Patent Application
20180252579
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0028521 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 6, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for integrated optical measurement, and in detail, relates to a method and an apparatus for integrated optical measurement for varying a wavelength of an optical signal and discriminating power and a wavelength of an optical signal input from the outside.
An optical measuring instrument is equipment for measuring various physical characteristics of a target to be measured, and various measuring instruments are currently used in many places. As optical measuring instruments mainly and widely used in an optical communication field, there are a measuring laser source, an optical power meter, an optical spectrum analyzer, a wavelength meter, etc.
Currently, an optical measuring instrument that is widely used as a measuring instrument is one in which a tunable laser source and an optical power meter are composed as one apparatus, and has an optical wavelength tunable function and an optical power measuring function.
The optical measuring instrument is used by mainly separating the optical wavelength tunable/optical power measuring function and the optical wavelength measuring/optical power measuring function. Accordingly, it is inconvenient to use the plurality of optical measuring instruments to measure several functions of the target to be measured.
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for integrated optical measurement that may be manufactured with a low cost while realizing a tunable optical wavelength source, and optical power measuring and optical wavelength measuring functions are performed by one apparatus.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an integrated optical measurement apparatus receiving an optical signal and processing the received optical signal is provided. An integrated optical measurement apparatus includes: an optical signal transmission unit varying a wavelength of an optical signal to be transmitted and controlling power of the optical signal such that the wavelength is varied to be output to the outside; an optical signal receiving unit measuring power and a wavelength from the optical signal input from the outside; and a controller controlling the optical signal transmission unit and the optical signal receiving unit.
The optical signal transmission unit may include: at least one wavelength tunable transmission unit varying the wavelength of the optical signal to be transmitted; a combination and distribution unit combining at least one of optical signals respectively output from the wavelength tunable transmission unit and having the varied wavelength; an amplification and power controlling unit controlling power of the optical signal combined by the combination unit; and an output unit outputting a signal of which the power is controlled.
The optical signal transmission unit may further include a driving board unit controlling driving of at least one wavelength tunable transmission unit to provide the corresponding wavelength depending on wavelength information received from the controller.
The at least one wavelength tunable transmission unit may respectively include at least one diode chip, and the driving board unit may change a current flowing to the at least one diode chip depending on the wavelength information to vary the wavelength of the optical signal.
The optical signal transmission unit may further include a power controller controlling the amplification and power controlling unit depending on the control of the controller.
The at least one wavelength tunable transmission unit may be implemented as a transistor outline (TO)-CAN package or a mini flat package.
The optical signal transmission unit may further include a wavelength locker fixing the wavelength of the input optical signal, and the combination and distribution unit may distribute the combined optical signals and then output one optical signal to the amplification and power controlling unit and output the other optical signal to the wavelength locker.
The optical signal receiving unit may include: a first optical separator branching the received optical signal; a power measuring unit receiving one optical signal output from the first optical separator to be converted into an electrical signal; a power control board unit measuring the power of the electrical signal output from the power measuring unit; at least one linear transmission filter generating a power change for each wavelength from the other optical signal output from the first optical separator; at least one wavelength measuring unit converting the optical signal passing through the at least one linear transmission filter into the electrical signal; and a wavelength control board unit measuring the wavelength from the electrical signal output from the at least one wavelength measuring unit.
The optical signal receiving unit may further include at least one second optical separator branching the other optical signal and outputting one branched optical signal to the corresponding linear transmission filter, and the at least one second optical separator may output the other branched optical signal to a second optical separator that is positioned next.
The optical signal receiving unit may include: an optical distributor outputting the optical signal respectively received through the plurality of output ports; a power measuring unit connected to a first output port among the plurality of output ports and receiving the optical signal output through the second output port to be converted into the electrical signal; a power control board unit measuring power from the electrical signal output from the power measuring unit; at least one linear transmission filter connected to a second output port except for the first output port among the plurality of output ports and generating a power change for each wavelength from the optical signal output from the second output port; at least one wavelength measuring unit converting the optical signal passing through the at least one linear transmission filter into the electrical signal; and a wavelength control board unit measuring the wavelength from the electrical signal output from the at least one wavelength measuring unit.
The integrated optical measurement apparatus may further include an interface unit providing an interface with an external device according to the control of the controller.
The integrated optical measurement apparatus may further include a display unit executing a display operation according to the control of the controller.
At least part of the optical signal receiving unit may be implemented as a TO-CAN package or a mini flat package.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an integrated optical measurement method of measuring an optical signal by an integrated optical measurement apparatus is provided. The integrated optical measurement method includes: varying a wavelength of an optical signal to be transmitted in an optical signal transmission unit of the integrated optical measurement apparatus according to a wavelength information received from a controller; controlling and outputting power of the optical signal having a wavelength that is varied in the optical signal transmission unit; and measuring power and a wavelength from the optical signal input from the outside in an optical signal receiving unit of the integrated optical measurement apparatus.
