JP7569441B2 - Optical transmission/reception device and optical communication device using the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an optical transmitting/receiving device and an optical communication device using the same.

There is known an optical transmission/reception device that includes an optical signal transmission unit that converts an input electrical signal into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to a transmission waveguide, and an optical signal reception unit that converts an optical signal received from a reception waveguide into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal. Patent Document 1 below describes such an optical transmission/reception device. In this optical transmission/reception device, a plurality of transmission waveguides are arranged in parallel on a single plane, and a plurality of reception waveguides are arranged in parallel on a single plane. The spacing between the plurality of transmission waveguides, the spacing between the plurality of reception waveguides, and the spacing between adjacent transmission and reception waveguides are all equal.

JP 2020-46542 A

In such optical transceivers, there is a demand to reduce the distance between the waveguides to make them as compact as possible and to achieve high-density packaging. However, there is a concern that bringing the waveguides closer together will increase crosstalk, which can affect communications.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an optical transmission/reception device that can be miniaturized and highly densely mounted, and that can suppress crosstalk that affects communications, and an optical communication device using the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the optical transmission/reception device of the present invention comprises a plurality of transmitting waveguides, a plurality of receiving waveguides, an optical signal transmitting unit that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal and transmits the converted optical signal from one end of each of the transmitting waveguides to the transmitting waveguide, and an optical signal receiving unit that receives an optical signal from one end of each of the receiving waveguides and converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal, and is characterized in including at least one waveguide pair consisting of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide, in which the distance between the other end of the transmitting waveguide and the other end of the receiving waveguide is smaller than the distance between the other ends of the respective transmitting waveguides and the distance between the other ends of the respective receiving waveguides.

This optical transmitting/receiving device can be made smaller and more densely mounted than when the distance between the end of the transmitting waveguide and the end of the receiving waveguide adjacent to each other is equal to or greater than the distance between the other ends of the transmitting waveguide and the other ends of the receiving waveguide. However, the crosstalk between the other ends of this waveguide pair tends to be greater than the crosstalk between the other ends of the transmitting waveguide and the crosstalk between the other ends of the receiving waveguide. However, even if crosstalk occurs between the other end of the transmitting waveguide and the other end of the receiving waveguide, the light that crosstalks from the transmitting waveguide to the receiving waveguide tends to be suppressed from propagating to the optical signal receiving unit side, and the light that crosstalks from the receiving waveguide to the transmitting waveguide tends to be suppressed from propagating to the destination. Therefore, the crosstalk that occurs between the other end of the transmitting waveguide and the other end of the receiving waveguide in this waveguide pair tends to be suppressed from affecting communication. Therefore, the optical transmitting/receiving device of the present invention can suppress crosstalk that affects communication while contributing to miniaturization and high-density mounting.

In general, an optical transmission/reception device is an optical communication device using a waveguide device having a plurality of waveguides that are optically coupled to a transmission waveguide and a reception waveguide individually. In a waveguide device connected to the optical communication device of the present invention, the distance between the waveguide optically coupled to the transmission waveguide of the above-mentioned waveguide pair and the waveguide optically coupled to the reception waveguide of the waveguide pair tends to be small, as does the distance between the waveguides optically coupled to the transmission waveguide and the distance between the waveguides optically coupled to the reception waveguide. Therefore, the waveguide device also tends to be miniaturized and highly densely mounted. In addition, in a waveguide device, the crosstalk between the waveguides optically coupled to such a waveguide pair tends to be larger than the crosstalk between the waveguides optically coupled to the transmission waveguide and the crosstalk between the waveguides optically coupled to the reception waveguide. However, since the propagation directions of the optical signals used for communication are opposite between the waveguides of this waveguide pair, even if such crosstalk occurs, the influence on communication can be suppressed. Therefore, the optical transmitting/receiving device of the present invention can contribute to realizing an optical communication device in which crosstalk that affects communication is suppressed, compared with a case in which the distance between the end of the transmitting waveguide and the end of the receiving waveguide adjacent to each other is equal to or greater than the distance between the other ends of the transmitting waveguide and the distance between the other ends of the receiving waveguide.

It is also preferable that the optical transceiver includes multiple waveguide pairs.

This configuration makes it possible to make the optical transceiver more compact and more densely packed.

In this case, it is preferable that in the multiple waveguide pairs, one of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide is shared, and the other of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide is not shared.

This configuration allows multiple waveguides that are not shared by multiple waveguide pairs to be brought closer to the waveguides shared by multiple waveguide pairs, making it possible to make the optical transceiver more compact and more densely packed. Note that light propagates from each of the waveguides that are not shared by multiple waveguide pairs to the waveguides shared by multiple waveguide pairs due to crosstalk, but this light propagates in the opposite direction to the optical signal that should originally propagate through the waveguides shared by multiple waveguide pairs, so the impact on communication is suppressed.

