阅读说明：本技术 光学结构、光耦合方法和光子集成电路芯片 (Optical structure, optical coupling method and photonic integrated circuit chip ) 是由 苏湛 陈俊杰 吴建华 朱云鹏 陈晖� 薛志全 罗纳德·加农 孟怀宇 沈亦晨 于 2021-07-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明实施例提供一种光学结构、光耦合方法和光子集成电路芯片,该光学结构包括：两种结构不同的光耦合结构,即第一光耦合结构和第二光耦合结构。其中,第一光耦合结构包括第一光传输结构,以及与第一光传输结构连接的第一耦合端口、第二耦合端口。第二光耦合结构包括第二光传输结构,以及与第二光传输结构连接的第三耦合端口、光电转换结构。在使用不同的方式提供光信号或在不同场景进行光耦合时,可以使用上述光学结构中不同结构的光耦合结构实现光信号耦合。(The embodiment of the invention provides an optical structure, an optical coupling method and a photonic integrated circuit chip, wherein the optical structure comprises: the two structures are different light coupling structures, namely a first light coupling structure and a second light coupling structure. The first optical coupling structure comprises a first optical transmission structure, and a first coupling port and a second coupling port which are connected with the first optical transmission structure. The second optical coupling structure comprises a second optical transmission structure, a third coupling port connected with the second optical transmission structure and a photoelectric conversion structure. When different modes are used to provide optical signals or optical coupling is performed in different scenes, optical coupling structures of different structures in the above optical structures may be used to achieve optical signal coupling.)

1. An optical structure, comprising: a first optical coupling structure and a second optical coupling structure;

the first optical coupling structure comprises a first optical transmission structure, a first coupling port and a second coupling port, wherein the first coupling port and the second coupling port are connected with the first optical transmission structure;

the second optical coupling structure comprises a second optical transmission structure, and a third coupling port and a photoelectric conversion structure which are connected with the second optical transmission structure.

2. The optical structure of claim 1, wherein the first coupling port is for inputting an optical signal; the first optical transmission structure is used for transmitting the optical signal to the second coupling port; the second coupling port is used for outputting the optical signal.

3. The optical structure of claim 1, wherein the first coupling port is for inputting optical signals transmitted in an optical fiber array; the second coupling port is used for outputting the optical signal to an optical fiber array.

4. The optical structure of claim 1, wherein the third coupling port is for inputting an optical signal; the second optical transmission structure is used for transmitting the optical signal; the photoelectric conversion structure is used for detecting the signal intensity of the optical signal output by the second optical transmission structure.

5. The optical structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second light transmitting structure comprises a first substructure and a second substructure, the first substructure being connected to the photoelectric conversion structure;

the first substructure is used for transmitting a first optical splitting signal of the optical signal, and the photoelectric conversion structure is used for detecting the signal intensity of the first optical splitting signal;

the second substructure is to transmit a second drop signal of the optical signal.

6. The optical structure of claim 5, wherein the second light coupling structure further comprises: and the power divider is connected with the third coupling port and used for performing optical splitting processing on the optical signal to obtain the first optical splitting signal and the second optical splitting signal.

7. The optical structure of claim 6, comprising a plurality of the second light coupling structures, the plurality of the second light coupling structures comprising a first second light coupling structure and a second light coupling structure; and the distance between the third coupling ports respectively included in the first optical coupling structure and the second optical coupling structure is equal to a preset distance, and the preset distance is the distance of the light source corresponding to the third coupling port.

8. The optical structure of claim 7, wherein the optical signal is incident on the third coupling port via a prism.

9. The optical structure of claim 1, wherein the optical structure is integrated into a photonic integrated circuit chip, wherein the first, second, and third coupling ports comprise grating couplers, and wherein the first and second optical transmission structures comprise a light-guiding medium.

10. A method of optically coupling, wherein an optical structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is provided; the method comprises the following steps:

the first coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the first optical transmission structure transmits the optical signal to the second coupling port;

The second coupling port outputs the optical signal;

and/or:

the third coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the second optical transmission structure transmits the optical signal;

the photoelectric conversion structure detects the signal intensity of the optical signal output by the second optical transmission structure.

11. An optical structure, comprising: the optical transmission structure comprises a first substructure and a second substructure, wherein the first substructure is connected with the photoelectric conversion structure.

