WO2021227660A1 - Optical switching device, redirection method, and reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer and system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an optical switching device, a redirection method, and a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer and system, which are applied to the field of optical fiber communication. The optical switching device comprises N wavelength combination and division elements (310, 320, 330), a waveguide array (302) and a redirection assembly (303), wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; the N wavelength combination and division elements (310, 320, 330) are arranged in the same plane; a plurality of waveguides included in the waveguide array (302) are respectively coupled with the N wavelength combination and division elements (310, 320, 330), and the ends of the plurality of waveguides close to the redirection assembly (303) form an N-layer waveguide structure; and the same wavelength combination and division element (310, 320, 330) is coupled with waveguides located in the same layer in the N-layer waveguide structure, and different wavelength combination and division elements (310, 320, 330) are coupled with waveguides located in different layers in the N-layer waveguide structure. The optical switching device reduces the processing difficulty and the difficulty of expanding the number of wavelength combination and division elements (310, 320, 330).

Description

Optical switching device, redirection method, reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer and system

This application requires a Chinese patent application filed by the State Intellectual Property Office of China with the application number of 202010401962.3 and the invention title of "optical switching device, redirection method, reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer and system" on May 13, 2020 The priority of, the entire content of which is incorporated in this application by reference.

Technical field

This application relates to the field of optical fiber communication, and in particular to an optical switching device, a redirection method, a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer and a system.

Background technique

Reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM) is a key node in the wavelength division multiplexing (wavelength devision multiplexing, WDM) transmission system and optical transport network. ROADM usually supports wavelength reconstruction in two or more directions. Among them, a wavelength selective switch (wavelength selective switch, WSS) is an important component of ROADM.

The structure of the WSS provided in the prior art can be seen in FIG. 1. The WSS includes an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) component, and the AWG component includes a plurality of AWGs stacked in the Y direction. One AWG101 in the AWG component is used to demultiplex the beam to emit a plurality of sub-wavelength beams 102, and the sub-wavelength beams 102 are transmitted to the redirecting component 104 via the lens 103. The transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength beams 105 redirected by the redirecting component 104 is deflected by the lens 103 and transmitted to another AWG106 in the AWG component, and the multiple sub-wavelength beams 105 are multiplexed by the AWG106 to output .

Using multiple AWGs stacked along the Y direction, it is necessary to avoid the mutual influence between multiple stacked AWGs, and improve the processing technology of stacking multiple AWGs along the Y direction. Moreover, the more AWG layers, the more the processing technology The higher the requirements of the WSS, which limits the number of AWGs included in the WSS, and increases the difficulty of expanding the number of AWGs.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides an optical switching device, a redirection method, a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer and a system, which are used to reduce the difficulty of processing and reduce the difficulty of expanding the number of inverse multiplexer components.

The first aspect of the present application provides an optical switching device, including N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, a waveguide array, and a redirection component; where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements are in the same plane Arranged, a plurality of waveguides included in the waveguide array are respectively coupled to the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and the end of the multiple waveguides close to the redirecting component has an N-layer waveguide structure, wherein the same multiplexing and demultiplexing element is coupled at In the N-layer waveguide structure of the same layer of waveguides, different the multiplexing and demultiplexing elements are coupled to different layers of waveguides located in the N-layer waveguide structure; A light beam is demultiplexed into multiple sub-wavelength light beams, and each of the sub-wavelength light beams is transmitted to a first waveguide included in the waveguide array, and the multiple sub-wavelength light beams are transmitted to the redirecting component through a plurality of the first waveguides The redirection component is used to transmit the multiple sub-wavelength beams after redirection to multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array; the multiple second waveguides are used to transmit the multiple sub-wavelength beams after the redirection To the second multiplexer and demultiplexer element included in the N multiplexer and demultiplexer elements, the second multiplexer and demultiplexer element is used to multiplex the redirected multiple sub-wavelength beams into at least one beam, and output the multiplexed The at least one light beam.

It can be seen that because the multiple multiplexing and demultiplexing elements used to multiplex and demultiplex the light beams are arranged in the same plane, there is no need to stack multiple multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and because the optical switching device does not need to be equipped with spatial optical The volume grating element reduces the overall size of the optical switching device, thereby reducing the difficulty and cost of assembling the optical switching device. One end of the waveguide array is coupled with multiple multiplexing and demultiplexing components, and the other end is an N-layer waveguide structure, so that the waveguide array can effectively ensure that the sub-wavelength beams redirected by the redirecting component are transmitted to the multiplexing and demultiplexing components for multiplexing. , Improve the transmission accuracy of the sub-beam to the multiplexer and demultiplexer after redirecting the transmission direction, and effectively reduce the crosstalk. In the scenario where the optical switching device is required to support the multiplexing and demultiplexing of more light beams, it is only necessary to add more multiplexer and demultiplexer elements in the same plane, and set up the coupling with the newly added multiplexer and demultiplexer elements in the waveguide array. The waveguide can be realized, which reduces the difficulty of increasing the multiplexing and demultiplexing of supporting more light beams, and can adapt to more application scenarios.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the ends of the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements coupled to the waveguide array include M ports, where M is equal to the number of waveguides in the waveguide array.

It can be seen that when the number of ports included in the ends of the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements coupled with the waveguide array is equal to the number of waveguides included in the waveguide array, it can effectively ensure demultiplexing via the multiplexing and demultiplexing elements. The subsequent sub-wavelength beams are successfully transmitted to the redirecting component through the waveguide array for redirection, and it can also ensure that the sub-wavelength beams redirected by the redirecting component can be successfully transmitted to the multiplexing and demultiplexing components for multiplexing. The ground ensures the deflection of the optical signal transmission direction by the optical switching device.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the N-layer waveguide structure is arranged in the stacked N first planes, the waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in the second plane, and the first plane is vertical In the second plane.

It can be seen that through the stacked N-layer waveguide structure, the waveguide array can effectively ensure that the sub-wavelength beams redirected by the redirecting component are transmitted to the multiplexing and demultiplexing elements for multiplexing, which improves the transmission direction of the sub-beams. The accuracy of the transmission to the multiplexer and demultiplexer components after redirection effectively reduces the crosstalk.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the optical switching device further includes a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the lens assembly is used to change the plurality of sub-directions after the redirection. The transmission direction of the wavelength light beam is such that the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams emitted from the lens assembly are incident on the multiple second waveguides.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength beams after the redirection from the lens assembly is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly, and the multiple second waveguides are close to The end of the lens assembly is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly.

It can be seen that when the optical switching device is provided with a lens assembly, the end of the second waveguide close to the lens assembly is directly arranged in a structure parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly to realize the redirection of the output from the lens assembly. The purpose of aligning the transmission directions of the subsequent multiple sub-wavelength light beams with the end of the second waveguide near the lens assembly reduces the difficulty of fabricating the waveguide array.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, any one of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and any one of the plurality of first waveguides There is an angle between the waveguides, so that the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams emitted from the redirecting component are incident on the multiple second waveguides.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, any one of the second waveguides of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and any one of the first waveguides of the plurality of first waveguides There is a first included angle therebetween, and a second included angle exists between the sub-wavelength beam emitted from the redirecting component and the normal of the redirecting component, and the first included angle is equal to the second included angle.