The measuring may include: dividing the input optical signal into a plurality of optical signals; measuring the power from one optical signal among the plurality of optical signals; and measuring the wavelength from at least one remaining optical signal among the plurality of optical signals.
The measuring of the wavelength may include measuring a phototransmission amount of the at least one remaining optical signal by using a linear transmission filter changing a phototransmission amount for each wavelength; and measuring the wavelength from the phototransmission amount.
The optical signal transmission unit may include at least one laser diode chip, and the varying may include varying the wavelength of the optical signal by changing a current flowing to the at least one laser diode chip according to the wavelength information.
The outputting may include: distributing the optical signal having the varied wavelength into two optical signals; controlling power of one optical signal of the two optical signals; and fixing the wavelength of the other optical signal of the two optical signals.
The integrated optical measurement method may further include outputting the measured power and wavelength of the optical signal input from the outside to an external device.
In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.
Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements.
Now, a method and an apparatus for an integrated optical measurement according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The optical signal transmission unit 110 includes at least one of wavelength tunable transmission units 1111 to 111m, a driving board unit 112, a combination unit 113, an amplification and power controlling unit 114, a power controller 115, and an output unit 116.
The wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m respectively vary wavelengths to be different from each other, and are driven according to driving control of the driving board unit 112 to vary and output the wavelengths of an optical signal to be transmitted. For example, the wavelength tunable transmission unit 1111 may vary the wavelength of the optical signal into wavelengths λ11, λ12, . . . , λ1n of the optical signal respectively having powers P11, P12, . . . , P1n, the wavelength tunable transmission unit 1112 may vary the wavelength of the optical signal into wavelengths λ21, λ22, . . . , λ2n of the optical signal respectively having the powers P21, P22, . . . , P2n, and the wavelength tunable transmission unit 111m may vary the wavelength of the optical signal into wavelengths λm1, λm2, . . . , λmn of the optical signal respectively having the powers Pm1, Pm2, . . . , Pmn. The wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m may respectively include at least one laser diode chip capable of varying the wavelength of the optical signal. Each of the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m may freely select a wavelength tunable range according to a number of the laser diode chips. For example, the wavelength tunable transmission unit 1111 includes four laser diode chips and varies a current flowing to each laser diode chip, thereby varying the wavelength of the input optical signal.
These wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m may be implemented as a TO-CAN package. Alternatively, the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m may be realized as a type of a mini flat or a package similar thereto.
The driving board unit 112 controls the driving of the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m according to the control of the controller 130 to output a desired wavelength. That is, if wavelength information is received from the controller 130, the driving board unit 112 controls the driving of the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m to output the corresponding wavelength. For example, if the desired wavelength is provided from the wavelength tunable transmission unit 1111, the driving board unit 112 may supply the appropriate current to the wavelength tunable transmission unit 1111 to output the corresponding wavelength.
The combination unit 113 is connected to the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m and combines the optical signal output from the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m to be output to the amplification and power controlling unit 114.
The amplification and power controlling unit 114 amplifies and controls the optical signal output from the combination unit 113 to control the output power of the optical signal.
The power controller 115 controls the amplification and power controlling unit 114 according to the control of the controller 130. The output unit 116 is connected to an external device and outputs the optical signal output from the amplification and power controlling unit 114. The output unit 116 outputs the optical signal having the single wavelength λ11 having the power P′11 or the multiple wavelengths (λ11, λ22, . . . ) having the power P′12, P′22, . . . according to the output of the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m.
The optical signal receiving unit 120 includes an input unit 121, a power and wavelength measuring unit 122, a power control board unit 123, and a wavelength control board unit 124.
The input unit 121 is connected to the external device, and receives the optical signal having the power Pk and the wavelength λk from the external device.
The power and wavelength measuring unit 122 includes a collimator lens 1221, an optical separator 1222, a power measuring unit 1223, a linear transmission filter 1224, and a wavelength measuring unit 1225. The power and wavelength measuring unit 122 may also be implemented as the TO-CAN package, and may be implemented as the mini flat or a similar package thereto.
The collimator lens 1221 converges the optical signal input via the input unit 121 without spreading and transfers the optical signal to the optical isolator 1222.
The optical separator 1222 branches the optical signal input from the collimator lens 1221, and then outputs one branched optical signal to the power measuring unit 1223 and outputs the other optical signal to the wavelength measuring unit 1225.
That is, the optical separator 1222 transmits the part of the optical signal input from the collimator lens 1221 and reflects the remaining part, thereby separating the optical signal input from the collimator lens 1221 into two optical signals. The optical separator 1222 may control a ratio of a power amount of the branched optical signal. For example, the optical separator 1222 may select the power amount ratio of the optical signal branched as 1:9, 2:8, 3:7, 4:6, 5:5, etc.
The power measuring unit 1223 receives one optical signal that is branched from the optical separator 1222 and is input, and converts the corresponding optical signal into an electrical signal to be output to the power control board unit 123.