12. The optical structure of claim 11, wherein the coupling port is for inputting an optical signal; the first substructure is used for transmitting a first optical signal of the optical signal; the photoelectric conversion structure is used for detecting the signal intensity of the first light splitting signal; the second substructure is to transmit a second drop signal of the optical signal.

13. The optical structure of claim 12, further comprising: and the power divider is connected with the coupling port and used for performing optical splitting processing on the optical signal to obtain the first optical splitting signal and the second optical splitting signal.

14. The optical structure according to any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the plurality of optical structures comprises optical structure one, optical structure two; the distance between the coupling ports respectively included in the first optical structure and the second optical structure is equal to a preset distance, and the preset distance is the distance between the light sources corresponding to the coupling ports.

15. A method of optically coupling, wherein an optical structure according to any one of claims 11 to 14 is provided; the method comprises the following steps:

the coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the first substructure transmits a first optical signal of the optical signal;

the photoelectric conversion structure detects the signal intensity of the first split optical signal;

the second substructure transmits a second drop signal of the optical signal.

16. An optical structure, comprising: the optical transmission structure, and the first coupling port, the second coupling port that are connected with optical transmission structure.

17. The optical structure of claim 16, wherein the first coupling port is for inputting an optical signal; the optical transmission structure is used for transmitting the optical signal to the second coupling port; the second coupling port is used for outputting the optical signal.

18. The optical fabric of claim 17, wherein the first coupling port is configured to input optical signals transmitted in an optical fiber array; the second coupling port is used for outputting the optical signal to an optical fiber array.

19. A method of optically coupling, wherein an optical structure according to any one of claims 16 to 18 is provided; the method comprises the following steps:

the first coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the optical transmission structure transmits the optical signal to the second coupling port;

the second coupling port outputs the optical signal.

20. A photonic integrated circuit chip comprising an optical structure according to any of claims 1 to 9, 11 to 14, 16 to 18.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of photonic chips, in particular to an optical structure, an optical coupling method and a photonic integrated circuit chip.

Background

A Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) chip is generally integrated with one or more components such as a grating coupler, an optical waveguide, an optical modulator, and a photoelectric converter, and can realize at least one function of light input, transmission, processing, and output, and can be applied to the fields of communication, sensing application, and photon calculation.

Common sources of optical input in photonic chips are light sources (e.g., lasers) or optical fibers. Photonic chips are typically provided with a plurality of optically coupled ports. In practice, coupling of optical signals at different stages of the PIC chip life cycle, such as the production stage or the packaging stage, the factory use stage, etc., is an important process.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide an optical structure, an optical coupling method and a photonic integrated circuit chip for coupling optical signals.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an optical structure, including: a first optical coupling structure and a second optical coupling structure;

the first optical coupling structure comprises a first optical transmission structure, a first coupling port and a second coupling port, wherein the first coupling port and the second coupling port are connected with the first optical transmission structure;

the second optical coupling structure comprises a second optical transmission structure, and a third coupling port and a photoelectric conversion structure which are connected with the second optical transmission structure.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method of optical coupling, providing an optical structure as described in the first aspect; the method comprises the following steps:

the first coupling port inputs an optical signal;

The first optical transmission structure transmits the optical signal to the second coupling port;

the second coupling port outputs the optical signal;

and/or:

the third coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the second optical transmission structure transmits the optical signal;

the photoelectric conversion structure detects the signal intensity of the optical signal output by the second optical transmission structure.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an optical structure, including: the optical transmission structure comprises a first substructure and a second substructure, wherein the first substructure is connected with the photoelectric conversion structure.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method of optical coupling, providing an optical structure as described in the third aspect; the method comprises the following steps:

the coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the first substructure transmits a first optical signal of the optical signal;

the photoelectric conversion structure detects the signal intensity of the first split optical signal;

the second substructure transmits a second drop signal of the optical signal.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an optical structure, including: the optical transmission structure, and the first coupling port, the second coupling port that are connected with optical transmission structure.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method of optical coupling, providing an optical structure as described in the fifth aspect; the method comprises the following steps:

the first coupling port inputs an optical signal;

the optical transmission structure transmits the optical signal to the second coupling port;

the second coupling port outputs the optical signal.

