WO2021026773A1

WO2021026773A1 - Light emission sub-module and optical module

Info

Publication number: WO2021026773A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/100400
Authority: WO
Inventors: 黄远军; 唐晓辉; 周卓
Original assignee: 索尔思光电（成都）有限公司
Priority date: 2019-08-13
Filing date: 2019-08-13
Publication date: 2021-02-18
Also published as: CN110692208A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light emission sub-module and an optical module. The light emission sub-module comprises a light-emitting unit and a multi-channel modulator, wherein the light-emitting unit is connected to the multi-channel modulator by means of an optical fiber, the light-emitting unit is used for emitting a beam of one wavelength, and the beam is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator by means of the optical fiber; and the multi-channel modulator is used for splitting the beam into a plurality of optical signals, modulating each optical signal, and outputting same. In the light emission sub-module of the present invention, a light-emitting unit is connected to a multi-channel modulator by means of an optical fiber; a beam emitted by the light-emitting unit is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator by means of the optical fiber, such that the position between the multi-channel modulator and the light-emitting unit can be set at will; and therefore, the reliability of emitted light can be ensured, and the applicability of the light emission sub-module can also be improved.

Description

Optical emission sub-module and optical module

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of optical communication technology, in particular to an optical emission sub-module and an optical module.

Background technique

The main function of the integrated optical transceiver module (optical module for short) is to convert the received optical signal into an electrical signal, and to convert the electrical signal into an optical signal for transmission to realize data transmission. Current high-speed optical modules, such as 100G optical modules, have a structure as shown in Figure 1. They include a circuit board, a light emission sub-module (TOSA), a modulator and a package housing. The optical emission sub-module includes a laser, a carrier, and a lens. Both the emission submodule and the modulator are arranged on the circuit board, and the laser is directly aligned with the modulator. Since the laser is directly aligned with the modulator, once the position between the laser, lens, and modulator is designed, it cannot be changed, otherwise it will seriously affect the reliability of the emitted light. However, it is inevitable that the position between each other will change due to stress during use, which will lead to poor reliability of emitted light.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting sub-module with higher reliability and an optical module using the light emitting sub-module.

To achieve the foregoing objective, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

A light emission sub-module includes a light-emitting unit and a multi-channel modulator. The light-emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator are connected by an optical fiber. The light-emitting unit is used to emit a light beam of one wavelength. It is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator through the optical fiber, and the multi-channel modulator is used to divide the light beam into multiple optical signals and modulate each optical signal before outputting.

In the above-mentioned light emission sub-module, since the light-emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator are connected by an optical fiber, the light beam emitted by the light-emitting unit is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator through the optical fiber, and the optical fiber is flexible and can be bent at will. Therefore, the light-emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator The positions between the receivers can be arranged at will, so it can be adapted to more scenes, especially those with limited layout space. The light-emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator can be arranged in different positions separately, thereby reducing the size requirement of a space. In addition, the mutual position of the light-emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator can also be changed at will, and the light-emitting effect will not be affected after the change, so the reliability of the emitted light can be reliably guaranteed.

In a further refined solution, the light-emitting unit includes a carrier, a laser, and a sealing device, the laser is arranged on the carrier, the sealing device is connected to the carrier, and the laser is sealed in the sealing device. The inside of the device. In a further optimized solution, the sealing device is a metal cover, and the metal cover is connected to and sealed with the carrier by melting.

In the above scheme, the laser is sealed inside the sealing device, so it can effectively prevent the laser from being affected by the water vapor in the air to affect its service life and luminous efficiency, especially when the sealing device is a metal cover, the metal cover is connected to the carrier by melting and sealed Compared with the glue encapsulation method, the sealing effect is better and the sealing performance can be more reliably guaranteed.

In the above solution, the light-emitting unit further includes a circuit board and a lens, the lens is arranged between the laser and the optical fiber, so that the laser beam emitted by the laser is condensed by the lens and then input into the optical fiber. The carriers are all arranged on the circuit board, and the sealing device is connected with the circuit board. After converging by the lens, more light beams can be transmitted to the multi-channel modulator, reducing light loss.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present invention also provides an optical module, including the optical emission sub-module according to any embodiment of the present invention.

Compared with the prior art, in the light emission sub-module provided by the present invention, the light-emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator are connected through an optical fiber, and the light beam emitted by the light-emitting unit is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator through the optical fiber, so that the multi-channel modulator The position between the light emitting unit and the light emitting unit can be set at will, which can not only ensure the reliability of the emitted light, but also enhance the applicability of the light emitting sub-module.

Description of the drawings

In order to explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present invention and therefore do not It should be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a light emitting sub-module in the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the optical emission sub-module in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a light emitting unit in an embodiment of the present invention.