It is also preferable that the receiving waveguide is not located between the one ends of each of the transmitting waveguides, and that the transmitting waveguide is not located between the one ends of each of the receiving waveguides.

In this case, one end of the transmission waveguide can be collected to make it easier to connect to the optical signal transmission unit, and one end of the reception waveguide can be collected to make it easier to connect to the optical signal reception unit. In addition, the devices that make up the optical signal transmission unit and the optical signal reception unit can be integrated, making the optical transmission and reception device more compact. In addition, as described above, one end of the transmission waveguide can be collected and connected to the optical signal transmission unit, and one end of the reception waveguide can be collected and connected to the optical signal reception unit, so that the configuration of the part that processes the electrical signal can be simplified, and the wiring distance to the IC that processes the transmission electrical signal input to the optical signal transmission unit and the electrical signal output from the optical signal reception unit can be shortened.

It is also preferable that the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are arranged alternately.

In this case, the adjacent waveguides at the other end can be brought closer to each other, making it possible to further miniaturize the optical transceiver and achieve higher density packaging. Furthermore, the light propagation directions of the adjacent waveguides at the other end are different from each other. Therefore, even if crosstalk occurs between adjacent waveguides at the other end, the effects of the crosstalk can be suppressed. Furthermore, the effects of crosstalk occurring between adjacent waveguides in the above-mentioned waveguide device on communication can be suppressed.

In this case, it is preferable that the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are arranged alternately in a circular ring shape.

By arranging the other end in this manner, it becomes easier to connect a multicore fiber having cores arranged in a circular ring shape to the optical transceiver of the present invention as the above-mentioned waveguide device. In this case, even if crosstalk occurs between adjacent cores in the multicore fiber, the crosstalk that affects communication can be suppressed.

In this manner, when the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are alternately arranged in a circular ring shape, the other end side of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end side of each of the receiving waveguides may be provided inside a substrate on which each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides are provided, and the one end side of each of the transmitting waveguides and the one end side of each of the receiving waveguides may be provided on a main surface of the substrate.

This configuration makes it easier to connect one end of the transmitting waveguide to the optical signal transmitting unit and one end of the receiving waveguide to the optical signal receiving unit. In addition, the influence of light due to external disturbances can be reduced at one end of the transmitting waveguide and one end of the receiving waveguide where the optical signal enters and exits.

Furthermore, when the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are arranged alternately, it is preferable that the receiving waveguide is not located between the one ends of each of the transmitting waveguides, the transmitting waveguide is not located between the one ends of each of the receiving waveguides, and at least one of the transmitting waveguides and at least one of the receiving waveguides intersect.

In this case, if the transmitting waveguide is provided from one end to the other end, and the receiving waveguide is provided from one end to the other end, at least one transmitting waveguide and at least one receiving waveguide intersect in a plane. Also, if the other end of each transmitting waveguide and the other end of each receiving waveguide are arranged in a circular ring shape, at least one transmitting waveguide and at least one receiving waveguide intersect in a three-dimensional manner. When the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide intersect in a three-dimensional manner, when the main surface of the substrate on which the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide are provided are viewed from the front, the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide appear to intersect. By configuring in this way, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide can be increased compared to when the respective waveguides do not intersect.

Alternatively, it is preferable that each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides are arranged on the same plane, and that the end of each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides from the one end to the other end are arranged alternately with the other of each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides.

In this case, the influence of crosstalk on communication between one of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide and the other is further suppressed. Therefore, the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide can be brought closer together over a longer section, and the optical transmitting/receiving device can be made smaller and more densely packed. Furthermore, crosstalk that affects communication can be suppressed compared to when at least parts of the transmitting waveguides are adjacent to each other and at least parts of the receiving waveguides are adjacent to each other.

Furthermore, in at least one of the waveguide pairs, it is preferable that at the one end of the transmitting waveguide, light is guided along a principal surface of a substrate on which the respective transmitting waveguide and the respective receiving waveguide are provided, and at the other end of the transmitting waveguide, light is emitted in a direction away from the principal surface, and at the one end of the receiving waveguide, light is guided along the principal surface, and at the other end of the receiving waveguide, light is incident in a direction toward the principal surface.

With this configuration, the direction in which the optical signal transmitter and the optical signal receiver transmit and receive light in the waveguide pair can be changed from the direction in which the waveguide device connected to the optical transceiver transmits and receives light. This increases the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the waveguide device, and increases the degree of freedom in the design of the optical transceiver.

The optical communication device of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a pair of any one of the optical transceivers described above, and a waveguide device that optically couples the transmitting waveguide of one of the optical transceivers to the receiving waveguide of the other of the optical transceivers, and optically couples the receiving waveguide of one of the optical transceivers to the transmitting waveguide of the other of the optical transceivers.

