WO-2026096295-A1 - CONFIGURING OPTICAL AMPLIFICATION MODULES AND OPTICAL POWER SPLITTING MODULES

Abstract

An apparatus comprises: an input port configured to receive an optical wave; a plurality of optical amplification modules (OAMs), each configured to apply a gain to an optical wave; a plurality of optical power splitting modules (OPSMs), each configured to provide portions of an optical wave to two or more outputs according to an optical power splitting ratio; and a plurality of optical ports, each configured to provide an optical wave; wherein the plurality of OPSMs is interconnected in a tree network that comprises: a root stage comprising a path segment between the input port and a first OPSM, a final stage comprising a plurality of path segments between OPSMs and optical ports, and a plurality of inner stages, each comprising a plurality of path segments between an upstream and a downstream OPSM; and wherein at least two inner stages each include an OAM on one or more path segments.

Inventors

• RUSSO, Peter Nicholas
• GOULD, MICHAEL

Assignees

• Ayo Electronics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251024

Priority Date

20241029

Claims (20)

1. 1. An apparatus comprising: an input port configured to receive an optical wave; a plurality of optical amplification modules, each configured to apply a gain to an optical wave propagating through that optical amplification module; a plurality of optical power splitting modules, each configured to provide portions of an input optical wave to each output of two or more outputs according to an optical power splitting ratio associated with that optical power splitting module; and a plurality of optical ports, each configured to provide an optical wave; wherein the plurality of optical power splitting modules is interconnected in a tree network that comprises: a root stage of the tree network comprising a path segment between the input port and an input of a first optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules, a final stage of the tree network comprising a plurality of path segments between a respective output of an optical power splitting module and a respective optical port of the plurality of optical ports, and a plurality of inner stages of the tree network, each inner stage comprising a plurality of path segments between a respective output of an upstream optical power splitting module and a respective input of a downstream optical power splitting module; and wherein at least two inner stages each include a respective optical amplification module on one or more path segments of the plurality of path segments of that inner stage.
2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of phase modulation modules, where each phase modulation module of the plurality of phase modulation modules is configured to apply a phase modulation to an optical wave propagating through that phase modulation module of the plurality of phase modulation modules, and where each phase modulation module is in optical communication with an optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules or an optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules.
3. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each phase modulation module of the plurality of phase modulation modules is in optical communication with an optical port of the plurality of optical ports.
4. 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each phase modulation module of the plurality of phase modulation modules is configured to apply the phase modulation in response to a control signal provided to that phase modulation module of the plurality of phase modulation modules.
5. 5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one or more optical amplification modules of the plurality of optical amplification modules are further configured to apply a phase modulation to an optical wave propagating through that optical amplification module of the one or more optical amplification modules.
6. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an optical amplification module is arranged on the path segment of the root stage of the tree network.
7. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules is configured to apply the gain to the optical wave in response to a control signal provided to that optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules.
8. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising circuitry configured to provide a control signal to each optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules.
9. 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one control signal is generated based at least in part on a measurement of at least a portion of an optical wave provided to an optical port of the plurality of optical ports.
10. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gain that each optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules applies to an optical wave is based at least in part on an optical power splitting ratio associated with an optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules that provides an optical wave to that optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules.
11. 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one path segment along which an optical -M- power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules provides an optical wave has an optical path length that is different from an optical path length of a path segment along which a different optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules provides an optical wave.
12. 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more filtering modules, where each filtering module of the one or more filtering modules is configured to separate optical waves propagating through that filtering module of the one or more filtering modules, and where each filtering module of the one or more filtering modules is in optical communication with an optical amplification module of the plurality of optical amplification modules or an optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules.
13. 13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an optical combining arrangement configured to combine at least a portion of an optical wave from each optical port of two or more optical ports of the plurality of optical ports into one or more optical waves.
14. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each optical port of the two or more optical ports associated with the optical combining arrangement is in optical communication with an optical reflector such that the optical combining arrangement uses one or more optical power splitting modules of the plurality of optical power splitting modules to combine optical waves.
15. 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the optical combining arrangement comprises a free- space optical combining arrangement configured to combine at least a portion of an optical wave from each optical port of the plurality of optical ports into a spatial mode of an optical wave.
16. 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the optical combining arrangement comprises a network of a plurality of optical combining modules, where each optical combining module of the plurality of optical combining modules is configured to receive at least two optical waves and combine the at least two optical waves into an optical wave.
17. 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein either (1) a first optical power of an optical wave propagating along a first path segment between a first optical power splitting module and a second optical power splitting module, and before an initial optical amplification module on the first path segment, is within a factor of two of a second optical power of an optical wave propagating along a second path segment between the second optical power splitting module and an initial optical amplification module on the second path segment or (2) a first optical power of an optical wave propagating along a first path segment between a first optical power splitting module and a second optical power splitting module, and after an initial optical amplification module on the first path segment, is within a factor of two of a second optical power of an optical wave propagating along a second path segment between the second optical power splitting module and an initial optical amplification module on the second path segment.
18. 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a first optical amplification module that receives an optical wave over a first path from the input port through one or more optical power splitting modules is configured to apply a gain that is less than twice an inverse of an optical power splitting ratio associated with an optical power splitting module that is either (1) upstream and closer to the first optical amplification module than all other optical power splitting modules upstream on the first path or (2) downstream and closer to the first optical amplification module than all other optical power splitting modules downstream on the first path.
19. 19. A method comprising: arranging an input port configured to receive an optical wave; arranging a plurality of optical amplification modules, each configured to apply a gain to an optical wave propagating through that optical amplification module; arranging a plurality of optical power splitting modules, each configured to provide portions of an input optical wave to each output of two or more outputs according to an optical power splitting ratio associated with that optical power splitting module; arranging a plurality of optical ports, each configured to provide an optical wave; and configuring a tree network to interconnect the plurality of optical power splitting modules, the tree network comprising: a root stage of the tree network comprising a path segment between the input port and an input of a first optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules, a final stage of the tree network comprising a plurality of path segments between a respective output of an optical power splitting module and a respective optical port of the plurality of optical ports, and a plurality of inner stages of the tree network, each inner stage comprising a plurality of path segments between a respective output of an upstream optical power splitting module and a respective input of a downstream optical power splitting module; wherein at least two inner stages each include a respective optical amplification module on one or more path segments of the plurality of path segments of that inner stage.
20. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein at least a first optical amplification module that receives an optical wave over a first path from the input port through one or more optical power splitting modules is configured to apply a gain that is less than twice an inverse of an optical power splitting ratio associated with an optical power splitting module that is either (1) upstream and closer to the first optical amplification module than all other optical power splitting modules upstream on the first path or (2) downstream and closer to the first optical amplification module than all other optical power splitting modules downstream on the first path.