It can be seen that because there is no need to provide a lens assembly, the number of devices included in the optical switching device is effectively reduced, thereby effectively reducing the size of the optical switching device, reducing the assembly process, and reducing the cost.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the optical switching device further includes a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the end face of the N-layer waveguide structure close to the lens assembly is located at the The front focal plane of the lens assembly.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the distance between any two adjacent waveguides included in the waveguide array is greater than or equal to a first preset value.

It can be seen that when the distance between any two adjacent waveguides is greater than or equal to the first preset value, any two adjacent waveguides will not cross or be too close, which effectively avoids the difference between different waveguides. When crosstalk occurs between the two, the accuracy of deflection of the transmission direction of the optical signal is improved.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure, or the plurality of first waveguides are located in the N-layer waveguide structure close to the Any layer of the middle layer.

It can be seen that the difference between the incident angle of the sub-wavelength beam entering the redirection component and the exit angle of the sub-wavelength beam exiting the redirection component can be reduced, thereby effectively reducing the insertion loss of the redirection component.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of first waveguides is greater than or equal to a second preset value, so that the plurality of first waveguides The multiple sub-wavelength light beams transmitted to the redirecting component are collimated light beams.

It can be seen that when the cross-sectional area of the first waveguide is greater than or equal to the second preset value, the insertion loss in the process of deflecting the transmission direction of the light beam can be effectively reduced, and there is no need to intervene between the waveguide array and the redirecting component. A lens for collimating the light beam is arranged in the middle, thereby reducing the number of devices included in the optical switching device, reducing the cost, and reducing the difficulty of the assembly process.

With reference to the first aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the redirection component includes multiple redirection areas for redirecting the multiple sub-wavelength beams, and the redirection area is used for the multiple sub-wavelength beams. The transmission direction of the light beam is deflected, and the multiple sub-wavelength light beams redirected through the redirection area are transmitted to the corresponding multiple second waveguides.

The second aspect of the present application provides a redirection method, which is applied to an optical switching device,

The optical switching device includes N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, a waveguide array, and a redirection component; where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements are arranged in the same plane. The waveguide array includes multiple The waveguides are respectively coupled to the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and the ends of the multiple waveguides close to the redirection component are in an N-layer waveguide structure, wherein the same multiplexing and demultiplexing element is coupled to the same layer in the N-layer waveguide structure. A waveguide, where the different multiplexing and demultiplexing elements are coupled to different layers of waveguides in the N-layer waveguide structure; at least one light beam is demultiplexed into a plurality of sub-wavelength light beams by the first multiplexing and demultiplexing element among the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements , And transmit each of the sub-wavelength light beams to a first waveguide included in the waveguide array through the first combining and demultiplexing element; transmit the multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the redirection component through a plurality of the first waveguides; The redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams are transmitted to the multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array through the redirecting component; the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after being redirected are transmitted to the N combined light beams through the second waveguide. The second multiplexing and demultiplexing element included in the demultiplexing element; the multiple sub-wavelength beams after the redirection are multiplexed into at least one light beam by the multiple second multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and the beam is output through the second multiplexing and demultiplexing element The at least one light beam after multiplexing.

Please refer to the description of the first aspect for the specific implementation process and the beneficial effects of the redirection method shown in this aspect, and will not be repeated.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the ends of the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements coupled to the waveguide array include M ports, where M is equal to the number of waveguides in the waveguide array.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the N-layer waveguide structure is arranged in the stacked N first planes, the waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in the second plane, and the first plane is vertical In the second plane.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the optical switching device further includes a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the method further includes: changing the redirection through the lens assembly. The transmission direction of the subsequent multiple sub-wavelength light beams makes the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams emitted from the lens assembly enter the multiple second waveguides.

In combination with the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after the redirection emitted from the lens assembly is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly, and the multiple second waveguides are close to The end of the lens assembly is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, any one of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and any one of the plurality of first waveguides There is an angle between the waveguides, so that the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams emitted from the redirecting component are incident on the multiple second waveguides.

In combination with the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, any one of the second waveguides of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and any one of the first waveguides of the plurality of first waveguides There is a first included angle therebetween, and a second included angle exists between the sub-wavelength beam emitted from the redirecting component and the normal of the redirecting component, and the first included angle is equal to the second included angle.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the optical switching device further includes a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the end face of the N-layer waveguide structure close to the lens assembly is located at the The front focal plane of the lens assembly.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the distance between any two adjacent waveguides included in the waveguide array is greater than or equal to a first preset value.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure, or the plurality of first waveguides are located in the N-layer waveguide structure close to the Any layer of the middle layer.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of first waveguides is greater than or equal to a second preset value, so that the plurality of first waveguides The multiple sub-wavelength light beams transmitted to the redirecting component are collimated light beams.

With reference to the second aspect of the present application, in an optional implementation manner, the redirection component includes multiple redirection regions for redirecting the multiple sub-wavelength beams, and the redirection component is used to redirect the The transmission of the plurality of sub-wavelength beams to the plurality of second waveguides included in the waveguide array includes: deflecting the transmission direction of the plurality of sub-wavelength beams through the redirection area, and the plurality of sub-wavelength beams redirected through the redirection area The light beam is transmitted to the corresponding plurality of second waveguides.

A third aspect of the present application provides a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer, which includes a plurality of optical switching devices, and different optical switching devices are connected by optical fibers. The optical switching device is as shown in the above-mentioned first aspect, I won’t go into details for details.

The fourth aspect of the present application provides an optical communication network, which includes a plurality of reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers, and different reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers are connected by optical fibers. The insertion multiplexer is as shown in the third aspect above, and details are not described in detail.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a structural example diagram of a wavelength selective switch provided by the prior art;

Figure 2 is a structural example diagram of ROADM provided by this application;

FIG. 3 is an example diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the optical switching device provided by this application;

FIG. 4 is a top view structural example diagram of an embodiment of the optical switching device provided by this application;

5 is a side view of the first N-layer waveguide structure with the XY plane as the view plane;

6 is another side view of the first N-layer waveguide structure with the XY plane as the view plane;

Figure 7 is a side view of the optical switching device with the YZ plane as the viewing plane;

Figure 8 is an example diagram of the end face structure of the redirecting component when the XY plane is used as the view plane;

FIG. 9 is an example diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of an optical switching device provided by this application;

Figure 10 is another side view of the optical switching device with the YZ plane as the viewing plane;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the steps of an embodiment of the redirection method provided by this application;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the steps of another embodiment of the redirection method provided by this application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the optical communication network provided by this application.

Detailed ways

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. 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.