In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a photonic integrated circuit chip, where the chip includes the optical structure according to any one of the first aspect, the third aspect, and the fifth aspect.

In practical applications, the optical signal coupled into the optical structure may have different supply modes, for example, an optical fiber array or a laser light source may be used to supply the optical signal. When the above-mentioned optical structure is integrated into the PIC chip mentioned in the background, different ways of providing optical signals may also be applicable to different stages of the PIC chip production, application. For example, in the production stage of PIC chips, optical signals are usually provided by using an optical fiber array for optical coupling, so as to perform characteristic tests and the like; in the packaging or practical application stage of the PIC chip, in addition to the optical fiber to provide light, a laser light source is sometimes used to provide optical signals for optical coupling.

The optical structure provided by the embodiment of the invention comprises two optical coupling structures with different structures, namely a first optical coupling structure and a second optical coupling structure. Specifically, the first optical coupling structure comprises a first optical transmission structure, and a first coupling port and a second coupling port which are connected with the first optical transmission structure. The second optical coupling structure comprises a second optical transmission structure, a third coupling port connected with the second optical transmission structure and a photoelectric conversion structure. In the optical structure, different optical coupling structures are suitable for different optical signal providing modes, so that when the optical signals are provided by different modes, the optical structures can be used for realizing the coupling of the optical signals.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a schematic diagram of an optical signal coupling method corresponding to the optical structure provided in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram of another optical signal coupling method corresponding to the optical structure provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another optical configuration provided by embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another optical structure provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between different coupling ports and light sources in an optical structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for optical coupling according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of yet another optical structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another optical coupling method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of yet another optical configuration provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a flowchart of another optical coupling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The terminology used in the embodiments of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the examples of the present invention and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, and "a" and "an" generally include at least two, but do not exclude at least one, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein is merely one type of association that describes an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

The words "if," "if," as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "in response to a determination" or "in response to a recognition," depending on the context. Similarly, the phrases "if determined" or "if identified (a stated condition or event)" may be interpreted as "when determined" or "in response to a determination" or "when identified (a stated condition or event)" or "in response to an identification (a stated condition or event)", depending on the context.

It is also noted that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a good or system that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such good or system. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a commodity or system that includes the element.

The term "connected", without particular limitation, may include direct connection and indirect connection.

Some embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The features of the embodiments and examples described below may be combined with each other without conflict between the embodiments. In addition, the sequence of steps in the embodiments of the methods described below is merely an example and is not strictly limiting.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the structure includes: a first light coupling structure and a second light coupling structure.

The first optical coupling structure includes a first optical transmission structure 11, and a first coupling port 12 and a second coupling port 13 connected to the first optical transmission structure 11. The second optical coupling structure includes a second optical transmission structure 21, and a third coupling port 22 and a photoelectric conversion structure 23 connected to the second optical transmission structure 21.

Alternatively, each coupling port in the optical structure may comprise a grating coupler and each optical transmission structure may comprise an optical guiding medium such as an optical waveguide. Alternatively, the photoelectric conversion structure 23 may include a photodetector. Alternatively, the optical structure as shown in fig. 1 may be integrated in a PIC chip.

The function of each structure in the optical structure can be described as follows:

the first coupling port 12 in the first optical coupling structure is used for inputting optical signals, i.e. for coupling optical signals. The first optical transmission structure 11 is configured to transmit an optical signal input to the first coupling port 12 to the second coupling port 13, and output the optical signal from the second coupling port 13.

Alternatively, a detection device externally connected to the optical structure may be used to detect the signal strength of the optical signal output from the second coupling port 13. If the signal strength of the optical signal is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the optical coupling accuracy of the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 is high. On the contrary, the optical coupling accuracy is small.

Optionally, in practice, an optical signal may also be input from the second coupling port 13 included in the first optical coupling structure and then output from the first coupling port 12, and at this time, the optical coupling accuracies of the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 can be determined according to the signal strength of the output optical signal, and the method can be used for active alignment.

The third coupling port 22 in the second optical coupling structure is used for inputting optical signals, and the second optical transmission structure 21 is used for transmitting optical signals input by the third coupling port 22. The photoelectric conversion structure 23 is used to detect the signal intensity of the optical signal output by the second optical transmission structure 21. If the signal intensity of the detected optical signal is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, it indicates that most of the optical signal is coupled into the third coupling port 22, and the optical coupling effect of the third coupling port 22 is better, that is, the optical coupling accuracy of the third coupling port 22 is higher. Otherwise, it indicates that the optical coupling precision of the third coupling port 22 is low.

