CN115453797B - Optical Phased Array - Google Patents
Optical Phased Array Download PDFInfo
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- CN115453797B CN115453797B CN202110638450.3A CN202110638450A CN115453797B CN 115453797 B CN115453797 B CN 115453797B CN 202110638450 A CN202110638450 A CN 202110638450A CN 115453797 B CN115453797 B CN 115453797B
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- 230000001154 acute effect Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 12
- 238000005452 bending Methods 0.000 description 10
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 5
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- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
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- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
- G02F1/29—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
- G02F1/292—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection by controlled diffraction or phased-array beam steering
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- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B27/00—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00
- G02B27/0087—Phased arrays
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Abstract
一种光学相控阵，包括：分光器，用于将光源信号分为多路；多个移相器，与所述分光器的多路输出端一一对应地耦接，用于分别接收分光后的多路光信号，并进行移相处理；天线阵列，包含多根天线，所述多根天线与所述多个移相器一一对应地耦接，用于接收移相处理后的光信号；其中，分光器的各个多路输出端至对应的天线输入端之间的光程相等。本发明可以同时满足布局紧凑和各通道波导长度一致的要求。
An optical phased array includes: a beam splitter for splitting a light source signal into multiple paths; a plurality of phase shifters coupled to the multiple output ends of the beam splitter in a one-to-one correspondence, for respectively receiving the multiple optical signals after the beam splitting and performing phase shift processing; an antenna array including a plurality of antennas, the plurality of antennas coupled to the plurality of phase shifters in a one-to-one correspondence, for receiving the optical signals after the phase shift processing; wherein the optical path from each multiple output end of the beam splitter to the corresponding antenna input end is equal. The present invention can simultaneously meet the requirements of compact layout and consistent length of waveguides of each channel.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of photoelectricity, in particular to an optical phased array.
Background
The optical phased array is a technology for realizing the space steering of light beams, is a core device of a chip-level laser radar, can be applied to the fields of space ranging, scanning imaging and the like, and has the advantages of small size, high scanning speed, low cost, high precision and the like compared with a mechanical scanning technology. The optical phased array of the one-dimensional array realizes two-dimensional scanning of the light beam by controlling the optical phase of each channel and the wavelength of incident light.
In the existing optical phased array, a laser has a plurality of optical path channels from a phase shifter to an antenna, and the optical path difference between the optical path channels tends to be large. In addition, for large-scale optical phased arrays, the number of unit devices can reach hundreds to thousands, if the wiring mode is unreasonable, the occupied area of the devices can be overlarge, and the manufacturing cost of chips is overhigh.
There is a need for an optical phased array that can meet the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide lengths of the channels simultaneously by providing a reasonable wiring scheme.
Disclosure of Invention
The technical problem solved by the invention is to provide an optical phased array which can simultaneously meet the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide length of each channel.
In order to solve the technical problems, the embodiment of the invention provides an optical phased array, which is characterized by comprising a beam splitter, a plurality of phase shifters, an antenna array and a plurality of phase shifter, wherein the beam splitter is used for dividing a light source signal into a plurality of paths, the phase shifters are coupled with the multipath output ends of the beam splitter in a one-to-one correspondence manner and are used for respectively receiving the split multipath light signals and performing phase shifting treatment, the antenna array comprises a plurality of antennas, the antennas are coupled with the plurality of phase shifters in a one-to-one correspondence manner and are used for receiving the phase-shifted light signals, and the optical paths between the multipath output ends of the beam splitter and the corresponding antenna input ends are equal.
Optionally, the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the extending direction of the corresponding antenna.
Optionally, the optical splitter comprises a main link optical splitter unit and a multi-layer optical splitter structure, wherein each layer of optical splitter structure comprises a plurality of branch link optical splitter units, each layer of optical splitter structure comprises one or more 1×2 tree structures, and optical paths between each branch link optical splitter unit and the main link optical splitter unit in the same layer of optical splitter structure are equal.
Optionally, the number of the phase shifters is two, the light paths output from the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter are equally divided into two groups, the two groups of light paths are axially symmetrically arranged, the phase shifters corresponding to the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter are equally divided into two groups, and the two groups of phase shifters are axially symmetrically arranged.
Optionally, symmetry axes of the two groups of optical paths are parallel to symmetry axes of the two groups of phase shifters.