First, the structure of the ROADM provided by this application will be described with reference to FIG. 2, where FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of the structure of the ROADM provided by this application.

This embodiment does not limit the specific network structure of the ROADM. For example, the ROADM may adopt a network structure such as a chain, ring, or mesh network. As shown in FIG. 2, the network structure of the ROADM adopts a mesh network as an example. illustrate.

In this embodiment, the ROADM includes eight WSSs (that is, WSS1, WSS2 to WSS8) as an example, and the eight WSSs are located at different positions. This embodiment does not make any distinction on the number of WSSs included in the ROADM and the location where each WSS is located. limited. The WSSs located at different positions are used to deflect the transmission direction of the optical signal, so as to realize the flexible scheduling of the optical signal. The different positions shown in this embodiment may refer to different directions in N dimensions, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

Taking WSS1 as an example, WSS1 can transmit optical signals to any WSS included in the ROADM that is connected to WSS1 through optical fibers to realize the deflection of the transmission direction of the optical signals in different dimensions. For example, as shown in this embodiment In the ROADM, WSS4, WSS6, and WSS8 are connected to the WSS1 through optical fibers, and the WSS1 can transmit optical signals to any one of WSS4, WSS6, and WSS8. In this embodiment, the WSS1 is connected to WSS4, WSS6, and WSS8 through optical fibers as an example for illustrative description, and is not limited. In other examples, the WSS1 can also be connected to any of WSS2, WSS3, WSS5, and WSS7 included in ROADM. WSS is connected by optical fiber.

The following continues to take WSS1 and WSS4 as examples to describe the process of deflection of the transmission direction of the optical signal:

The optical signal transmitted along the first direction 201 is input to WSS1 through the input port of WSS1, the optical signal is redirected through WSS1, and the optical signal is transmitted to WSS4 through the optical fiber through the output port of WSS1, and the light output from the output port of WSS4 The signal is transmitted in the second direction 202 to achieve the purpose of switching the transmission direction of the optical signal from the first direction 201 to the second direction 202 to deflect.

The structure of the optical switching device provided by the present application will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In which, FIG. 3 is an example diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the optical switching device provided by this application, and FIG. 4 is the application An example diagram of a top view structure of an embodiment of the provided optical switching device.

In this embodiment, the optical switching device is taken as an example of a WSS. With reference to FIG. 2, the optical switching device is specifically taken as an example of a WSS1. The WSS300 shown in this embodiment includes N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements (310, 320, 330), a waveguide array 302, and a redirection component 303.

In this embodiment, the multiplexer and demultiplexer components are AWG, and N multiplexer and demultiplexer components (310, 320, 330) are arranged on a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) chip 301, and N on the PLC chip The two combining and demultiplexing components (310, 320, 330) are realized by PLC. In addition, the arrangement of N combining and demultiplexing elements in the same target plane is taken as an example for illustrative description, which is not limited. In other examples, the combining and demultiplexing elements may also be echell gratings, and the N combining and demultiplexing elements may be echell gratings. The wave element is arranged on the silicon optical chip, so that the N multiplexer and demultiplexer elements are arranged in the same target plane.

First, the structure of the PLC chip 301 is explained:

The PLC chip 301 is provided with N AWGs. Specifically, the PLC chip 301 shown in this embodiment includes one or more first AWGs, and also includes one or more second AWGs. Wherein, the first AWG is used to input optical signals to WSS300, the port included in the end of the first AWG away from the redirection component 303 is an input port for inputting optical signals, and the first AWG faces the heavy The port included in the end of the directional component 303 is an output port used to transmit the optical signal to the redirection component 303. The second AWG is used to output from the WSS300 the optical signal whose transmission direction has been deflected by the WSS300, and the port included in the end of the second AWG facing the redirection component 303 is an input port, and the second AWG is away from the The end included in the end of the redirecting component 303 is an output port. The optical path on the AWG may be bidirectional. For example, the input port of the first AWG may also be an output port, and the output port of the first AWG may also be an input port.

This embodiment does not limit the specific value of N, as long as N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and it is ensured that at least one first AWG and at least one second AWG are provided on the PLC chip 301. For example, in this embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the WSS300 includes 3 AWGs as an example. Taking Figure 4 as an example, the WSS300 includes 6 AWGs.

The N AWGs shown in this embodiment are used to implement the WSS function of A*B, where A refers to the number of input ports included in all first AWGs used to input optical signals to the WSS, and B refers to The number of output ports included in all second AWGs used to output optical signals from WSS. This embodiment does not limit the specific numbers of A and B, as long as A and B are positive integers greater than or equal to 1 respectively. Taking Figure 3 as an example, the number of A is one, which can realize the purpose of inputting one beam to WSS300, and the number of B is two, which can realize the output of beams deflected in two transmission directions from WSS300. the goal of.

Secondly, the setting method of N AWGs will be explained:

The WSS300 shown in this embodiment is located in a three-dimensional coordinate system, which includes an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis that are perpendicular to each other. The three-dimensional coordinate system has three planes, namely the XY plane extending in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction at the same time, the YZ plane extending in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction at the same time, and the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction extending at the same time. XZ plane.

The PLC chip 301 shown in this embodiment is located in the target plane, so that the three AWGs included in the PLC chip 301 can be arranged in the same target plane. In this embodiment, the arrangement of multiple AWGs in the target plane It is not limited, for example, multiple AWGs can be arranged in parallel along the same direction in the target plane. This embodiment does not limit the specific position of the target plane, as long as all AWGs included in the WSS300 are arranged in the target plane. For example, the target plane is an XZ plane. Another example is that the target plane is any plane parallel to the XZ plane. For another example, the target plane is a plane with a certain angle between the XZ plane. The specific size of the included angle is not limited. For example, the included angle can be any angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees. For another example, the target plane is a YZ plane or any plane parallel to the YZ plane. For another example, the target plane is a plane with a certain angle between the YZ plane, and the included angle may also be greater than 0 degrees and Any angle less than 90 degrees.

In this embodiment, the target plane is an XZ plane or a plane parallel to the XZ plane as an example for illustration. It can be seen that in this embodiment, a plurality of AWGs are arranged side by side along the X axis in the target plane.

For a better understanding, the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction and Z-axis direction are described below:

The X-axis direction shown in this embodiment can also be referred to as the wavelength direction or the dispersion direction, and the Y-axis direction can also be referred to as the port direction or the switching direction. The details are made with reference to different devices included in the optical switching device. definition:

Definition 1

Taking the first AWG310 used to input the optical signal into the WSS300 as a reference, the input port (not shown in the figure) of the first AWG310 is used to receive the light beam from the waveguide 312, and the first AWG310 is used to carry out the light beam. demultiplexing beams to form a plurality of sub-wavelength, is formed as the sub-beam has a wavelength λ _1, the sub-beam having a wavelength λ _2, and so on, forming a sub-beam having a wavelength λ ₄ of the present example comprises four output first AWG310 The port is taken as an example. That is, the first AWG 310 demultiplexes the light beam from the waveguide 312 into four sub-wavelength light beams with different wavelengths, namely, λ ₁ , λ ₂ , λ ₃ and λ _{4 are} different from each other. The 4 sub-wavelength light beams are respectively transmitted through 4 waveguides 313 coupled with the 4 output ports of the first AWG 310. The X-axis direction is the arrangement direction of the waveguide 313 coupled with the output port of the first AWG or the arrangement direction of the plurality of output ports included in the first AWG 310. The Z-axis direction is the transmission direction of the light beam transmitted by the waveguide 312, and the Y-axis direction is the direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, respectively.