Alternatively, for the optical signal input to the coupling port, it may be output by a laser light source or other optical signal generating device. Optionally, the input mode, i.e. the providing mode, of the optical signal may include: the optical signal generated by the laser source can be directly input into the coupling port, or the laser signal can be reflected by the prism so that the optical signal is input into the coupling port. Optical signals may also be input to the coupling port via an array of optical fibers, etc.

In practice, optionally, for different optical coupling structures, the coupling ports included therein are generally more matched to the respective optical signal input modes. For example, based on the optical structure shown in fig. 1, the first coupling port 12 in the first optical coupling structure can realize the input of optical signals by means of an optical fiber array. Specifically, the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 may be connected to different optical fibers in the optical fiber array, respectively, so that an optical signal transmitted through the optical fiber connected to the first coupling port 12 is input from the first coupling port 12, and then output through the first optical transmission structure 11, the second coupling port 13, and the optical fiber connected to the second coupling port 13.

Also for example, the third coupling port 22 in the second optical coupling structure can directly input the optical signal generated by the laser light source or input the optical signal by means of a prism. In this case, the light source can be aligned with the third coupling port 22 by continuously adjusting the position of the light source, so that the optical coupling accuracy of the third coupling port 22 can be ensured, and the method can be used for active alignment.

Alternatively, the first coupling port 12 may input an optical signal by means of an optical source and a prism. The third coupling port 22 can also input optical signals by means of an optical fiber array, and thus the third coupling port 22 can be used for coupling alignment of optical fibers during wafer level testing and also can be used for coupling alignment of light sources such as lasers, i.e. the third coupling port 22 can be used for coupling with optical fibers and also can be used for coupling with light sources. The relationship between the coupling port and the optical signal input method is merely an illustration, and the invention is not limited thereto.

The optical structure in this embodiment includes two light coupling structures with different structures, i.e., a first light coupling structure and a second light coupling structure. Specifically, the first optical coupling structure includes a first optical transmission structure 11, and a first coupling port 12 and a second coupling port 13 connected to the first optical transmission structure 11. The second optical coupling structure includes a second optical transmission structure 21, and a third coupling port 22 and a photoelectric conversion structure 23 connected to the second optical transmission structure 21. In the optical structure, different optical coupling structures are suitable for different optical signal input modes, so that when optical signals are provided by different modes, the optical structures can be used for realizing the coupling of the optical signals.

The above embodiments disclose that the optical signal can be input to the first coupling port 12 by means of an optical fiber array. In connection with fig. 2a, the transmission process of the optical signal in the first optical coupling structure can be described as: the optical signal is transmitted from the a end to the B end of the optical fiber 1 in the optical fiber array, and then input to the first coupling port 12. Then, the optical signal is transmitted along the first optical transmission structure 11 to the second coupling port 13, and is finally output from the a-end of the optical fiber 2 in the optical fiber array connected to the second coupling port 13. Since the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 can be arranged in parallel on the PIC chip, the second coupling port 13 and the optical fiber array connected to the second coupling port 13 are not shown in fig. 2 a.

Illustratively, the optical fibers in the optical fiber array may be 4, 8, 22, 16, 32, etc., and the distance between adjacent optical fibers may be 127 microns.

In practice, the signal strength of the optical signal input from the first coupling port 12 and output from the second coupling port 13 is detected for the PIC chip in the production stage, and the quality of each PIC chip on the wafer can be detected.

It is also disclosed in the above embodiments that the optical signal can be input into the third coupling port 22 using a light source and a prism, which process can be understood in conjunction with fig. 2 b. It should be noted that the positional relationship among the third coupling port 22, the light source and the prism shown in fig. 2b is only an example, and the present invention does not limit the positional relationship among the three, as long as the optical signal generated by the light source can be incident on the third coupling port 22 in a predetermined angle range after being reflected by the prism.

In addition, in practice, for the packaged and used PIC chip, optical signal coupling may be performed using the third coupling port 22. To ensure the accuracy of the optical coupling, active alignment can also be achieved by continuously adjusting the position of the light source to align the light source with the third coupling port 22.