In such an optical communication device, the optical transmitting/receiving device has the above-mentioned waveguide pair whose distance between the other ends is smaller than the distance between the other ends of the transmitting waveguides and the distance between the other ends of the receiving waveguides, and the waveguide device has a waveguide that is optically coupled to the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide of the waveguide pair, so that the optical communication device and the waveguide device can be miniaturized and highly densely mounted, and as a result, the optical communication device can be miniaturized and highly densely mounted. Furthermore, even if there is crosstalk between the other ends of the waveguide pair or between the waveguides optically coupled to the waveguide pair of the waveguide device, the effect of the crosstalk on communication can be suppressed.

As described above, according to the present invention, an optical transceiver device can be provided that can be miniaturized and highly densely mounted, and that can suppress crosstalk that affects communications, and an optical communication device using the same can be provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an optical communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of an optical communication device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of an optical communication device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of an optical communication device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Below, embodiments for implementing the optical transmission/reception device and the optical communication device using the same according to the present invention are illustrated with the accompanying drawings. The embodiments illustrated below are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved from the following embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, in this specification, the dimensions of each component may be exaggerated to facilitate understanding.

First Embodiment
1 is a diagram showing an outline of an optical communication device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical communication device 1 according to the present embodiment mainly comprises a pair of optical transmitting/receiving devices 100 and a waveguide device 200.

In this embodiment, one optical transmission/reception device 100 and the other optical transmission/reception device 100 of the optical communication device 1 have the same configuration. Therefore, one of the optical transmission/reception devices 100 will be described. The optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment mainly comprises a substrate 10, an optical signal transmission section 20, an optical signal reception section 30, a plurality of transmission waveguides 41, and a plurality of reception waveguides 42. Note that FIG. 1 shows an example in which there are two transmission waveguides 41 and two reception waveguides 42.

The substrate 10 is, for example, a substrate made of a silicon substrate and a glass layer formed on the silicon substrate. In this case, the above-mentioned transmitting waveguides 41 and the receiving waveguides 42 are provided as cores made of silicon in the glass layer. The substrate 10 is not limited to the above configuration as long as the transmitting waveguides 41 and the receiving waveguides 42 can be provided. For example, the substrate 10 may be entirely made of glass or resin. The material of the waveguide core is not limited to the above configuration. For example, it may be a compound semiconductor such as indium phosphide or lithium niobate, SiO ₂ with added germanium oxide, or a polymer.

In this embodiment, each transmitting waveguide 41 and each receiving waveguide 42 are provided on the main surface of the substrate 10. One end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41 and one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42 are provided between the opposing edges of the substrate 10 facing in the same direction, and the other end 41b of each transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each receiving waveguide 42 are provided on one of the opposing edges of the substrate 10 facing in the same direction. Therefore, the one end 41a, 42a of each waveguide is located within one main surface of the substrate 10, and the other end 41b, 42b is exposed from the edge of the substrate 10.

In this embodiment, the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 are arranged in parallel to each other, and the length of the reception waveguide 42 is shorter than the length of the transmission waveguide 41. In addition, the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42 are arranged alternately. Therefore, from one end 42a to the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42, it is arranged alternately with each transmission waveguide 41, and from the middle of one end 41a and the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 to the other end 41b, it is arranged alternately with each reception waveguide 42. Therefore, in the vicinity of one end 41a of the transmission waveguide 41, the reception waveguide 42 is not located between the transmission waveguides 41.

In this embodiment, since the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 are configured as described above, the optical transmission/reception device 100 includes a plurality of waveguide pairs WP1 to WP3 surrounded by dotted lines, each consisting of a transmission waveguide 41 and a reception waveguide 42 in which the distance between the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42 is smaller than the distance between the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the distance between the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42. In this embodiment, all of the transmission waveguides 41 and reception waveguides 42 adjacent to each other form a waveguide pair. Note that, although not particularly surrounded by dotted lines and not marked with a symbol, the other optical transmission/reception device 100 also includes a plurality of waveguide pairs in the same manner as the one optical transmission/reception device 100.