The linear transmission filter 1224 is an element generating the power change for each wavelength of the optical signal. The linear transmission filter 1224 linearly filters the other optical signal that is branched and input from the optical separator 1222 and outputs it to the wavelength measuring unit 1225.
The wavelength measuring unit 1225 converts the optical signal output from the linear transmission filter 1224 into the electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal to the wavelength control board unit 124.
The power control board unit 123 analyzes the electrical signal output from the power measuring unit 1223 to measure the power of the corresponding optical signal.
The wavelength control board unit 124 measures the wavelength of the corresponding optical signal from the electrical signal output from the wavelength measuring unit 1225.
The controller 130 controls the optical signal transmission unit 110, the optical signal receiving unit 120, the display unit 140, and the interface unit 150 and processes all signals and data. The controller 130 may transmit the power and the wavelength of the optical signal measured from the optical signal receiving unit 120 through the interface unit 150, and may display them through the display unit 140. Also, the controller 130 may transmit the power and the wavelength of the optical signal output from the optical signal transmission unit 110 through the interface unit 150, and may display them through the display unit 140. The controller 130 may include at least one processor and may perform corresponding functions by the at least one processor. The processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor in which a method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention is executed.
The display unit 140 executes the display operation according to the control of the controller 130.
The interface unit 150 provides the external device and the interface function according to the control of the controller 130.
Referring to
In detail, the combination and distribution unit 113′ combines the optical signals output from at least one of wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m and then divides the optical signals into two optical signals, amplifies and controls one optical signal of the two optical signals to be output to the amplification and power controlling unit 114, and outputs the other optical signal to the wavelength locker 117.
The wavelength locker 117 provides the optical signal of the output wavelength of which the wavelength of the optical signal is not changed depending on a time but is stable.
Referring to
In detail, the optical signal passing through the collimator lens 1221 is branched by the optical separator 1222, and one optical signal of the branched optical signals is output to the power measuring unit 1223. Also, the other branched optical signal is again branched by the optical separator 12261, one of the branched optical signals is output to the wavelength measuring unit 12251 through the linear transmission filter 12241, the other branched optical signal is again branched by the optical separator 12261, and one branched optical signal is output to the wavelength measuring unit 12252 through the linear transmission filter 12242. One optical signal of the optical signals branched by the final optical separator 1226k through this process is output to the wavelength measuring unit 1225k though the linear transmission filter 1224k, and the other optical signal is output to the wavelength measuring unit 1225k+1 through the linear transmission filter 1224k+1. In this case, the linear transmission filters 12241-1224k+1 are the elements generating the power change for each wavelength of the optical signal, and the wavelength control board unit 124 may measure the multiple wavelengths of the corresponding optical signal from the electrical signals respectively output from the wavelength measuring units 12251-1225k+1.
As above-described, the optical separators 12261-1226k may select the power amount ratio of the optical signal branched to be 1:9, 2:8, 3:7, 4:6, 5:5, etc.
Referring to
That is, the optical distribution unit 1227 has a plurality of output ports, and the plurality of output ports are respectively connected to the power measuring unit 1223 and at least one of the linear transmission filters 12241-1224k+1. In
Referring to
Referring to
For example, when the power of the optical signal input to the wavelength measuring unit 1225 through the collimator lens 1221 and the optical separator 1222 is referred to as 50 uW, it is assumed that the absolute power of the optical signal considering a loss of the collimator lens 1221 and the optical separator 1222 becomes 120 uW. In this case, as the power of the optical signal input to the wavelength measuring unit 1225 through the linear transmission filter chip 500 is also considered with the loss of the collimator lens 1221 and the optical separator 1222, the finally measured power is divided by 120 uW (or 50 uW without considering the loss) as the absolute power of the optical signal to be normalized, and then the wavelength is measured. For example, if the phototransmission amount T is 0.9 based on the phototransmission amount T for each wavelength shown in
Referring to
For example, when the linear transmission filter device 600 is used as each of the linear transmission filters 12241-1224k+1 shown in
Referring to
The optical signal transmission unit 110 combines and amplifies the optical signals that output from the wavelength tunable transmission units 1111-111m and are wavelength-varied (S720) to control the power (S730).
The optical signal transmission unit 110 outputs the optical signal of the single wavelength or the multiple wavelengths of which the power is controlled (S740).
Referring to
The optical signal receiving unit 120 measures the power from one optical signal of the branched optical signals (S830).
The optical signal receiving unit 120 measures the wavelength from the other optical signal among the branched optical signals (S840). As above-described, the optical signal receiving unit 120 may measure the wavelength of the corresponding optical signal by using the linear transmission filter 1224.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as the optical wavelength tuning, the optical power measuring, and the optical wavelength measuring functions may all be provided by only one optical measuring instrument, a size of internal components is small, and the optical module of the transistor outline (TO)-CAN package, the mini flat package, or a package similar thereto is used, there is an advantage that manufacturing in a portable form is possible such that usage at an external site is easy.
Also, it is possible to interface with a smart terminal, thereby providing easy to use functions.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2017-0028521 | Mar 2017 | KR | national |