Mark in the picture

The carrier 10; the laser 20; the lens 30; the multi-channel modulator 40; the plastic housing 50, the metal cover 50'; the circuit board 60; the optical fiber 70; the light emitting unit 100;

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention generally described and shown in the drawings herein may be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2-3, this embodiment schematically provides a light emitting sub-module, including a light emitting unit 100 and a multi-channel modulator 40, and the light emitting unit 100 and the multi-channel modulator 40 are connected by an optical fiber 70. In this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 100 is used to emit a light beam of one wavelength, and the light beam is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator 40 through the optical fiber 70. The multi-channel modulator 40 is used to divide the light beam into multiple optical signals, and each optical signal Output after modulation.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 100 includes a circuit board 60, a carrier 10, a laser 20, a lens 30, and a sealing device. The laser 20 is disposed on the carrier 10, and the lens 30 is disposed between the laser 20 and the optical fiber 70, so that the laser The laser beam emitted by 20 is converged by the lens 30 and then input into the optical fiber 70. The purpose of setting the lens 30 is to achieve light convergence so as to enhance the absorption rate of light. However, in application scenarios that are not demanding, the lens 30 may not be provided. The carrier 10 and the lens 20 are both arranged on the circuit board 60. The purpose of the sealing device is to seal the laser 20 so as to prevent the laser 20 from being affected by moisture in the air and unable to work continuously. In this embodiment, the sealing device is a metal cover 50', and the metal cover 50' is connected to the circuit board 60 by melting and sealed, so that the laser 20 can be better sealed inside the sealing device without being affected by water vapor.

The above-mentioned laser 20 may be a DFB (Distributed Feedback Laser) laser or an FB laser, which is specifically selected according to application requirements. The laser 20 mentioned herein refers to a laser chip.

As shown in FIG. 2, the output end of the multi-channel modulator 40 is connected to a socket 200 to facilitate connection with other devices/components.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the prior art, the laser 20, the lens 30, and the multi-channel modulator 40 are arranged together, and then sealed by a plastic shell 50. In such a structure, since the laser light emitted by the laser 20 is directly aimed at the multi-channel modulator 40, the optical signal is transmitted in free space. Therefore, it is not suitable to set the positions between the laser 20, the lens 30, and the multi-channel modulator 40. Variation, after the change, will affect the receiving rate of the multi-channel modulator 40 to the optical signal, resulting in a decrease in the receiving rate, but in practical applications, it will inevitably be affected by stress, so the overall light receiving rate is not high. In addition, the sealability of the plastic shell 50 is not strong enough, which causes the laser 20 to be affected by water vapor in the air and reduce its service life.

However, in the solution of this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 100 and the multi-channel modulator 40 are connected through an optical fiber 70, and the laser beam emitted by the laser 20 is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator 40 through the optical fiber 70. No matter how the relative position between the devices 40 changes, it will not affect the reception of the optical signal by the multi-channel modulator 40, so the reliability of the emitted light can be guaranteed. On the other hand, when the multi-channel modulator 40 is integrated with the laser 20, etc., the overall structure is relatively large, and therefore requires a high installation space. However, in the solution of this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 100 and the multi-channel modulator 40 are Relatively independent units, the structure of each unit is relatively small, so it is more flexible, can be flexibly laid out according to specific application scenarios, and enhance the adaptability of the module. In addition, the light-emitting unit 100 is sealed by a metal melting method, which can better enhance the sealing of the light-emitting unit 100, and reliably ensure that the laser 20 is not affected by water vapor in the air. Then, while ensuring the normal operation of the laser 20, it extends the length of the laser 20. Service life.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. It should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A light emission sub-module, characterized by comprising a light emitting unit and a multi-channel modulator, the light emitting unit and the multi-channel modulator are connected by an optical fiber, and the light emitting unit is used to emit a light beam of one wavelength The light beam is transmitted to the multi-channel modulator through the optical fiber, and the multi-channel modulator is used to divide the light beam into multiple optical signals and modulate each optical signal before outputting.
The light emitting sub-module according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting unit comprises a carrier, a laser, and a sealing device, the laser is arranged on the carrier, and the sealing device is connected to the carrier and makes The laser is sealed inside the sealing device.
The light emitting sub-module according to claim 2, wherein the sealing device is a metal cover, and the metal cover is connected to the carrier by melting and sealed.
The light emitting sub-module according to claim 2, wherein the light emitting unit further comprises a circuit board and a lens, and the lens is arranged between the laser and the optical fiber, so that the laser beam emitted by the laser is converged through the lens Then input into the optical fiber, the lens and the carrier are both arranged on the circuit board, and the sealing device is connected with the circuit board.
The optical emission sub-module according to claim 2, wherein the laser is a DFB laser or an FB laser.
The optical emission sub-module according to claim 2, further comprising a socket, and the output end of the multi-channel modulator is plugged into the socket.
An optical module, characterized by comprising the optical emission sub-module according to any one of claims 1-6.