In addition, due to the above configuration, in a waveguide pair WP1 consisting of a transmitting waveguide 41 located at the very end and a receiving waveguide 42 adjacent to this transmitting waveguide 41 and sandwiched between the pair of transmitting waveguides 41, and a waveguide pair WP2 consisting of a receiving waveguide 42 sandwiched between the pair of transmitting waveguides 41 and a transmitting waveguide 41 adjacent to this receiving waveguide 42 and sandwiched between the pair of receiving waveguides 42, the receiving waveguide 42 is shared, and each transmitting waveguide 41 is not shared by each of the waveguide pairs WP1, WP2. In addition, in a waveguide pair WP3 consisting of a receiving waveguide 42 located at the end and a transmitting waveguide 41 adjacent to the receiving waveguide 42 and sandwiched between the pair of receiving waveguides 42, and a waveguide pair WP2 consisting of a transmitting waveguide 41 sandwiched between the pair of receiving waveguides 42 and a receiving waveguide 42 adjacent to the transmitting waveguide 41 and sandwiched between the pair of transmitting waveguides 41, the transmitting waveguide 41 is shared, and each receiving waveguide 42 is not shared by each of the waveguide pairs WP3 and WP2. That is, in the optical transmitting/receiving device 100 of this embodiment, in a plurality of waveguide pairs, one of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 is shared, and the other of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 is not shared.

The above-mentioned transmitting waveguide 41 and receiving waveguide 42 propagate light of the wavelength used for communication, for example, in a single mode. However, each transmitting waveguide 41 and receiving waveguide 42 may propagate light of the wavelength used for communication in several modes, in which case a signal may be superimposed on the light of each mode.

The optical signal transmission unit 20 of this embodiment is provided on the substrate 10 and is optically coupled to one end 41a of each of the transmission waveguides 41. The optical signal transmission unit 20 converts an electrical signal input from a wiring (not shown) into an optical signal, and transmits the converted optical signal from one end 41a of each of the transmission waveguides 41 to the transmission waveguide 41. Note that the method by which the optical signal transmission unit 20 converts an electrical signal into an optical signal is not particularly limited.

The optical signal receiving unit 30 of this embodiment is provided on the substrate 10 and is optically coupled to one end 42a of the receiving waveguide 42. As described above, one end 42a of the receiving waveguide 42 is sandwiched between the transmitting waveguide 41, so in this embodiment, there are multiple optical signal receiving units 30 that are individually optically coupled to the receiving waveguide 42, and one optical signal receiving unit 30 is sandwiched between the transmitting waveguide 41. The optical signal receiving unit 30 receives an optical signal from one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42, converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal, and outputs the converted electrical signal from a wiring not shown. Note that the method by which the optical signal receiving unit 30 converts an optical signal into an electrical signal is not particularly limited.

The optical signal transmitting unit 20 and the optical signal receiving unit 30 are electrically connected to the electrical circuit of an IC chip for connecting an external power source or an external device, or to the electrical wiring of an FPC for connecting an external power source or an external device. Examples of this connection include a connection using wire bonding or a connection by flip chip mounting. The electrical circuit or electrical wiring may be provided on the substrate 10 or may be provided outside the substrate 10. By being electrically connected in this manner, an electrical signal from an external power source can be input to the optical transmitting/receiving device 100, and an electrical signal from the optical transmitting/receiving device 100 can be output to an external device.

In this embodiment, a flexible polymer waveguide is used as the waveguide device 200. The waveguide device 200 is connected to each optical transmitting/receiving device 100. The method of connecting the waveguide device and the optical transmitting/receiving device is not particularly limited. The material constituting the waveguide device 200 is not particularly limited. When a flexible waveguide is used for the waveguide device 200, it is easy to adjust the distance between the two optical transmitting/receiving devices 100. A rigid waveguide may also be used as the waveguide device 200. In this case, by using a waveguide in which each optical transmitting/receiving device 100 is arranged, bending of the waveguide can be suppressed even if the waveguide is arranged on a printed circuit board, and the waveguide can be easily implemented on the printed circuit board. The waveguide device 200 includes a first waveguide 201 in the same number as the transmitting waveguide 41, and a second waveguide 202 in the same number as the receiving waveguide 42. The first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 are arranged in parallel in the same arrangement as the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 in one optical transmitting/receiving device 100. Therefore, the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 are arranged alternately. Therefore, the waveguide device 200 includes a plurality of pairs of waveguides each consisting of a first waveguide 201 and a second waveguide 202, in which the distance between the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is smaller than the distance between the first waveguides 201 and the distance between the second waveguides 202. Note that in FIG. 1, the pairs of waveguides each consisting of the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 are not enclosed by dotted lines. Due to this configuration, in the waveguide device 200 of this embodiment, in each of the multiple waveguide pairs, one of the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is shared, and the other of the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is not shared.

