated light level detection means, 31... Second light branching means, 32... + N-order modulation light filter, 33... -N-order modulation light filter, 34 and 35. 51... Branching means, 52 and 53.

Claims (2)

An optical path that receives coherent light as incident light, splits into two, propagates through two waveguides, and is coupled, and at least one of the two waveguides depends on a voltage of a signal input from a signal input terminal. An optical modulator (21) having a characteristic of changing a phase of light propagating through the waveguide by changing a refractive index;
Bias voltage generating means (25) for generating a voltage-variable DC bias voltage serving as a reference of the operating point of the optical modulator;
Modulation signal generating means (26) for outputting a modulation signal of an unmodulated continuous wave having a predetermined amplitude;
A signal superimposing means (27) for superimposing a DC bias voltage output from the bias voltage generating means and a modulation signal output from the modulation signal generating means on a signal input terminal of the optical modulator;
From the light emitted from the optical modulator, a ± N-order modulated light component separated by an integer N times the frequency of the modulation signal is extracted across the frequency of the coherent light, and the level (L _{+ N} , L _−N ) is extracted. ± Nth order modulated light level detecting means (30) for detecting;
The DC bias voltage output from the bias voltage generating means is initialized to a value at which the operating point of the optical modulator is appropriate, and the modulation signal of the unmodulated continuous wave is given to the optical modulator after the initial setting. Determining the level of the ± Nth order modulated light component at a predetermined timing during the operation, and determining the drift direction of the operating point of the optical modulator based on the change over time of the level of the ± Nth order modulated light component, And a controller (40) that corrects a DC bias voltage so as to reduce the drift based on the determination result. An optical path that receives coherent light having a predetermined frequency as incident light, splits into two, propagates through two waveguides, and is coupled, and at least one of the two waveguides is a voltage of a signal input from a signal input terminal In response to the optical modulator (21) having a characteristic of changing the phase of light propagating through the waveguide by changing the refractive index in accordance with the modulation signal, the modulation signal is superimposed on the DC bias voltage serving as the reference of the operating point. In a drift control method of a light modulation device that emits light whose intensity is modulated by the modulation signal,
Initializing the DC bias voltage to a value at which the operating point of the optical modulator is appropriate (S1 to S3, S1 ′, S2 ′);
After the initial setting of the DC bias voltage, at a predetermined timing during a period in which an unmodulated continuous wave is given as the modulation signal, the frequency of the coherent light is sandwiched between the integers N times of the modulation signal frequency ± Detecting and storing the level of the Nth order modulated light component (S4, S5, S3 ');
The drift direction of the operating point of the optical modulator is determined based on the time-dependent change in the level of the detected ± Nth order modulated light component, and the bias voltage is corrected so that the drift is reduced based on the determination result. A drift control method for an optical modulation device, comprising: steps (S6 to S8).

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