Optionally, the symmetry axes of the two groups of optical paths and the symmetry axes of the two groups of phase shifters are all connecting lines from the input end of the beam splitter to the center points of the multiple access ends of the antenna array.
Optionally, the optical splitter and the antenna array are equally divided into two groups, and the optical splitter, the phase shifter corresponding to the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, the optical path output from the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter and the antenna array adopt the same symmetry axis.
Optionally, the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the extending direction of the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter.
Optionally, an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter is an obtuse angle, and an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle.
Optionally, the optical phased array further comprises a plurality of first optical waveguides, wherein each first optical waveguide is connected with the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter and the corresponding phase shifter, the first optical waveguides are bent, and the absolute values of bending angles among the first optical waveguides are equal.
Optionally, the optical phased array further comprises a plurality of second optical waveguides, each second optical waveguide is connected with the phase shifter and the corresponding antenna, wherein the second optical waveguides are bent, and the absolute values of bending angles among the second optical waveguides are equal.
Optionally, the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter is the same as the extending direction of the corresponding antenna.
Optionally, the space between adjacent antennas in the antenna array is equal to the space between adjacent light output ends of the beam splitter.
Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention has the following beneficial effects:
In the embodiment of the invention, by arranging the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical phased array to the corresponding antenna input end to be equal, compared with the method of simply and directly paving the phase shifters on the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical phased array to the corresponding antenna input end), the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical phased array to the corresponding antenna input end can be kept equal, so that the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide lengths of all channels are simultaneously met.
Further, by setting that the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the extending direction of the corresponding antenna, the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction (the output direction perpendicular to each multiplexing output end of the beam splitter) can be reduced, so that the specific requirement of a user on the length-width ratio of the optical phased array can be better met.
Further, each layer of the optical splitting structure comprises one or more 1×2 tree structures, and the optical paths between each branch link optical splitter unit and the main link optical splitter unit in the same layer of the optical splitting structure are equal, so that the optical paths between each path of channels from the optical splitter input end to the optical splitter output end are consistent, the optical paths of each path of optical signals of the optical phased array are equal between the optical splitter output end and the antenna input end, and the optical paths in front of the optical splitter output end are also equal, thereby further realizing the effect that each path of optical signals have no optical path difference.
Further, the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the extending direction of the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter, so that when the optical splitter and the antenna are located in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end), the phase shifter is located in the Y direction, and the X direction is perpendicular to the Y direction, so that the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction can be effectively reduced.
Further, the included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter is an obtuse angle, and the included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle, so that the optical splitter, the phase shifter and the antenna are arranged in a Z shape, and the length of the optical phased array in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end) is effectively reduced while the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction is reduced.
Furthermore, the optical paths output from the multiplexing output ends of the optical splitters are equally divided into two groups, the two groups of optical paths are axially symmetrically arranged, the phase shifters corresponding to the multiplexing output ends of the optical splitters are equally divided into two groups, and the two groups of phase shifters are axially symmetrically arranged, so that the optical paths can be symmetrically distributed, and the length of the optical phased array in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitters to the corresponding antenna input end) can be reduced. Further, through setting up the first optical waveguide of connecting the multichannel output of beam splitter and corresponding phase shifter, first optical waveguide has the bending, and the absolute value of the angle of bending between each first optical waveguide equals, can make each light path keep parallelism, is favorable to keeping the optical path between each multichannel output to the corresponding antenna input equal better.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical phased array of the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a first optical phased array in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a second optical phased array in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a third optical phased array in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a fourth optical phased array in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of two-dimensional scan phase calibration in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
In the existing optical phased array, a laser has a plurality of optical path channels from a phase shifter to an antenna, and the optical path difference between the optical path channels tends to be large. In addition, for large-scale optical phased arrays, the number of unit devices can reach hundreds to thousands, if the wiring mode is unreasonable, the occupied area of the devices can be overlarge, and the manufacturing cost of chips is overhigh.
The inventor of the present invention has found through research that in the prior art, because the scale of the silicon waveguide array is larger, the phase error is larger, and the phase calibration needs to be performed on each position of the two-dimensional scanning, and if each point in the two-dimensional array is calibrated in turn, a great deal of time is spent. However, when the lengths of the waveguides of the channels meet the equal condition, only one-dimensional calibration is needed for the array direction, and the antenna direction is not needed to be calibrated when the incident wavelength is changed, so that the optical path difference between the channels of the optical paths needs to be reduced.
Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical phased array in the prior art.
The optical phased array may include a beam splitter 12, a phase shifter array 13 including a plurality of phase shifters, and an antenna array 14.
Wherein the optical splitter 12 may be used to split the light source signal of the light source 11 into multiple optical signals.
The phase shifters of the phase shifter array 13 may be coupled to the multiplexing output ends of the beam splitter 12 in a one-to-one correspondence manner, and are configured to receive the multiplexed optical signals after the beam splitting respectively, and perform phase shifting processing.
The antenna array 14 includes a plurality of antennas, which are coupled to the plurality of phase shifters in a one-to-one correspondence manner, and is configured to receive the optical signal after the phase shift processing, and to emit light in the waveguide into the space.
The optical phased array shown in fig. 1 has a problem in that the optical paths between the respective multiplexed outputs of the beam splitter 12 to the corresponding antenna inputs are not equal, such as a longer optical path through the optical paths of the edge area phase shifters (e.g., uppermost or lowermost phase shifters) and a shorter optical path through the optical paths of the center area phase shifters (e.g., middle two phase shifters).
The inventor of the invention further discovers that when the density of the designed optical phased array is larger, the crosstalk problem among waveguides needs to be considered, in addition, the layout drawing is required to meet the process requirement, and the spacing requirements of different devices are different, so that the difficulty of designing the silicon-based optical phased array meeting the requirements of high integration level, low crosstalk and equal length of each channel waveguide is larger. Specifically, since the optical splitter is generally smaller in size, the phase shifter is generally larger in size, and the laser, the optical splitter, the plurality of phase shifters, and the antenna array are directly connected in series by adopting a one-dimensional connection method as shown in fig. 1, the occupied area of the phase shifter portion may be excessively large, resulting in a shorter optical path between the optical splitter and the center area phase shifter and a longer optical path between the optical splitter and the edge area phase shifter.
In the embodiment of the invention, by arranging the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical phased array to the corresponding antenna input end to be equal, compared with the method of simply and directly paving the phase shifters on the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical phased array to the corresponding antenna input end), the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical phased array to the corresponding antenna input end can be kept equal, so that the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide lengths of all channels are simultaneously met.
In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.
Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a first optical phased array according to an embodiment of the invention.
The first optical phased array may include an optical splitter 22, a phase shifter array 23 including a plurality of phase shifters, and an antenna array 24, and may further include a first optical waveguide 25 and a second optical waveguide 26.
Wherein the beam splitter 22 may be used to split the light source signal of the light source 21 into multiple paths.
Specifically, the light source 21 may be a laser integrated in a silicon optical chip, or may be an external light source, and the light source 21 is, for example, a tunable narrow linewidth laser, so as to provide a more accurate optical signal.
The phase shifters may be coupled to the multiplexing output ends of the optical splitter 22 in a one-to-one correspondence manner, and are configured to receive the multiplexed optical signals after the optical splitting, and perform phase shifting processing.
The multiple output ends of the beam splitter 22 shown in fig. 2 may be 8 output ends, which are respectively represented by output ends T1 to T8.
The antenna array 24 may include a plurality of antennas coupled to the plurality of phase shifters in a one-to-one correspondence for receiving the phase-shifted optical signals, and after receiving, the antenna array 24 may emit the light in the waveguide into the space.
The antenna array 24 shown in fig. 2 may be referred to as an antenna extending direction in the X direction, and may be referred to as an antenna arranging direction in the Y direction.
Wherein the optical paths from the respective multiplexing ends of the beam splitter 22 to the corresponding antenna input ends are equal.
Further, the optical splitter 22 may include a main link optical splitter unit and a multi-layer optical splitter structure, where each layer of optical splitter structure includes a plurality of branch link optical splitter units, each layer of optical splitter structure includes one or more 1×2 tree structures, and optical paths between each branch link optical splitter unit and the main link optical splitter unit in the same layer of optical splitter structure are equal.
The beam splitter 22 as shown in fig. 2 may include a 3-layer beam splitting structure, each of which may split light by a beam splitter unit.
Specifically, the first layer of the optical splitter 22 shown in fig. 2 may be a1×2 tree structure, the first layer of the optical splitter includes 2 branch link optical splitter units, then each branch link optical splitter unit splits to the second layer of the optical splitter via the 1×2 tree structure, and the second layer of the optical splitter includes 4 branch link optical splitter units, then each branch link optical splitter unit splits to the third layer of the optical splitter via the 1×2 tree structure, and the third layer of the optical splitter outputs through 8 branch links.