Each of the first waveguides 201 is optically coupled at one end to a respective transmitting waveguide 41 of one of the optical transmitting/receiving devices 100, and each of the second waveguides 202 is optically coupled at one end to a respective receiving waveguide 42 of one of the optical transmitting/receiving devices 100. Each of the first waveguides 201 is optically coupled at the other end to a respective receiving waveguide 42 of the other of the optical transmitting/receiving devices 100, and each of the second waveguides 202 is optically coupled at the other end to a respective transmitting waveguide 41 of the other of the optical transmitting/receiving devices 100. Therefore, the waveguide device 200 optically couples each of the transmitting waveguides 41 of one optical transceiver 100 to each of the receiving waveguides 42 of the other optical transceiver 100, and optically couples each of the receiving waveguides 42 of one optical transceiver 100 to each of the transmitting waveguides 41 of the other optical transceiver 100. Note that the optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 may be separated from each other as long as each of the transmitting waveguides 41 and each of the first waveguides 201 are optically coupled individually and each of the receiving waveguides 42 and each of the second waveguides 202 are optically coupled individually.

The first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 propagate light of the same wavelength as the light propagating through the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 in the same mode as the light propagating through the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 of the optical transmitting/receiving device 100, for example.

In the optical communication device 1 configured as described above, when an electrical signal is input from wiring (not shown) of one optical transceiver 100, the optical signal transmitter 20 converts the electrical signal into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to each of the transmission waveguides 41. This optical signal propagates from each of the transmission waveguides 41 of one optical transceiver 100 through each of the first waveguides 201 of the waveguide device 200 to each of the reception waveguides 42 of the other optical transceiver 100, and is received by the optical signal receiver 30 of the other optical transceiver 100. The optical signal received by the optical signal receiver 30 is converted into an electrical signal and output from wiring (not shown) of the other optical transceiver 100.

As described above, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment includes waveguide pairs WP1 to WP3 consisting of a transmitting waveguide 41 and a receiving waveguide 42 in which the distance between the other end 41b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the receiving waveguide 42 is smaller than the distance between the other ends 41b of each transmitting waveguide 41 and the distance between the other ends 42b of each receiving waveguide 42.

According to such an optical transmission/reception device 100, the distance between the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42, which are adjacent to each other, can be made smaller and more densely mounted than when the distance between the other ends 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the distance between the other ends 42b of the reception waveguide 42 are greater. However, the crosstalk between the other ends 41b, 42b of the waveguide pairs WP1 to WP3 tends to be greater than the crosstalk between the other ends 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the crosstalk between the other ends 42b of the reception waveguide 42. However, even if crosstalk occurs between the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other ends 41b, 42b of the reception waveguide 42, the light that crosstalks from the transmission waveguide 41 to the reception waveguide 42 does not propagate to the optical signal receiving unit 30 side, and the light that crosstalks from the reception waveguide 42 to the transmission waveguide 41 tends not to propagate to the destination. Therefore, the crosstalk that occurs between the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42 in the waveguide pairs WP1 to WP3 tends to have little effect on communication. Therefore, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment can suppress crosstalk that affects communication while contributing to miniaturization and high-density mounting.

In addition, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment includes a plurality of the above-mentioned waveguide pairs. Therefore, compared to the case where only one pair of the above-mentioned waveguide pairs is included, the optical transmission/reception device 100 can be made smaller and more densely packed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the plurality of waveguide pairs WP1, WP2 and the plurality of waveguide pairs WP3, WP2, one of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 is shared, and the other of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 is not shared. Therefore, the plurality of waveguides that are not shared by the plurality of waveguide pairs can be brought closer to the waveguide shared by the plurality of waveguide pairs, and the optical transmission/reception device 100 can be made smaller and more densely packed. In addition, light propagates into the waveguide shared by the multiple waveguide pairs from each of the waveguides that are not shared by the multiple waveguide pairs due to crosstalk. However, since this light tends to propagate in the opposite direction to the optical signal that should actually propagate through the waveguide shared by the multiple waveguide pairs, the impact on communication is suppressed.

In addition, in the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, the other end 41b of each transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each receiving waveguide 42 are arranged alternately. Therefore, the adjacent waveguides can be brought closer to each other at the other ends 41b, 42b, and the optical transmission/reception device 100 can be made smaller and more densely packed. Even if crosstalk occurs between adjacent waveguides in the waveguide device 200 connected to the optical transmission/reception device 100, the impact of this crosstalk on communication can be suppressed.

In addition, in the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, each transmission waveguide 41 and each reception waveguide 42 are arranged on the same plane, and one end 42a to the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42 are arranged alternately with each transmission waveguide 41. Note that, unlike the above embodiment, one end 41a to the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 may be arranged alternately with each reception waveguide 42. That is, each transmission waveguide 41 and each reception waveguide 42 are arranged on the same plane, and one end to the other end of each transmission waveguide 41 and each reception waveguide 42 are arranged alternately with the other of each transmission waveguide 41 and each reception waveguide 42. By configuring in this way, the influence of crosstalk that one of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 receives from the other on communication is further suppressed. Therefore, the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 can be brought closer to each other over a longer section, and the optical transmission/reception device 100 can be made smaller and more densely packed. Moreover, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment having such a configuration can suppress crosstalk that affects communication, compared to a case in which at least parts of the transmission waveguides 41 are adjacent to each other and at least parts of the reception waveguides 42 are adjacent to each other.