It should be clear that this embodiment takes the first AWG310 to receive one beam as an example for illustrative description. In other examples, the first AWG310 can also receive two or two through two or more input ports. Multiple beams above.

Definition 2

Taking the redirection component 303 as a reference, the Z-axis direction is the transmission direction of the light beam transmitted by the waveguide 312, and the X-direction is the multiple sub-wavelength optical signals demultiplexed from the same AWG (such as the first AWG310). In the arrangement direction of the light spots formed on the component 303, the Y-axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, respectively. If the redirecting component 303 is a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) chip, the redirecting component 303 is loaded with a phase grating to generate a diffracted light beam to transmit to the waveguide array 302 in the YZ plane. If the redirecting component 303 is a liquid crystal (liquid crystal) array chip or a microelectromechanical system (MEMS), the generated deflected light beam is transmitted to the waveguide array 302 in the YZ plane.

The following describes the process of how the multiple sub-wavelength beams demultiplexed by the first AWG 310 are transmitted to the redirection component 303:

The waveguide array 302 shown in this embodiment is used to transmit multiple sub-wavelength light beams from the first AWG 310 to the redirecting component 303 to realize the deflection of the transmission direction of each sub-wavelength light beam. The following is based on the three-dimensional coordinate system shown above , The specific structure of the waveguide array 302 provided in this embodiment will be described:

The multiple waveguides included in the waveguide array 302 are respectively coupled to the N AWGs. Specifically, the number of waveguides included in the waveguide array 302 is not limited in this embodiment, as long as the waveguide array 302 is coupled to the first end of the AWG. The number of waveguides included may be equal to the number of ports included in the ends of all AWGs included in the WSS that are coupled to the waveguide array 302. As shown in this embodiment, the first end includes M waveguides, and all the ends where the AWG included in the WSS are coupled to the waveguide array 302 also include M ports.

In this embodiment, the number of waveguides included in the waveguide array 302 is equal to the number of ports included in the ends of all AWGs included in the WSS that are coupled to the waveguide array 302 as an example. In other examples, the waveguide array 302 The number of waveguides included can also be greater than the number of ports included in the ends of all AWGs included in the WSS that are coupled to the waveguide array 302, so that when an AWG is subsequently added to the WSS, the changes to the waveguide array 302 are reduced.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the multiple waveguides included in the first end portion of the waveguide array 302 shown in this embodiment are arranged in the target plane shown above. It can be seen from the above that multiple AWGs are also The arrangement in the target plane effectively ensures that the plurality of waveguides included in the first end portion can be coupled with N AWGs respectively, and effectively improves the stability of the coupling structure of the waveguides included in the waveguide array 302 and the AWG.

It should be clear that this embodiment does not limit the specific structure of the first end. In other examples, the multiple waveguides included in the first end may also be located in any plane different from the target plane, as long as the The multiple waveguides included in the first end may be coupled with N AWGs respectively.

The waveguide array 302 has an N-layer waveguide structure toward the second end of the redirecting component 303. In this embodiment, when the WSS300 includes a lens component and the WSS300 does not include a lens component, the N-layer waveguide structure is different. For a better distinction, as follows when the WSS300 includes a lens component, the The second end has a first N-layer waveguide structure. In the case that the WSS300 does not include a lens assembly, the second end has a second N-layer waveguide structure as an example for description:

The following takes the WSS300 including the lens assembly as an example for illustration:

First, explain the position of the lens assembly:

As shown in FIG. 3, the lens component 304 shown in this embodiment is located between the waveguide array 302 and the redirecting component 303. Specifically, the end faces of the waveguides included in the waveguide array 302 facing the redirecting component 303 are located The front focal plane of the lens assembly 304 is along the Z axis, and the distance between the redirection assembly 303 and the lens assembly 304 is equal to the focal length of the lens assembly 304. This embodiment does not limit the number of lenses included in the lens assembly 304, that is, the lens assembly 304 may include one or more lenses. In this embodiment, the lens assembly 304 includes one lens as an example for illustration.

It should be clear that the description of the positional relationship between the waveguide array 302 and the lens assembly 304 in this embodiment is an optional example and is not limited, as long as the lens assembly 304 can transmit the sub-waves transmitted by the first waveguide of the waveguide array 302 The wavelength beam can be transmitted to the redirecting component 303.

Specifically, the lens assembly 304 shown in this embodiment is a plano-convex lens, that is, the side of the lens assembly 304 facing the redirecting assembly 303 has a convex lens structure, and the side of the lens assembly 304 facing the waveguide array 302 has a flat lens structure. It should be clear that the description of the lens assembly 304 in this embodiment is an optional example and is not limited.

Next, the first N-layer waveguide structure will be described:

The number of waveguide layers included in the first N-layer waveguide structure is N, and the number of layers included in the first N-layer waveguide structure shown in this embodiment is equal to the number of AWGs included in the WSS300, and the first N-layer waveguide structure The N-layer waveguide structure realizes the transmission of optical signals between the N AWGs and the redirection component 303. Specifically, the same AWG is coupled to the same layer of waveguides located in the first N-layer waveguide structure, and different AWGs are coupled to the different layer of waveguides located in the first N-layer waveguide structure.

For example, an example is shown in conjunction with FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 7, where FIG. 5 is a side view of the first N-layer waveguide structure when the XY plane is used as the view plane. Fig. 7 is a side view of the WSS with the YZ plane as the view plane. As shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that the WSS300 includes three AWGs. As shown in FIG. 7, the second end of the waveguide array 302 includes a three-layer waveguide structure, and each layer of the waveguide structure includes multiple waveguides.

For example, the second-layer waveguide structure 501 in the three-layer waveguide structure is coupled with the first AWG 310 shown in FIG. 3, that is, the multiple first waveguides included in the second-layer waveguide structure 501 are coupled with the output port of the first AWG 310. In this embodiment, among the multiple waveguides included in the waveguide array, the waveguide coupled to the first AWG 310 is used as the first waveguide. Specifically, for example, the first AWG includes four output ports, and the four second ones coupled to the four ports When a waveguide takes the XY plane as the viewing plane, the cross-section of the four first waveguides close to the redirection component 303 is as shown in the second-layer waveguide structure 501 shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the YZ plane is used as the view plane, the N-layer waveguide structure included in the second end portion is arranged in N first planes. In this example, N is equal to 3 as an example. A plane is parallel to the XZ plane. The waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in a second plane, which is an XY plane, that is, the first plane shown in this embodiment is perpendicular to the second plane.