Alternatively, as in the optical structure shown in fig. 1, the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 included in the first optical coupling structure may be respectively disposed at two ends of the first optical transmission structure 11. The third coupling port 22 in the second optical coupling structure is located at the first end of the second optical transmission structure 21, and the photoelectric conversion structure 23 is located at the second end of the second optical transmission structure 21. And only one first light coupling structure and only one second light coupling structure are shown in the optical configuration shown in fig. 1. In practice, there may be a plurality of first and second light coupling structures, as shown in fig. 3.

The second optical transmission structure 21 in the optical structure shown in fig. 1 may specifically include a first substructure 211 and a second substructure 212 (indicated with dashed lines). Wherein the first sub-structure 211 is connected to the photoelectric conversion structure 23. Alternatively, in fig. 1, the second light transmission structure 21 has a Y-shape. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 4, the second light transmission structure 21 may also be V-shaped.

The first sub-structure 211 is configured to transmit a first optical signal of the optical signal. The photoelectric conversion structure 23 is configured to detect a signal strength of the first split optical signal, where the signal strength can reflect an optical coupling accuracy of the third coupling port 22. When the optical structure shown in fig. 1 is integrated on a PIC chip, the second substructure 212 may be connected to other structures in the PIC chip (other structures are not shown in fig. 1) such as an optical modulator, an optical beam splitter, etc., and the second substructure 212 is used to transmit the second split optical signal of the optical signal to other structures on the PIC chip to ensure the normal operation of the PIC chip.

Optionally, a power divider connected to the port of the third coupling port 22 may be further used to perform optical splitting on the optical signal to obtain the first optical split signal and the second optical split signal. Alternatively, the power splitter may be a waveguide splitter (waveguide optical splitter) or a free-space beam splitter (free-space beam splitter), or the like.

In practice, the power ratio between the first split optical signal and the second split optical signal may also be set according to the actual situation. And since the second optical splitting signal is used to ensure the normal operation of the PIC chip, the power of the second optical splitting signal is usually set to be greater than that of the first optical splitting signal, illustratively, the first optical splitting signal has a power of 5% to 15% of the optical signal, and the second optical splitting signal has the remaining power of the optical signal, i.e., 85% to 95% of the power. More specifically, the first split optical signal may have a power of 15% of the optical signal, for example, and the second split optical signal may have a power of 85% of the optical signal.

In this embodiment, for the optical structure that is packaged and actually used, optical coupling may be achieved by using the second optical coupling structure, and because the second optical transmission structure 21 in the second optical coupling structure includes the first substructure 211 and the second substructure 212, the second optical coupling structure may be used for optical coupling and active alignment, and may also be used for transmitting light to other devices or optical structures.

According to the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and 5, the optical signal may be input to the third coupling port 22 by means of an optical source and a prism, and optionally, the optical source may correspond to the third coupling port 22 one to one, i.e. equal in number. Due to the volume of the light source or the light source module itself or other reasons, the light signal provided by the light source may not be able to achieve the short distance that the light signal provided by the optical fiber has, so there is a certain distance between adjacent light signals.

As shown in fig. 3, the optical structure may include a plurality of second light coupling structures, and the plurality of second light coupling structures may specifically include a first second light coupling structure and a second light coupling structure. The distance between the third coupling ports 22 included in the first and second optical coupling structures is equal to a predetermined distance. The second optical coupling structures correspond to the light sources one to one, that is, the third optical coupling ports 22 correspond to the light sources one to one, and the preset distance is actually the distance between the light sources corresponding to the third coupling ports 22. The distance of the light source is defined as the distance between light rays (light signals) output by the light source.

Based on the distance relationship, it is ensured that the third coupling port 22 in the second optical coupling structure can be aligned with the light source corresponding to itself. In fig. 5, the third coupling port 22 on the PIC chip is located below the prism, i.e. is shielded by the prism, and the position relationship between the light source and the prism in fig. 5 can also be regarded as the position relationship between the third coupling port 22 and the light source.

In this embodiment, the optical signal may be input into the third coupling port 22 included in each of the plurality of optical structures by the light source and the prism, and at this time, the distance between the plurality of third coupling ports 22 is the distance between the light sources corresponding to the plurality of third coupling ports 22, so that the third coupling ports 22 are aligned with the light sources corresponding to the third coupling ports 22.