In addition, the optical communication device 1 of this embodiment includes a pair of optical transmitting/receiving devices 100, and a waveguide device 200 that optically couples each of the transmitting waveguides 41 of one optical transmitting/receiving device 100 to each of the receiving waveguides 42 of the other optical transmitting/receiving device 100, and optically couples each of the receiving waveguides 42 of one optical transmitting/receiving device 100 to each of the transmitting waveguides 41 of the other optical transmitting/receiving device 100.

In the waveguide device 200 in the optical communication device 1, the distance between the first waveguide 201 optically coupled to the transmitting waveguide 41 of the waveguide pairs WP1 to WP3 and the second waveguide 202 optically coupled to the receiving waveguide 42 tends to be small, as does the distance between the first waveguides 201 and the distance between the second waveguides 202. Therefore, the waveguide device 200 also tends to be miniaturized and highly densely mounted. In addition, in the waveguide device 200, the crosstalk between the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 optically coupled to the waveguide pairs WP1 to WP3 tends to be larger than the crosstalk between the first waveguides 201 and the crosstalk between the second waveguides 202. However, even if such crosstalk occurs, the influence on communication can be suppressed because the propagation directions of the optical signals used for communication are opposite between the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202. Therefore, the optical communication device 1 of the present embodiment can suppress the crosstalk that affects communication while being miniaturized and highly densely mounted, compared to a case where an optical transmitting/receiving device is used in which the distance between the other end 41 b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42 b of the receiving waveguide 42, which are adjacent to each other, is greater than the distance between the other end 41 b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the distance between the other end 42 b of the receiving waveguide 42.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 2. Note that components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the optical communication device according to this embodiment. In this embodiment as well, the optical communication device mainly comprises a pair of optical transceivers 100 and a waveguide device 200 that connects the pair of optical transceivers 100. However, in Figure 2, one optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 are depicted, and the other optical transceiver is omitted. As shown in Figure 2, the optical transceiver 100 of this embodiment differs from the optical transceiver 100 of the first embodiment in that it is composed of an optical transceiver section 101 and an optical path conversion section 102. Note that in this embodiment, one optical transceiver 100 and the other optical transceiver of the optical communication device have the same configuration.

The optical transceiver 101 mainly comprises a substrate 11 having a similar configuration to the substrate 10, an optical signal transmitter 20, an optical signal receiver 30, a plurality of transmission waveguides 411, and a plurality of reception waveguides 421. Note that FIG. 2 shows an example in which there are four transmission waveguides 411 and four reception waveguides 421.

The optical path conversion unit 102 mainly comprises a substrate 12 having a configuration similar to that of the substrate 11, the same number of transmitting waveguides 412 as the transmitting waveguides 411, and the same number of receiving waveguides 422 as the receiving waveguides 421.

In this embodiment, substrate 10 is formed by substrate 11 and substrate 12, each transmitting waveguide 411 and each transmitting waveguide 412 are individually optically coupled to form a plurality of transmitting waveguides 41, and each receiving waveguide 421 and each receiving waveguide 422 are individually optically coupled to form a plurality of receiving waveguides 42.

Each of the transmission waveguides 411 and each of the reception waveguides 421 is provided on the main surface of the substrate 11, and each of the transmission waveguides 412 and each of the reception waveguides 422 is provided on the main surface of the substrate 12. Thus, similar to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the first embodiment, each of the transmission waveguides 41 and each of the reception waveguides 42 is provided on the main surface of the substrate 10, and one end 41a, 42a of each of the transmission waveguides 41 and each of the reception waveguides 42 is provided between the opposing edges of the substrate 11, and the other end 41b, 42b of each of the transmission waveguides 41 and each of the reception waveguides 42 is exposed from the edge of the substrate 12 opposite to the substrate 11 side.

In this embodiment, one end 41a of each transmission waveguide 41 and one end 42a of each reception waveguide 42 are not alternately arranged, and the reception waveguide 42 is not located between one end 41a of each transmission waveguide 41, one end 41a of each transmission waveguide 41 is arranged in parallel, and the transmission waveguide 41 is not located between one end 42a of each reception waveguide 42, and one end 42a of each reception waveguide 42 is arranged in parallel. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the optical transmission/reception unit 101, the reception waveguide 421 is not located between each transmission waveguide 411, the transmission waveguide 411 is not located between each reception waveguide 421, and the transmission waveguide 411 is arranged in parallel, and the reception waveguide 421 is arranged in parallel. One end of each of the transmitting waveguides 411 is optically coupled to the optical signal transmitting unit 20, and one end of each of the receiving waveguides 421 is optically coupled to the optical signal receiving unit 30. In addition, the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides 411 is optically coupled individually to one end of each of the transmitting waveguides 412, and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides 421 is optically coupled individually to one end of each of the receiving waveguides 422.