The optical paths between the 2 branch link beam splitter units of the first layer beam splitting structure are equal to the optical path between the main link beam splitter units, namely the transmission lengths of the optical signals from the main link beam splitter units to the 2 branch link beam splitter units of the first layer beam splitting structure are identical.
The optical paths between the 4 branch link beam splitter units of the second layer beam splitter structure and the main link beam splitter unit are equal, namely the transmission lengths of the optical signals from the main link beam splitter unit to the 4 branch link beam splitter units of the second layer beam splitter structure are identical, and the optical paths between the 8 branch links of the third layer beam splitter structure and the main link beam splitter unit are equal, namely the transmission lengths of the optical signals from the main link beam splitter unit to the 8 branch links of the third layer beam splitter structure are identical.
In the embodiment of the invention, each layer of the optical splitting structure comprises one or more 1×2 tree structures, and the optical paths between each branch link optical splitter unit and the main link optical splitter unit in the same layer of the optical splitting structure are equal, so that the optical paths between each path of channels from the input end of the optical splitter to the output end of the optical splitter are consistent, the optical paths of each path of optical signals of the optical phased array are equal not only between the output end of the optical splitter and the input end of the antenna, but also in front of the output end of the optical splitter, and the effect that each path of optical signals has no optical path difference is further realized.
In the embodiment of the present invention, by setting the optical paths from the respective multiplexing output ends of the optical phased array splitter 21 to the corresponding antenna input ends to be equal, compared with simply and directly laying the phase shifters in the X direction (the direction from the respective multiplexing output ends of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input ends), the optical paths from the respective multiplexing output ends of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input ends can be kept equal, so that the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide lengths of the respective channels are simultaneously satisfied.
Further, the extending direction of each phase shifter in the phase shifter array 23 is different from the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the extending direction of the corresponding antenna.
As shown in fig. 2, the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter is the X direction, and it should be noted that, as long as the extending direction of each phase shifter in the phase shifter array 23 is not the X direction, for example, the slant direction from top right to bottom left, the vertical direction (Y direction), and the slant direction from top left to bottom right, the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction can be reduced.
In the embodiment of the invention, the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction (the output direction perpendicular to each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter) can be reduced by setting that the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter and the extending direction of the phase shifter is different from the extending direction of the corresponding antenna, so that the specific requirement of a user on the length-width ratio of the optical phased array can be better met.
Further, the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter 22 may be the same as the extending direction of the corresponding antenna.
In the embodiment of the invention, the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide length of each channel can be better met simultaneously by arranging the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the beam splitter to be the same as the extending direction of the corresponding antenna.
Further, the spacing between adjacent antennas in the antenna array 24 may be equal to the spacing between adjacent light outputs of the beam splitter.
The spacing between adjacent antennas in the antenna array 24 shown in fig. 2 is d, and the spacing between adjacent light output ends of the beam splitter may also be d.
In the embodiment of the present invention, by setting the space between adjacent antennas in the antenna array 24 to be equal to the space between adjacent light output ends of the beam splitter, the requirements of compact layout and consistent length of waveguides of each channel can be better satisfied at the same time.
In a first specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 22, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the extending direction of the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter.
Specifically, the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the extending direction of the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter, so that when the optical splitter and the antenna are located in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end), the phase shifter is located in the Y direction, and the X direction is perpendicular to the Y direction, so that the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction can be effectively reduced. Furthermore, the scheme that the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter is adopted, so that the research and development complexity is reduced.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a second optical phased array in the embodiment of the present invention.
The second optical phased array may include an optical splitter 32, a phase shifter array 33 including a plurality of phase shifters, and an antenna array 34, wherein the optical splitter 32 may be used to split the light source signal of the light source 31 into multiple paths.
The second optical phased array is different from the first optical phased array.
Specifically, an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 32 shown in fig. 3 is an obtuse angle, and an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle.
Specifically, an included angle a between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 32 is an obtuse angle, and an included angle b between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle, where a+b=180°.
In the embodiment of the present invention, an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter is an obtuse angle, and an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle, so that the phase shifter can be obliquely placed from top right to bottom left as shown in fig. 3. Further, the optical splitter, the phase shifter and the antennas are arranged in a Z shape, so that the length of the optical phased array in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end) is effectively reduced while the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction is reduced.