Description

CONFIGURING OPTICAL AMPLIFICATION MODULES AND OPTICAL POWER SPLITTING MODULES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/713,228, entitled “High Gain, Output Power, and Efficiency Semiconductor Optical Amplifier,” filed October 29, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This disclosure relates to configuring optical amplification modules and optical power splitting modules. BACKGROUND [0003] Chip-scale devices and systems can be configured to generate, process, or manipulate optical signals, electrical signals, or some combination thereof. Some systems can comprise integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured for electrical or optical signal processing. IC devices have increasingly found applications in a range of fields. By way of example, IC devices have fields ranging from telecommunications, data communications, sensing, medical, aerospace, defense, and industrial manufacturing. Increasing demand for systems comprising ICs has driven advancements in their operating capabilities, physical sizes, and reliability alongside optimization of associated manufacturing processes including production and testing. [0004] Some photonic processing devices can comprise semiconductor materials such as silicon or IIW compounds. Some examples of III/V compounds comprise elements from group III of the periodic table, such as boron, aluminum, gallium, or indium. Some examples of IIW compounds comprise elements from group V of the periodic table, such as nitrogen, phosphorous, arsenic, or antimony. In some implementations, semiconductor materials can be doped with p-type or n-type dopants. In some implementations n-type dopants can comprise elements such as tin, germanium, silicon, tellurium, and sulfur. In some implementations p-type dopants can comprise elements such as zinc, cadmium, beryllium, and magnesium. [0005] Some photonic processing devices can comprise optical waveguiding structures or optical circuits configured to guide optical waves in the optical wavelength region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some electromagnetic waves have a spectrum that has a peak wavelength that falls in a particular range of optical wavelengths (e.g., between about 100 nm to about 1 mm, or some subrange thereof), also referred to as optical waves, light waves, or simply light. In some implementations, optical waves can be associated with one or more optical modes or spatial modes. In some implementations, an optical mode can be associated with a structure that is configured to guide an optical wave. [0006] Some systems can include optical amplifiers that are configured to amplify or apply a gain to optical waves. In other words, an optical amplifier can receive an input optical wave and apply a gain to the input optical wave to produce an output optical wave having a higher optical power according to the gain of the optical amplifier. In some implementations, an optical amplifier can be formed from a semiconductor material or semiconductor gain medium and integrated into an integrated circuit system or integrated circuit architecture. Some materials can apply gain to an optical wave based on external field applied to the material, such as an electrical field or an optical field. An optical amplifier formed from a semiconductor material or semiconductor gain medium can be referred to as a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Some optical amplifiers can allow for optical signals in the form of optical waves to be amplified without converting the signals between optical and electronic domains, which can be associated with signal losses and increased power consumption of the system. SUMMARY [0007] In one aspect, in general, an apparatus comprises: an input port configured to receive an optical wave; a plurality of optical amplification modules, each configured to apply a gain to an optical wave propagating through that optical amplification module; a plurality of optical power splitting modules, each configured to provide portions of an input optical wave to each output of two or more outputs according to an optical power splitting ratio associated with that optical power splitting module; a plurality of optical ports, each configured to provide an optical wave; and an optical combining arrangement configured to combine at least a portion of an optical wave from each optical port of two or more optical ports of the plurality of optical ports into one or more optical waves; wherein a first optical power splitting module of the plurality of optical power splitting modules is in optical communication with the input port; and wherein each optical power splitting module is configured to provide portions of an optical wave to at least one of (1) an optical port of the plurality of optical ports along a path comprising one or more optical amplification modules of the plurality