However, even in this embodiment, the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42 are arranged alternately. For this reason, in this embodiment, some of the transmission waveguides 412 and some of the reception waveguides 422 intersect in the optical path conversion unit 102. That is, in the optical path conversion unit 102, the other end of each transmission waveguide 412 and the other end of each reception waveguide 422 are arranged alternately, the reception waveguide 422 is not located between one ends of each transmission waveguide 412, one end of each transmission waveguide 412 is arranged in parallel, and the transmission waveguide 412 is not located between one ends of each reception waveguide 422, and one end of each reception waveguide 422 is arranged in parallel.

It is preferable that the angle at which the transmission waveguide 412 and the reception waveguide 422 intersect is close to 90 degrees in order to suppress crosstalk between the transmission waveguide 412 and the reception waveguide 422. However, even if crosstalk occurs between the transmission waveguide 412 and the reception waveguide 422 due to the intersection of the transmission waveguide 412 and the reception waveguide 422, the optical signal propagating through the transmission waveguide 412 and the optical signal propagating through the reception waveguide 422 tend to propagate in the opposite directions, so that the impact of the crosstalk on communication is suppressed.

In the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment having such a configuration, similar to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the first embodiment, the distance between the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42 is smaller than the distance between the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the distance between the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42. In FIG. 2, similar to FIG. 1, each waveguide pair is surrounded by a dotted line, but is not particularly marked. Also, in the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, in these multiple waveguide pairs, one of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 is shared, and the other of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 is not shared.

In addition, the optical communication device of this embodiment differs from the optical communication device of the first embodiment in that a multicore fiber is used as the waveguide device 200. This waveguide device 200 includes the same number of first waveguides 201 as the transmission waveguides 41, and the same number of second waveguides 202 as the reception waveguides 42, and each first waveguide 201 optically couples each of the transmission waveguides 41 of one optical transmission/reception device 100 to each of the reception waveguides 42 of the other optical transmission/reception device, and each second waveguide 202 optically couples each of the reception waveguides 42 of one optical transmission/reception device 100 to each of the transmission waveguides 41 of the other optical transmission/reception device 100. In order to avoid complicating the figure, the optical transmission/reception device 100 and the waveguide device 200 are shown in a state separated from each other in FIG. 2, but in reality, the optical transmission/reception device 100 and the waveguide device 200 are connected. In addition, the optical transmitting/receiving device 100 and the waveguide device 200 may be separated from each other as long as each transmitting waveguide 41 and each first waveguide 201 are individually optically coupled, and each receiving waveguide 42 and each second waveguide 202 are individually optically coupled.

According to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, the receiving waveguide 42 is not located between one ends 41a of the respective transmitting waveguides 41, and the transmitting waveguide 41 is not located between one ends 42a of the respective receiving waveguides 42, so that one ends 41a of the transmitting waveguides 41 can be gathered together to facilitate connection to the optical signal transmitting unit, and one ends 42a of the receiving waveguides 42 can be gathered together to facilitate connection to the optical signal receiving unit.

In this embodiment, substrate 10 may be configured as a single substrate in which substrates 11 and 12 are integrated. Substrates 11 and 12 may be formed from the same material or different materials.

In this embodiment, the receiving waveguide 42 is not located between one end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41, and the transmitting waveguide 41 is not located between one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42, and at least one transmitting waveguide 41 and at least one receiving waveguide 42 intersect. Compared to the case where the respective waveguides do not intersect, the degree of freedom in arranging the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 can be increased.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 3. Note that components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the second embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the optical communication device according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the optical communication device also mainly comprises a pair of optical transmission/reception devices 100 and a waveguide device 200 that connects the pair of optical transmission/reception devices 100. However, in FIG. 3, as in FIG. 2, one optical transmission/reception device 100 and the waveguide device 200 are depicted, and the other optical transmission/reception device is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment differs from the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the second embodiment in that an optical path conversion unit 103 is used instead of the optical path conversion unit 102. Note that in this embodiment, one optical transmission/reception device 100 and the other optical transmission/reception device of the optical communication device have the same configuration.

The optical path conversion unit 103 mainly comprises a substrate 13 in which a waveguide is formed, the same number of transmission waveguides 413 as the transmission waveguides 411, and the same number of reception waveguides 423 as the reception waveguides 421. Examples of the substrate 13 include a glass substrate and a polymer substrate.

In this embodiment, substrate 10 is formed by substrate 11 and substrate 13, transmitting waveguide 411 and transmitting waveguide 413 are individually optically coupled to form transmitting waveguide 41, and receiving waveguide 421 and receiving waveguide 423 are individually optically coupled to form receiving waveguide 42.