Optionally, based on the optical structure shown in fig. 1, fig. 3 or fig. 4, the optical signal may also be input into the first coupling port 12 and/or the second coupling port 13 in the first optical coupling structure by means of an optical fiber array. At this time, since the input of the optical signal is not directly applied to the light source, the distance between the two coupling ports in the first optical coupling structure may not be limited by the light source, and the setting is flexible. However, since the spacing between the optical fibers in the optical fiber array is usually short, the distance between the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 in the first optical coupling structure is usually small.

In summary of the embodiments shown in the above figures, the arrangement of the positional relationship between the coupling ports in the optical structure may be related to the manner in which the optical signal is input into the coupling ports.

For the third coupling ports 22 included in each of the plurality of second optical coupling structures, if an optical signal is generated by an optical source and is input to the third coupling ports 22 by means of a prism, the distance between the plurality of third coupling ports 22 needs to be set in consideration of the distance between the optical sources, for example, the distance between the third coupling ports 22 included in each of the plurality of second optical coupling structures is equal to the distance between the optical sources corresponding to the third coupling ports 22.

If the optical signal is input to the third coupling port 22 through the optical fiber array, the distance between the optical fibers in the optical fiber array is relatively close, so the distance between the adjacent third coupling ports 22 can also be set relatively small.

For the first coupling port 12 and/or the second coupling port 13 in the same first optical coupling structure, if an optical signal is input to the first coupling port 12 and/or the second coupling port 13 by means of an optical fiber array, the distance between the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 is set more flexibly, but considering the distance between the optical fibers in the optical fiber array, the distance between the two is usually set to be smaller.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of an optical coupling method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can be implemented by using the optical structures provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 5. The optical structure includes a first light coupling structure and a second light coupling structure; the first optical coupling structure comprises a first optical transmission structure 11, and a first coupling port 12 and a second coupling port 13 which are connected with the first optical transmission structure 11; the second optical coupling structure includes a second optical transmission structure 21, and a third coupling port 22 and a photoelectric conversion structure 23 connected to the second optical transmission structure 21. The optical coupling method is not limited to fig. 6, and for example, the optical coupling method may specifically include the following steps S101 to S103:

s101, inputting an optical signal into a first coupling port;

s102, the first optical transmission structure transmits an optical signal to a second coupling port;

and S103, outputting the optical signal by the second coupling port.

And/or the optical coupling method may further include the following steps S104 to S106:

s104, inputting an optical signal into a third coupling port;

s105, the second optical transmission structure transmits optical signals;

and S106, detecting the signal intensity of the optical signal output by the second optical transmission structure by the photoelectric conversion structure.

In practice, the first optical coupling structure and the second optical coupling structure may couple optical signals at the same time or at different times, and thus there is no strict timing restriction between the above steps.

Based on the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 5, the process of optically coupling the first optical coupling structure can be described as follows: the optical signal is input into the first coupling port 12, transmitted to the second coupling port 13 through the first optical transmission structure 11, and finally output from the second coupling port 13. Optionally, the signal strength of the optical signal output by the second coupling port 13 may also be detected by an external detection device, so as to determine the optical coupling accuracy of the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13.

The process of optically coupling the second optical coupling structure can be described as: an optical signal is input to the third coupling port 22 and transmitted by the second optical transmission structure 21, and the optical-to-electrical conversion structure 23 detects the signal intensity of the optical signal output by the second optical transmission structure 21.

Optionally, the number of the first light coupling structures and the second light coupling structures in the optical structure may be at least one, as shown in the embodiments shown in fig. 1 or fig. 3.

Optionally, the first coupling port 12, the second coupling port 13, and the third coupling port 22 in the optical structure comprise grating couplers, and the first optical transmission structure 11 and the second optical transmission structure 21 comprise light-guiding media.

Optionally, the second optical transmission structure 21 in the second optical coupling structure further includes a first substructure 211 and a second substructure 212. The first sub-structure 211 is configured to transmit a first optical splitting signal of the optical signal, and the second sub-structure 212 is configured to transmit a second optical splitting signal of the optical signal. Optionally, a power splitter may be further connected to the third coupling port 22 in the second optical coupling structure, and is configured to perform optical splitting processing on the optical signal to obtain the first split optical signal and the second split optical signal.