The following continues to describe the coupling relationship of the second end:

The multiple second waveguides included in the first-layer waveguide structure 502 shown in FIG. 5 are coupled with the second AWG320 shown in FIG. 3, and the multiple second waveguides included in the third-layer waveguide structure 503 are coupled with those shown in FIG. The second AWG330 is coupled. In this embodiment, the specific layer of waveguide structure where each AWG is coupled to the second end of the waveguide array 302 is not limited, as long as different AWGs are coupled to different layers of waveguides.

As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 5, the second end includes different layers of waveguides for coupling different AWGs, in the XY plane as the view plane, arranged along the Y axis as an example, that is, for coupling different AWGs Different layers of waveguides correspond to different coordinates on the Y axis, and the same layer of waveguides correspond to different coordinates on the X axis. It should be clear that Figure 5 shows an optional description of the arrangement of the second end, which is not limited. For example, as shown in Figure 6, in the XY plane as the view plane, the second end is used for coupling different As an example, the different layers of waveguides of the AWG are arranged along the X-axis direction, that is, the first layer of waveguide 601, the second layer of waveguide 602, and the third layer of waveguide 603 included in the second end are respectively used to couple the three layers shown in FIG. Different AWGs, as shown in Figure 6, are used to couple different layers of waveguides to different AWGs, corresponding to different coordinates on the X axis, and the same layer of waveguides correspond to different coordinates on the Y axis. It should be clarified that when the waveguides of different layers used to couple different AWGs in the second end are arranged along the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction is called the wavelength direction or the dispersion direction, and the X-axis direction is called the port direction or exchange. direction.

This embodiment does not limit the structure of the waveguide located between the first end and the second end in the waveguide array 302. As long as the waveguide located between the first end and the second end, the first Each waveguide included in the end portion may be coupled to each waveguide included in the second end portion.

Optionally, among the M waveguides included in the waveguide array 302, the distance between any two adjacent waveguides is greater than or equal to a first preset value, and the specific size of the first preset value is different in this embodiment. As a limitation, as long as the distance between any two adjacent waveguides is greater than or equal to the first preset value, any two adjacent waveguides will not cross or be too close, effectively avoiding different waveguides When crosstalk occurs between the two, the accuracy of deflection of the transmission direction of the optical signal is improved. For example, if the material of the waveguide is silicon dioxide, the first preset value is 15 microns (um), and if the material of the waveguide is polymer (polymer), the first preset value is 10 um.

In this embodiment, the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength beam transmitted to the redirecting component 303 through the first waveguide is aligned with the optical axis of the lens component 304, so that the lens component 304 does not change the output from the first waveguide. The transmission direction of the sub-wavelength light beam is shown in FIG. 7 as an example. The sub-wavelength light beam 701 emitted from the first waveguide is transmitted to the redirecting component 303 through the lens component 304.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength light beam transmitted by the first waveguide to the redirection component 303 is aligned with the optical axis of the lens component 304 as an example for illustrative description, which is not limited. In other examples, There may also be an angle between the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength beam transmitted from the first waveguide to the redirecting component 303 and the optical axis of the lens component 304, so that the lens component 304 changes the sub-wavelength emitted from the first waveguide. The transmission direction of the wavelength light beam only needs to be as long as the lens assembly 304 can transmit the sub-wavelength light beam transmitted by the first waveguide to the redirecting assembly 303.

The redirection component 303 shown in this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 8, where FIG. 8 shows an example of the structure of the end face of the redirection component 303 facing the waveguide array 302 when the XY plane is used as the view plane. . In this embodiment, the redirection component is an LCoS as an example for illustrative description.

The end surface of the redirecting component 303 facing the waveguide array 302 includes a plurality of redirecting regions, and the number of pixels included in each redirecting region is not limited in this embodiment. The number of redirection regions shown in this embodiment is equal to the number of sub-wavelength beams to be deflected in the transmission direction. With reference to the example shown in FIG. 3, in the case where the first AWG 310 transmits four sub-wavelength beams to the redirection component 303 The redirection component 303 includes four redirection areas ( redirection areas 801, 802, 803, and 804 as shown in FIG. 8). In order to deflect the transmission direction of each sub-wavelength beam, voltage can be applied to the redirection area. Due to the birefringence effect of the redirection component 303, the redirection area with different voltages corresponds to different phase delays, so you only need to change the weight. The voltage applied to the directional area can control the exit angle of the reorientation area after deflecting the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength beam. Sub-wavelength beams with different exit angles can be transmitted to different second AWGs. . The emergence angle shown in this embodiment refers to the emergence angle of the sub-wavelength beam from the redirection component 303 when the YZ plane is taken as the view plane.

For example, by applying voltage to the redirection area 801 and the redirection area 802, the redirected sub-wavelength beams whose transmission direction is deflected are transmitted to the second AWG320 after being redirected through the redirection area 801 and the redirection area 802 respectively. For another example, by applying a voltage to the redirection area 803 and the redirection area 804, the redirected sub-wavelength beam whose transmission direction is deflected is transmitted to the second AWG330 after being redirected through the redirection area 803 and the redirection area 804, respectively. . It should be clarified that the description of the second AWG that receives the redirected sub-wavelength beams in this embodiment is an optional example and is not limited. For example, the redirecting component 303 may also redirect all the redirected sub-wavelength beams. All are transmitted to the second AWG320. For another example, the redirecting component 303 can also transmit all the redirected sub-wavelength beams to the second AWG330.

Optionally, in order to reduce the insertion loss in the process of deflecting the transmission direction of the light beam, the cross-sectional area of the first waveguide shown in this embodiment is greater than or equal to a second preset value, so that the first waveguide faces the The sub-wavelength beam transmitted by the redirecting component 303 is a collimated beam, thereby effectively increasing the size of the spot formed by the sub-wavelength beam irradiating the redirecting area of the redirecting component 303, thereby effectively reducing the insertion loss. Moreover, when the cross-sectional area of the first waveguide is greater than or equal to the second preset value, there is no need to provide a lens for collimating the light beam between the first waveguide and the redirecting component 303 in the WSS3000, thereby reducing The number of devices included in the WSS reduces the cost and the difficulty of the assembly process. This embodiment does not limit the size of the second preset value. For example, the second preset value is 40. Specifically, the length of the first waveguide along the Y-axis direction is greater than or equal to 2um, and the first waveguide If the length along the X direction is greater than or equal to 20 um, the cross-sectional area of the first waveguide is greater than or equal to 40 square micrometers (μm ² ).

It can be seen from the above that the multiple first waveguides coupled to the same first AWG310 are located on the same layer in the second end of the waveguide array 302. Optionally, the first waveguide coupled to the first AWG310 shown in this embodiment is The plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer in the N-layer waveguide structure, or the plurality of first waveguides coupled with the first AWG 310 are located in any layer close to the middle layer in the N-layer waveguide structure.