With continued reference to fig. 2, the optical phased array may further include a plurality of first optical waveguides 25, where each first optical waveguide 25 is connected to the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 21 and a corresponding phase shifter, where the first optical waveguide 25 has a bend, and the absolute values of the bending angles between the first optical waveguides 25 are equal.
In the embodiment of the present invention, by arranging the first optical waveguides 25 connected to the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 21 and the corresponding phase shifter, the first optical waveguides 25 have bends, and the absolute values of the bending angles between the first optical waveguides 25 are equal, so that each optical path from the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the phase shifter can be kept parallel, which is beneficial to better keeping the optical paths between each multiplexing output end and the corresponding antenna input end equal.
The bending angle of the first optical waveguide 25 may be an angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, as shown in fig. 3.
Further, the optical phased array may further include a plurality of second optical waveguides 26, each second optical waveguide 26 is connected to the phase shifter and the corresponding antenna, wherein the second optical waveguides 26 have bends, and the absolute values of bending angles between the second optical waveguides 26 are equal.
In the embodiment of the present invention, by providing the second optical waveguides 26 connected to the phase shifter and the corresponding antenna, the second optical waveguides 26 have bends, and the absolute values of the bending angles between the second optical waveguides 26 are equal, so that each optical path from the phase shifter to the antenna can be kept parallel, which is beneficial to better keeping the optical paths between each multiplexing output end and the corresponding antenna input end equal.
The bending angle of the second optical waveguide 26 may be an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter, as shown in fig. 3, for example, an included angle b.
Further, each phase shifter is connected to the first optical waveguide 25 and the second optical waveguide 26, and the lengths of the first optical waveguide 25 and the second optical waveguide 26 connected to the different phase shifters are equal.
In the embodiment of the invention, the lengths of the first optical waveguide 25 and the second optical waveguide 26 connected by different phase shifters are equal, so that the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end are equal.
Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a third optical phased array according to an embodiment of the invention. The third optical phased array may include an optical splitter 42, a phase shifter array 43 including a plurality of phase shifters, and an antenna array 44, wherein the optical splitter 42 may be used to split the light source signal of the light source 41 into multiple paths.
The third optical phased array is different from the first optical phased array.
Specifically, the number of phase shifters shown in fig. 4 is two, the optical paths output from the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 42 are equally divided into two groups, and the two groups of optical paths are axially symmetrically arranged, and the phase shifters corresponding to the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 42 are equally divided into two groups, and the two groups of phase shifters are axially symmetrically arranged.
In the third specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, the number of the phase shifters is two, the optical paths output from the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter are equally divided into two groups, and the two groups of optical paths are axially symmetrically arranged, and the phase shifters corresponding to the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter are equally divided into two groups, and the two groups of phase shifters are axially symmetrically arranged, so that the optical paths are symmetrically distributed, the length of the optical phased array in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end) is reduced, and a more flexible aspect ratio example is provided.
It should be noted that, compared with the first embodiment shown in fig. 2, the third embodiment shown in fig. 4 is shorter in the X direction and longer in the Y direction, and all the optical paths from the multiple output ends of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input ends can be equal, so that a user can select to use according to actual requirements.
Further, the symmetry axes of the two sets of optical paths may be parallel to the symmetry axes of the two sets of phase shifters.
In the phase shifter shown in fig. 4, the upper half (e.g., the upper 4) phase shifters are symmetrically distributed with the lower half (e.g., the lower 4) phase shifters, the optical paths output from the multiplexing output terminals T1 to T4 of the optical splitter are one group, and are connected with the upper half phase shifters, and the optical paths output from the multiplexing output terminals T5 to T8 of the optical splitter are another group, and are connected with the lower half phase shifters.
Further, the symmetry axes of the two sets of optical paths and the symmetry axes of the two sets of phase shifters may be lines from the input end of the optical splitter 42 to the center points of the multiple access ends of the antenna array 44.
In the embodiment of the present invention, by setting the symmetry axes of the two groups of optical paths and the symmetry axes of the two groups of phase shifters to be the connection lines from the input end of the optical splitter 42 to the center points of the multiple access ends of the antenna array 44, the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end can be better ensured to be equal, thereby simultaneously meeting the requirements of compact layout and consistent waveguide lengths of each channel.