Alternatively, the coupling ports included in different optical coupling structures in the optical structure may be adapted to different optical signal input modes. For example, the optical signal output by the light source may be input to the third coupling port 22 in the second optical coupling structure by means of the light source and the prism, and the optical signal may be input to the first coupling port 12 and/or the second coupling port 13 in the first optical coupling structure by means of the optical fiber array.

The positional relationship between the optical coupling ports may be set in consideration of the above-described input manner of the optical signal. For example, the optical structure shown in fig. 3 includes a plurality of second optical coupling structures, and for a first second optical coupling structure and a second optical coupling structure included in the plurality of second optical coupling structures, a distance between third coupling ports 22 included in the two second optical coupling structures is equal to a preset distance, where the preset distance may be a distance of a light source corresponding to the third coupling port 22. Also, for example, because the distance between the optical fibers in the optical fiber array is relatively dense, the distance between the first coupling port 12 and the second coupling port 13 in the same first optical coupling structure can be set relatively small.

Optionally, the first coupling port 12 and/or the second coupling port 13 in the first optical coupling structure may also input an optical signal by means of an optical fiber array.

In this embodiment, different optical coupling structures are applied to different optical signal input modes based on the optical structures shown in fig. 1 to 5, and therefore, when optical signals are provided using different modes, the optical signals can be coupled using the optical structures. In addition, the contents and the technical effects that are not described in detail in this embodiment can be referred to the related description in the above embodiments, and are not described again here.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of another optical structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the structure includes: an optical transmission structure 31, and a coupling port 32 and a photoelectric conversion structure 33 connected to the optical transmission structure 31, wherein the optical transmission structure 31 includes a first substructure 311 and a second substructure 312, and the first substructure 311 is connected to the photoelectric conversion structure 33.

Optionally, after the optical signal is input into the coupling port 32, optical splitting may be performed to obtain a first optical split signal and a second optical split signal. The first sub-structure 311 is used for transmitting the first split optical signal, the second sub-structure 312 is used for transmitting the second split optical signal, and the photoelectric conversion structure 33 is used for detecting the signal intensity of the first split optical signal.

Alternatively, the optical structure shown in fig. 7 may be integrated on the PIC chip, and the second sub-structure 312 may also be connected to other structures in the PIC chip (other structures are not shown in fig. 7), and the second optical splitting signal may transmit light through the second sub-structure 312 to other structures on the PIC chip, such as an optical modulator, an optical beam splitter, and so on. Alternatively, the optical transmission structure in the optical structure may have a "Y" shape as shown in fig. 7, or may have a "V" shape as shown in fig. 4.

Alternatively, the optical splitting process for the optical signal may be implemented by a power splitter connected to the coupling port 32, so as to obtain the first optical splitting signal and the second optical splitting signal.

In practice, a plurality of optical structures as shown in fig. 7 may be integrated on the PIC chip. Alternatively, the optical signal may be input to the coupling port 32 by means of a light source and a prism, or may be input to the coupling port 32 included in each optical structure by means of an optical fiber array.

When an optical signal is input to the coupling port 32 by means of the light source and the prism, and the light source and the coupling port 32 included in the optical structure can correspond to each other, for the first optical structure and the second optical structure in the plurality of optical structures included in the PIC chip, the distance between the first optical structure and the second optical structure included in the plurality of optical structures included in the PIC chip and the included coupling port 32 is equal to a preset distance, and the preset distance is the distance between the light sources corresponding to the respective coupling ports 32 included in the two optical structures, so that the coupling port 32 and the light source are aligned, and the optical coupling accuracy of the coupling port 32 is ensured. The positional relationship between the coupling port 32 and the light source can be understood in connection with the embodiment shown in fig. 5.