In the example shown in Figures 3 and 5, when the WSS300 includes 3 AWGs, the multiple first waveguides coupled to the first AWG310 are located on the second layer in the 3-layer waveguide structure (ie, as shown in Figure 5). 501). In the example shown in FIG. 4, when the WSS includes 6 AWGs, the multiple first waveguides coupled with the first AWG 310 are in the third or fourth layer of the 6-layer waveguide structure.

Taking the YZ plane as the view plane, when multiple first waveguides coupled to the same first AWG are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure or any layer close to the middle layer, the incidence of sub-wavelength beams can be reduced. The difference between the incident angle of the redirecting component 303 and the exit angle of the sub-wavelength beam from the redirecting component 304, thereby effectively reducing the insertion loss of the redirecting component.

The process of transmitting the sub-wavelength light beam to the second AWG after deflecting the transmission direction by the redirecting component 303 is described below:

As shown in FIG. 3, the sub-wavelength beam 306 redirected by the redirecting component 303 (that is, shown by the dashed arrow shown in FIG. 3) is transmitted to the lens component 304, and the lens component 304 faces the end of the redirecting component 303 Part is a convex lens structure, the lens assembly 304 can change the transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength beams 306 after the redirection, so that the transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength beams emitted from the lens assembly 304 and the second waveguide Close to the end of the lens assembly 304 is aligned to effectively ensure that the multiple sub-wavelength beams emitted from the lens assembly 304 are incident on a plurality of second waveguides. The second waveguide is included in the waveguide array 302 and is used to communicate with the second waveguide AWG coupled waveguide.

For a better understanding, continue to combine the examples shown in Figures 7 and 8, after the sub-wavelength beam 702 redirected by the redirection area 801 is used for transmission to the second AWG320, the transmission direction is changed by the lens assembly 304. The outgoing sub-wavelength beam 703 is aligned with a second waveguide included in the first-layer waveguide structure 502, so that the second waveguide can transmit the sub-wavelength beam 703 to the second AWG 320. For another example, the sub-wavelength beam 704 redirected by the redirection area 803 is used for transmission to the second AWG 330, and the sub-wavelength beam 705 emitted after changing the transmission direction through the lens assembly 304 and the third layer waveguide structure 503 include A second waveguide is aligned so that the second waveguide can transmit the sub-wavelength beam 705 to the second AWG330.

In order to realize that the sub-wavelength beams emitted from the lens assembly 304 can be successfully transmitted to the second waveguide, the redirected multiple sub-wavelength beams emitted from the lens assembly 304 shown in this embodiment (as shown in FIG. 7 The transmission direction of the sub-wavelength beam 703 and the sub-wavelength beam 705) is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly 304, and the end of the second waveguide included in the waveguide array 302 close to the lens assembly 304 is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly, and then This effectively ensures that when the XY plane is used as the view plane, the redirected multiple sub-wavelength beams emitted from the lens assembly 304 can be aligned with the multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array 302, thereby effectively ensuring The second waveguide can successfully transmit the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams emitted from the lens assembly 304 to the second AWG.

Continuing to refer to Figures 3 and 4, multiple second waveguides coupled with the second AWG320 are used to transmit multiple sub-wavelength beams after redirection to the second AWG320, and the second AWG320 is used to The multiple sub-wavelength light beams are multiplexed into at least one light beam, and the multiplexed at least one light beam is output. In this embodiment, taking the second AWG 320 multiplexing multiple sub-wavelength beams into one beam as an example, the second AWG 320 can output the beam through the output waveguide 321 coupled to the output port. Optionally, the output waveguide 321 is a part of the second AWG320. Alternatively, the output waveguide 321 may also be an independent waveguide for coupling with the output port of the second AWG320. For the description of the output beams of other second AWGs included in the WSS, please refer to the description of the second AWG320, which will not be repeated in detail.

With the optical switching device shown in this embodiment, since multiple multiplexing and demultiplexing elements for multiplexing and demultiplexing light beams are arranged in the same target plane, there is no need to stack multiple multiplexing and demultiplexing elements. In addition, because the optical switching device shown in this embodiment does not need to be provided with spatial optical volume grating elements, the overall size of the optical switching device is reduced, thereby reducing the difficulty and cost of assembling the optical switching device.

One end of the waveguide array shown in this embodiment is coupled with multiple combining and splitting elements, and the other end is an N-layer waveguide structure, so that the waveguide array can effectively ensure that the sub-wavelength beams redirected by the redirecting component are transmitted to the combining and splitting elements. The multiplexing of the wave elements improves the accuracy of the sub-beam transmission to the multiplexing and demultiplexing elements after redirecting the transmission direction of the sub-beams, and effectively reduces the crosstalk.

In the scenario where the optical switching device is required to support the multiplexing and demultiplexing of more light beams, it is only necessary to add more multiplexer and demultiplexer components in the same target plane, and set up couplings with the newly added multiplexer and demultiplexer components in the waveguide array The waveguide can be realized, which reduces the difficulty of increasing the multiplexing and demultiplexing of supporting more light beams, and can adapt to more application scenarios.

The following describes the WSS900 provided by this embodiment without the lens assembly in conjunction with FIG. 9, where FIG. 9 is an example diagram of the overall structure of another embodiment of the WSS provided by this application:

For the specific description of the PLC chip 301 and the redirection component 303 shown in this embodiment, please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment for details, and the details will not be repeated. The description of the structure of the first end of the waveguide array 901 shown in this embodiment can be referred to as shown in FIG. 3, and the details are not repeated. The structure of the second end of the waveguide array 901 shown in this embodiment in the second N-layer waveguide structure will be described below;

The waveguide array 901 includes a first waveguide coupled with the first AWG 310 and a second waveguide coupled with the second AWG (320 or 330). For a detailed description of the first AWG and the second AWG, please refer to the diagram shown in Figure 3 The specific embodiments are not described in detail. For the description of the first waveguide, please refer to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, and the details will not be repeated.

There is an angle between the end of each second waveguide for coupling with the second AWG shown in this embodiment that is close to the redirection component 303 and the first waveguide. For a better understanding, the following is shown in conjunction with FIG. 10 To illustrate, FIG. 10 is a side view of the WSS when the YZ plane is used as the view plane.

As shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment, the end of the first waveguide 1001 close to the redirecting component 303 is parallel to the normal of the redirecting component 303, so that the first waveguide 1001 can transmit the sub-wavelength light beam to the redirecting component 303. Among the included redirection areas, for a specific description of the redirection area, please refer to Figure 8 for details, and details are not repeated.

