Fibre-based communication

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11223424-B2
Application number	US-201817267315-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 10, 2018
Priority date	Aug 10, 2018
Publication date	Jan 11, 2022
Grant date	Jan 11, 2022

Abstract

In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus (160) comprising two inputs configured to receive two optical signals from two fibres (155, 157) from two respective optical transmitters, a beam splitter configured to convert the optical signals into dual rail form, the apparatus being configured to cause the optical signals to interfere with each other, a plurality of single photon detectors configured to measure the dual rail form optical signals, and at least one processing core configured to obtain compensation adjustment information concerning the two fibres and to inform the optical transmitters of the compensation adjustment information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
two optical transmitters, each optical transmitter comprising a dual-rail encoder configured to obtain light from a light source and to output dual-rail encoded light and a polarization rotator combiner configured to convert the dual-rail encoded light into polarization encoded light;
at least one processing core configured to obtain compensation adjustment information concerning two fibres and to control the dual-rail encoders based at least in part on the compensation adjustment information, wherein
the light sources of the optical transmitters comprise laser sources operating at the same frequency, such that the laser sources are injection locked to the same frequency.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processing core is configured to, based on the compensation adjustment information, control the dual-rail encoders such that at a receiver connected to the two fibres, optical signals from the two optical transmitters arrive with the same polarization.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one processing core is configured to, based on the compensation adjustment information, control the dual-rail encoders such that the same polarization is an optimal polarization for the receiver.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to obtain the compensation adjustment information via a communication channel with the receiver, the communication channel not traversing either of the two fibres.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light sources are slave lasers of a single master laser or one of the light sources is a slave laser of the other light source.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processing core is configured to control the dual rail encoders to pre-compensate for phase rotation in the two fibres.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processing core is configured to control the dual rail encoders by causing, in each dual rail encoder, an adjustment of a phase difference and a relative amplitude of the two rails.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is comprised on a single photonic chip.

9. An apparatus comprising:
two inputs configured to receive two optical signals from two fibres from two respective optical transmitters;
a beam splitter configured to convert the optical signals into dual rail form, the apparatus being configured to cause the optical signals to interfere with each other;
a plurality of single photon detectors configured to measure the dual rail form optical signals, and
at least one processing core configured to obtain compensation adjustment information concerning the two fibres and to inform the optical transmitters of the compensation adjustment information.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the beam splitter comprises a polarization splitter rotator and the apparatus further comprises a second polarization splitter rotator, each polarization splitter rotator being configured to process one of the two optical signal inputs.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising a phase modulator configured to adjust the phase of one of rails of one of the dual rail optical signals.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising two interferometers, each interferometer coupled to exactly one rail of each of the two dual rail optical signals.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising at least one polarization analyser.

14. A method, comprising:
in each of two optical transmitters, obtaining light from a light source, encoding dual-rail encoded light in a dual-rail encoder and converting the dual-rail encoded light into polarization encoded light;
obtaining compensation adjustment information concerning two fibres and controlling the dual-rail encoders based at least in part on the compensation adjustment information, wherein
the light sources comprise laser sources operating at the same frequency, such that the laser sources are injection locked to the same frequency.

15. The method according to claim 14 , comprising controlling, based on the compensation adjustment information, the dual-rail encoders such that at a receiver connected to the two fibres, optical signals from the two optical transmitters arrive with the same polarization.

16. The method according to claim 15 , comprising controlling, based on the compensation adjustment information, the dual-rail encoders such that the same polarization is an optimal polarization for the receiver.

17. The method according to claim 14 , comprising obtaining the compensation adjustment information via a communication channel with the receiver, the communication channel not traversing either of the two fibres.

18. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the light sources are slave lasers of a single master laser or one of the light sources is a slave laser of the other light source.

19. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising controlling the dual rail encoders to pre-compensate for phase rotation in the two fibres.

20. The method according to claim 14 , comprising controlling the dual rail encoders by causing, in each dual rail encoder, an adjustment of a phase difference and a relative amplitude of the two rails.

Assignees

• Nokia Technologies Oy

Inventors

• Bitauld David

Classifications

• H04B10/532 Primary

  Polarisation modulation · CPC title

• G02B6/2766

  Manipulating the plane of polarisation from one input polarisation to another output polarisation, e.g. polarisation rotators, linear to circular polarisation converters · CPC title

• H04B10/85

  Protection from unauthorised access, e.g. eavesdrop protection · CPC title

• H04L9/0858

  Details about key distillation or coding, e.g. reconciliation, error correction, privacy amplification, polarisation coding or phase coding · CPC title

• H04B10/079

  using measurements of the data signal · CPC title