In this embodiment, the optical structure includes the optical transmission structure 31, and the coupling port 32 and the photoelectric conversion structure 33 connected to the optical transmission structure 31, and the optical transmission structure 31 specifically includes a first substructure 311 and a second substructure 312. The optical structure with the structure can ensure the normal use of the PIC chip while realizing optical coupling.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another optical coupling method provided by embodiments of the present invention that may be performed by the optical structure provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. The optical structure includes an optical transmission structure 31, and a coupling port 32 and a photoelectric conversion structure 33 connected to the optical transmission structure 31, where the optical transmission structure 31 includes a first substructure 311 and a second substructure 312, and the first substructure 311 is connected to the photoelectric conversion structure 33. As shown in fig. 8, the method may specifically include the following steps:

s201, coupling an optical signal into a port;

s202, the first substructure transmits a first optical splitting signal of the optical signal;

s203, detecting the signal intensity of the first light splitting signal by the photoelectric conversion structure;

and S204, the second substructure transmits a second optical splitting signal of the optical signal.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 7, the optical signal is input to the coupling port 32 of the optical structure, and then is subjected to optical splitting processing to obtain a first optical split signal and a second optical split signal. Alternatively, the above-described optical splitting process may be realized by a power splitter connected to the coupling port 32. And the first optical drop signal is transmitted by the first substructure 311 and the second optical drop signal is transmitted by the second substructure 312.

In this embodiment, there is no strict time sequence between steps 202 and 204, which is just an example.

Alternatively, a plurality of optical structures shown in fig. 7 may be integrated on the PIC chip, and in this case, when an optical signal is input to the coupling port 32 by means of the light source and the prism, and the coupling port 32 corresponds to the light source one by one, the distance setting between the coupling ports 32 included in each of the plurality of optical structures should satisfy a certain relationship. For example, the distance between the coupling ports 32 is equal to the distance between the light sources corresponding to the coupling ports 32, so as to ensure the optical coupling accuracy of the coupling ports 32.

For the content not described in detail in this embodiment and the technical effect achieved by this embodiment, reference may be made to the related description in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of another optical structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 9, the structure includes: an optical transmission structure 41, and a first coupling port 42 and a second coupling port connected to the optical transmission structure 41.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 9, the first coupling port 42 and the second coupling port 43 in the optical structure are respectively located at two ends of the optical transmission structure 41. And the process of optically coupling by means of the optical structure shown in fig. 9 can be described as: the first coupling port 42 is used for inputting optical signals, the optical transmission structure 41 is used for transmitting optical signals to the second coupling port 43, and the second coupling port 43 is used for outputting optical signals.

Optionally, the optical signal may also be coupled by an optical fiber array, that is, the first coupling port 42 is used for inputting the optical signal transmitted in the optical fiber array; the second coupling port 43 is used to output optical signals to the optical fiber array.

Alternatively, the optical structure shown in fig. 9 may also be integrated on a PIC chip, and at least one optical structure shown in fig. 9 may be integrated on the PIC chip at the same time. And because the distribution of the optical fibers in the optical fiber array is dense, the distance between the first coupling port 41 and the second coupling port 42 in the same optical structure can be small.

In addition, the process not described in detail in this embodiment may be referred to in the description of the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 6, and is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the first coupling port 42 in the optical coupling structure is used for inputting an optical signal, the optical transmission structure 41 is used for transmitting an optical signal, and the second coupling port 43 is used for transmitting an optical signal, so as to implement coupling of the optical signal.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of yet another optical coupling method provided by embodiments of the present invention that may be performed by the optical structure provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9. The optical structure includes an optical transmission structure 41, and a first coupling port 42 and a second coupling port 43 connected to the optical transmission structure 41. As shown in fig. 10, the method may specifically include the following steps:

S301, inputting an optical signal into a first coupling port;

s302, the optical transmission structure transmits an optical signal to a second coupling port;

and S303, outputting the optical signal by the second coupling port.

Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the first coupling port 42 of the optical structure inputs an optical signal, the optical transmission structure 41 transmits the optical signal, and the second coupling port 43 outputs the optical signal, so as to couple the optical signal. Optionally, the detection device externally connected to the optical structure may further detect the signal strength of the optical signal output by the second coupling port 43, so as to determine the optical coupling accuracy of the first coupling port 41 and the second coupling port 42.

Alternatively, at least one of the optical structures shown in fig. 9 may be integrated on the PIC chip, and the first coupling port 42 and the second coupling port 43 may be located at both ends of the optical transmission structure 41.

For the content not described in detail in this embodiment and the technical effect achieved by this embodiment, reference may be made to the related description in the embodiment shown in fig. 9, which is not described herein again.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide a photonic integrated circuit chip including any one of the optical structures provided in fig. 1, 3, 4, 7, and 9.

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