Further, the optical splitter 42 and the antenna array 44 are equally divided into two groups, and the optical splitter 42, the phase shifter corresponding to the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 42, the optical path outputted from the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 42, and the antenna array 44 adopt the same symmetry axis.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the specific embodiment shown in fig. 4 may be implemented by setting the optical splitter 42 and the antenna array 44 to be equally divided into two groups and using the same symmetry axis, on the basis that the optical paths that have been set to be output from the multiple output ends of the optical splitter 42 are equally divided into two groups and the phase shifters that correspond to the multiple output ends of the optical splitter 42 are equally divided into two groups.
In a third specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 42, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the extending direction of the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter.
Specifically, the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output ends of the optical splitter 42, and the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the extending direction of the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter, so that when the optical splitter and the antenna are located in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end), the phase shifter is located in the Y direction, and the X direction is perpendicular to the Y direction, so that the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction can be effectively reduced. Furthermore, the scheme that the extending direction of the phase shifter is perpendicular to the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter is adopted, so that the research and development complexity is reduced.
In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a fourth optical phased array in the embodiment of the present invention.
The fourth optical phased array may include an optical splitter 52, a phase shifter array 53 including a plurality of phase shifters, and an antenna array 54, wherein the optical splitter 52 may be used to split the light source signal of the light source 51 into multiple paths.
The fourth optical phased array is different from the third optical phased array shown in fig. 4.
Specifically, the included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter 52 shown in fig. 5 is an obtuse angle, and the included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle.
Specifically, an included angle (refer to an included angle a in fig. 3) between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the upper half (e.g., the upper 4) phase shifters and the output direction of the output end of the upper half of the optical splitter 52 is an obtuse angle, and an included angle (symmetric to the included angle a, the symmetry axis is the symmetry axis of the phase shifter) between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the lower half (e.g., the lower 4) phase shifters and the output direction of the output end of the lower half of the optical splitter 52 is an obtuse angle.
The included angle (see included angle b in fig. 3) between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the lower half (e.g., 4 below) phase shifters and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifters is an acute angle, and the included angle (symmetrical to included angle a, the symmetry axis is the symmetry axis of the phase shifters) between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the upper half (e.g., 4 above) phase shifters and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifters is an acute angle.
In the embodiment of the present invention, an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the output direction of the multiplexing output end of the optical splitter is an obtuse angle, and an included angle between the propagation direction of the optical signal in the phase shifter and the propagation direction of the optical signal in the antenna corresponding to the phase shifter is an acute angle, so that the upper half phase shifter may exhibit the oblique placement from top right to bottom left shown in fig. 5, and the lower half phase shifter may exhibit the oblique placement from top left to bottom right shown in fig. 5. Further, the optical splitter, the phase shifter and the antennas are arranged in a Z shape, so that the length of the optical phased array in the X direction (the direction from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end) is effectively reduced while the length of the optical phased array in the Y direction is reduced.
Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating two-dimensional scan phase calibration according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 6, beam scanning in the array direction (Y direction) can be achieved by adjusting the optical phase, and beam scanning in the antenna direction (X direction) can be achieved by changing the incident wavelength. With phased arrays where the waveguides of each channel are uniform in length, only one set of phase alignment, the kth column, needs to be performed for n columns in the array direction (Y direction).
In the embodiment of the invention, the optical paths from each multiplexing output end of the optical splitter to the corresponding antenna input end are equal, so that the phase difference of the optical field caused by different wavelengths in the transmission process can be approximately zero, the scanning of m rows in the other direction (X direction) can be realized by changing the wavelength of the input light, the two-dimensional scanning is realized without additional calibration, and the phase calibration time is greatly saved.
Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, each layer of optical splitting structure may further include one or more 1×2 tree structures, and optical paths between each branch link optical splitter unit and the main link optical splitter unit in the same layer of optical splitting structure are all equal, so that optical paths between each path of channels from the input end of the optical splitter to the output end of the optical splitter are all consistent, optical paths between each path of optical signals of the optical phased array not only between the output end of the optical splitter and the input end of the antenna are equal, and optical paths before the output end of the optical splitter are also equal, so that phase differences caused by different wavelengths in a light field in a transmission process are further reduced, phase calibration time is better saved, and phase calibration accuracy is improved.
Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and the scope of the invention should be assessed accordingly to that of the appended claims.
Claims (12)
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