Take how to transmit the sub-wavelength beam to the second AWG320 as an example. In the case that the WSS900 is not equipped with a lens assembly, the WSS900 has no device to change the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength beam emitted from the redirecting component 303, so that the second waveguide The sub-wavelength beam can be successfully transmitted to the second AWG320, and when the YZ plane is used as the view plane, the second waveguide 1002 shown in this embodiment is close to the end of the redirecting component 303 and the first waveguide 1001. There is an included angle θ. This embodiment does not limit the specific size of θ, as long as the transmission direction of the redirected sub-wavelength beam 1003 emitted from the redirecting component 303 is close to the redirecting direction of the second waveguide 1002. The ends of the component 303 can be aligned, and the second waveguide 1002 can transmit the sub-wavelength beam 1003 to the second AWG320.

When the YZ plane is used as the view plane, it can be seen that the second N-layer waveguide structure shown in this embodiment is arranged in the first plane of the stacked N. In this embodiment, there may be a certain amount between different first planes.的角。 The included angle. The waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in a second plane, which is an XY plane, and any acute or obtuse angle structure may exist between the first plane and the second plane shown in this embodiment, or, the first plane It is perpendicular to the second plane.

This embodiment does not limit how the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength beam 1003 emitted from the redirecting component 303 is aligned with the end of the second waveguide 1002 close to the redirecting component 303, as long as the sub-wavelength beam 1003 can It can be successfully transmitted to the second waveguide 1002. For example, in order to achieve alignment, there is a first angle between the end of the second waveguide 1002 close to the redirection component 303 and the first waveguide 1001 shown in this embodiment, and the output from the redirection component 303 There is a second included angle between the sub-wavelength beam 1003 and the normal of the redirecting component 303. The first included angle and the second included angle shown in this embodiment are equal to θ, which effectively guarantees The sub-wavelength beam can be successfully transmitted to the second AWG320.

After the second AWG320 receives multiple sub-wavelength beams, it can multiplex the multiple sub-wavelength beams to output the beam. For the specific multiplexing process and the process of outputting the beam, please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment for details, and details are not repeated.

With the optical switching device shown in this embodiment, no lens assembly is required, which effectively reduces the number of devices included in the optical switching device, thereby effectively reducing the size of the optical switching device, reducing the assembly process, and reducing the cost.

Based on the above descriptions shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 7, taking the description that the optical switching device includes the lens assembly, the following describes an execution process of the redirection method with reference to FIG. 11:

Step 1101: The optical switching device demultiplexes at least one light beam into multiple sub-wavelength light beams through the first multiplexing/demultiplexing element.

Step 1102: The optical switching device transmits each sub-wavelength light beam to a first waveguide included in the waveguide array through the first multiplexing and demultiplexing element.

Step 1103: The optical switching device transmits the multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the redirection component through the multiple first waveguides.

Steps 1101 to 1103 shown in this embodiment, specifically how to transmit the sub-wavelength beam to the redirection component through the first multiplexing and demultiplexing element, please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment shown in Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 7 for details. As shown, the details will not be repeated.

Step 1104: The optical switching device changes the transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength beams after redirection through the lens assembly to transmit to the multiple second waveguides.

For the specific description of changing the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength light beam by the lens assembly, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 for details, and details are not repeated here.

Step 1105: The optical switching device transmits the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the second multiplexing/demultiplexing element through multiple second waveguides.

Step 1106: The optical switching device multiplexes the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams into at least one light beam through the second multiplexing/demultiplexing element.

Step 1107: The optical switching device outputs at least one light beam after multiplexing through the second multiplexing/demultiplexing element.

For the process of how the redirected sub-wavelength beam is transmitted to the second multiplexing and demultiplexing element, please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 for details, and details are not described in detail.

For the description of the beneficial effects shown in this embodiment, please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 for details, and details are not repeated here.

Based on the description shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 above, assuming that the optical switching device does not include the lens assembly, the following describes another execution process of the redirection method with reference to FIG. 12:

Step 1201: The optical switching device demultiplexes at least one light beam into a plurality of sub-wavelength light beams through the first multiplexing/demultiplexing element.

Step 1202: The optical switching device transmits each sub-wavelength light beam to a first waveguide included in the waveguide array through the first multiplexing and demultiplexing element.

Step 1203: The optical switching device transmits the multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the redirecting component through the multiple first waveguides.

For the process from step 1201 to step 1203 shown in this embodiment, please refer to step 1101 to step 1103 shown in FIG. 11 for details, and details are not described in detail.

Step 1204: The optical switching device transmits the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array through the redirecting component.

For the specific description of changing the transmission direction of the sub-wavelength light beam by the lens assembly, please refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 for details, and the details are not repeated here.

Step 1205: The optical switching device transmits the redirected multiple sub-wavelength beams to the second multiplexing and demultiplexing element through multiple second waveguides.

Step 1206: The optical switching device multiplexes the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams into at least one light beam through the second multiplexing/demultiplexing element.

Step 1207: The optical switching device outputs at least one light beam after multiplexing through the second multiplexing/demultiplexing element.

For the process from step 1205 to step 1207 shown in this embodiment, please refer to step 1105 to step 1107 shown in FIG. 11 for details, and will not be repeated.

For the description of the beneficial effects shown in this embodiment, please refer to the embodiments shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 for details, and details are not repeated here.

This application also provides a ROADM as shown in Figure 2. For specific description, please refer to Figure 2 above, and will not be repeated.

This application also provides an optical communication network. The structure of the optical communication network 1300 provided by this application will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 13:

The optical communication network 1300 includes multiple ROADMs, such as ROADM1301, ROADM1302, ROADM1303, ROADM1304, and ROADM1305 as shown in FIG. 13. It should be clear that the description of the number of ROADMs included in the optical communication network 1300 in this embodiment is optional The example is not limited.

The optical communication network 1300 also includes an optical fiber connected between two ROADMs. Taking ROADM1301 and ROADM1305 as an example, the optical communication network 1300 also includes an optical fiber 1306 connected between ROADM1301 and ROADM1305. The connection relationship between the included multiple ROADMs is not limited. For the specific description of each ROADM, please refer to the above-mentioned Figure 2 for details, which will not be repeated.

The terms "first", "second", etc. in the description and claims of the application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific sequence or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than the content illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations of them are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or modules is not necessarily limited to those clearly listed. Those steps or modules may include other steps or modules that are not clearly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products, or equipment.

As mentioned above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, but not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions recorded in the embodiments are modified, or some of the technical features are equivalently replaced; these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (26)

1. An optical switching device, characterized in that it comprises N multiplexer and demultiplexer elements, a waveguide array, and a redirection component; said N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and the N multiplexer and demultiplexer elements are arranged in the same plane A plurality of waveguides included in the waveguide array are respectively coupled with the N combining and demultiplexing elements, and the ends of the plurality of waveguides close to the redirection component have an N-layer waveguide structure, wherein the same combining and demultiplexing elements The wave elements are coupled to the same layer of waveguides in the N-layer waveguide structure, and the different combining and demultiplexing elements are coupled to different layers of waveguides in the N-layer waveguide structure;

   The first multiplexing and demultiplexing element of the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements is used to demultiplex at least one light beam into a plurality of sub-wavelength light beams, and transmit each of the sub-wavelength light beams to one of the waveguide arrays. A first waveguide, the plurality of sub-wavelength light beams are transmitted to the redirection component through the plurality of first waveguides;

   The redirection component is used to transmit the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after redirection to the multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array;

   The multiple second waveguides are used for transmitting the redirected multiple sub-wavelength beams to the second multiplexing and demultiplexing elements included in the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and the second multiplexing and demultiplexing elements are used for Multiplexing the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams into at least one light beam, and outputting the multiplexed at least one light beam.
2. The optical switching device according to claim 1, wherein the ends of the N combining and demultiplexing elements coupled with the waveguide array include M ports, wherein M is related to the number of waveguides in the waveguide array. equal.
3. The optical switching device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the N-layer waveguide structures are arranged in the stacked N first planes, the waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in the second plane, and the The first plane is perpendicular to the second plane.
4. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the optical switching device further comprises a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the lens assembly is used for Changing the transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after redirection, so that the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after the redirection emitted from the lens assembly are incident on the multiple second waveguides.
5. The optical switching device according to claim 4, wherein the transmission direction of the plurality of sub-wavelength beams after the redirection emitted from the lens assembly is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly, and the plurality of first The ends of the two waveguides close to the lens assembly are parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly.
6. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein any one of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and the plurality of first waveguides. There is an angle between any one of the first waveguides in the waveguides, so that the multiple sub-wavelength beams after the redirection emitted from the redirection component are incident on the multiple second waveguides.
7. The optical switching device according to claim 6, wherein any one of the second waveguides of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and any one of the first waveguides of the plurality of first waveguides A first included angle exists between a waveguide, a second included angle exists between the sub-wavelength beam emitted from the redirecting component and the normal of the redirecting component, and the first included angle is relative to the second included angle. The two included angles are equal.
8. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the optical switching device further comprises a lens component located between the waveguide array and the redirecting component, and the N-layer waveguide structure The end face close to the lens assembly is located at the front focal plane of the lens assembly.
9. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the distance between any two adjacent waveguides included in the waveguide array is greater than or equal to a first preset value.
10. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure, or the plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure. Any layer of the N-layer waveguide structure close to the intermediate layer.
11. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of first waveguides is greater than or equal to a second preset value, such that The plurality of sub-wavelength light beams transmitted by the plurality of first waveguides to the redirection component are collimated light beams.
12. The optical switching device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the redirection component comprises a plurality of redirection areas for redirecting the plurality of sub-wavelength light beams, and the redirection area It is used to deflect the transmission directions of the multiple sub-wavelength light beams, and the multiple sub-wavelength light beams redirected through the redirection area are transmitted to the corresponding multiple second waveguides.
13. An optical switching method, characterized in that it is applied to an optical switching device, the optical switching device includes N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, a waveguide array, and a redirection component; the N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and the The N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements are arranged in the same plane, the multiple waveguides included in the waveguide array are respectively coupled with the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and the ends of the multiple waveguides close to the redirecting component are N A layer waveguide structure, wherein the same multiplexer/demultiplex element is coupled to the same layer of waveguides located in the N-layer waveguide structure, and different multiplexer/demultiplex elements are coupled to different layer waveguides located in the N-layer waveguide structure;

    At least one light beam is demultiplexed into a plurality of sub-wavelength beams through the first multiplexing and demultiplexing element of the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements, and each of the sub-wavelength beams is transmitted to A first waveguide included in the waveguide array;

    Transmitting the plurality of sub-wavelength light beams to the redirection component through a plurality of the first waveguides;

    Transmitting the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams to multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array through the redirecting component;

    Transmitting the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the second multiplexing and demultiplexing element included in the N multiplexing and demultiplexing elements through the multiple second waveguides;

    The multiple sub-wavelength beams after the redirection are multiplexed into at least one light beam by the second multiplexing and demultiplexing element, and the at least one light beam after multiplexing is output through the second multiplexing and demultiplexing element.
14. The optical switching method according to claim 13, wherein the ends of the N combining and demultiplexing elements coupled with the waveguide array include M ports, where M is related to the number of waveguides in the waveguide array. equal.
15. The optical switching method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the N-layer waveguide structures are arranged in the stacked N first planes, the waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in the second plane, and the waveguide structures of different layers are arranged in the second plane. The first plane is perpendicular to the second plane.
16. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the optical switching device further comprises a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the re The directional component transmitting the redirected multiple sub-wavelength light beams to the multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array includes:

    The transmission direction of the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after the redirection is changed by the lens assembly, so that the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after the redirection emitted from the lens assembly are incident on the multiple second waveguides.
17. The optical switching method according to claim 16, wherein the transmission direction of the plurality of sub-wavelength light beams after the redirection emitted from the lens assembly is parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly, and the plurality of first The ends of the two waveguides close to the lens assembly are parallel to the optical axis of the lens assembly.
18. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein any one of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and the plurality of first waveguides. There is an angle between any one of the first waveguides in the waveguides, so that the multiple sub-wavelength beams after the redirection emitted from the redirection component are incident on the multiple second waveguides.
19. The optical switching method according to claim 18, wherein any one of the second waveguides of the plurality of second waveguides is close to the end of the redirection component and any one of the plurality of first waveguides A first included angle exists between a waveguide, a second included angle exists between the sub-wavelength beam emitted from the redirecting component and the normal of the redirecting component, and the first included angle is relative to the second included angle. The two included angles are equal.
20. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the optical switching device further comprises a lens assembly located between the waveguide array and the redirection assembly, and the N-layer waveguide structure The end face close to the lens assembly is located at the front focal plane of the lens assembly.
21. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 20, wherein the distance between any two adjacent waveguides included in the waveguide array is greater than or equal to a first preset value.
22. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 21, wherein the plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure, or the plurality of first waveguides are located in the middle layer of the N-layer waveguide structure. Any layer of the N-layer waveguide structure close to the intermediate layer.
23. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 22, wherein the cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of first waveguides is greater than or equal to a second preset value, such that The plurality of sub-wavelength light beams transmitted by the plurality of first waveguides to the redirection component are collimated light beams.
24. The optical switching method according to any one of claims 13 to 23, wherein the redirection component comprises a plurality of redirection areas for redirecting the plurality of sub-wavelength light beams, and the The redirection component that transmits the multiple sub-wavelength light beams after redirection to the multiple second waveguides included in the waveguide array includes:

    The transmission directions of the multiple sub-wavelength light beams are deflected through the redirection area, and the multiple sub-wavelength light beams redirected through the redirection area are transmitted to the corresponding multiple second waveguides.
25. A reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of optical switching devices, and the different optical switching devices are connected by optical fibers, and the optical switching devices are as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 Shown.
26. An optical communication network, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers, and different reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers are connected by optical fibers, and the reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers are connected by optical fibers. The multiplexer is as shown in claim 25.

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