Each of the transmission waveguides 413 and each of the reception waveguides 423 is provided inside the substrate 13, and the other ends 41b, 42b are exposed from the side of the substrate 13 opposite the substrate 11 side. Also, similar to the second embodiment, each of the transmission waveguides 412 and each of the reception waveguides 422 is provided on the main surface of the substrate 12. That is, the other end 41b side of each of the transmission waveguides 41 and the other end 42b side of each of the reception waveguides 42 are provided inside the substrate 10 in which the transmission waveguides 41 and the reception waveguides 42 are provided, and one end 41a side of each of the transmission waveguides 41 and one end 42a side of each of the reception waveguides 42 are provided on the main surface of the substrate 10. The optical transmitting/receiving device 100 of this embodiment differs from the optical transmitting/receiving device 100 of the second embodiment in that the other end 41b of each transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each receiving waveguide 42 are alternately arranged in an annular shape. However, the optical transmitting/receiving device 100 of this embodiment is similar to the optical transmitting/receiving device 100 of the second embodiment in that the receiving waveguide 42 is not positioned between one end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41, one end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41 is arranged in parallel, and the transmitting waveguide 41 is not positioned between one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42, one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42 is arranged in parallel.

For this reason, in this embodiment, in the optical path conversion unit 103, some of the transmission waveguides 413 and some of the reception waveguides 423 intersect three-dimensionally, so that the other end of each transmission waveguide 413 and the other end of each reception waveguide 423 are alternately arranged in a circular ring shape, and the reception waveguide 423 is not located between one end of each transmission waveguide 413, and the transmission waveguide 413 is not located between one end of each reception waveguide 423, so that one end of each transmission waveguide 413 is arranged in parallel, and one end of each reception waveguide 423 is arranged in parallel. When the transmission waveguide and the reception waveguide intersect three-dimensionally, when the main surface of the substrate 13 on which the transmission waveguide 413 and the reception waveguide 423 are provided is viewed from the front, the transmission waveguide 413 and the reception waveguide 423 appear to intersect. One end of each transmitting waveguide 413 is individually optically coupled to the other end of each transmitting waveguide 411, and one end of each receiving waveguide 423 is individually optically coupled to the other end of each receiving waveguide 421.

In the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment having the above configuration, similar to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the second embodiment, the distance between the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42 is smaller than the distance between the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the distance between the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42. In FIG. 3, similar to FIG. 2, each waveguide pair is surrounded by a dotted line, but no particular reference numeral is given. In the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, in the multiple waveguide pairs, one of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 is shared, and the other of the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 is not shared.

The waveguide device 200 of this embodiment is similar to the waveguide device 200 of the second embodiment in that it is a multicore fiber, but differs from the waveguide device 200 of the second embodiment in that the cores are arranged in a circular ring shape. Specifically, the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 are arranged alternately in a circular ring shape in the same arrangement as the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42 in one optical transmission/reception device 100. Even with such a core arrangement, the waveguide device 200 includes a plurality of waveguide pairs consisting of the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 in which the distance between the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is smaller than the distance between the first waveguides 201 and the distance between the second waveguides 202. Due to this configuration, in the waveguide device 200 of this embodiment, in a plurality of waveguide pairs, one of the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is shared, and the other of the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is not shared. In order to avoid complicating the drawing, in Fig. 3, the optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 are shown separated from each other as in Fig. 2, but in reality, the optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 are connected to each other.

According to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42 are alternately arranged in a circular ring shape, so that it is easy to connect a multi-core fiber in which cores are arranged in a circular ring shape as a waveguide device 200. In this case, even if crosstalk occurs between adjacent cores in the waveguide device 200, crosstalk that affects communication can be suppressed. In addition, the number of waveguide pairs can be increased by one compared to the case in which the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42 are alternately arranged in a straight line, as in the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, the receiving waveguide 42 is not located between one end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41, and the transmitting waveguide 41 is not located between one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42, and at least one transmitting waveguide 41 and at least one receiving waveguide 42 intersect. Therefore, compared to the case where each waveguide does not intersect, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide can be increased, and the density of the waveguides can be increased. In addition, according to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, some of the transmitting waveguides 41 and some of the receiving waveguides 42 intersect three-dimensionally, so that crosstalk can be suppressed compared to the case where some of the transmitting waveguides 41 and some of the receiving waveguides 42 intersect in a plane as in the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the second embodiment.

In addition, in this embodiment, the other end 41b side of each transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b side of each reception waveguide 42 are provided inside the substrate 10 in which each transmission waveguide 41 and each reception waveguide 42 are provided, and one end 41a side of each transmission waveguide 41 and one end 42a side of each reception waveguide 42 are provided on the main surface of the substrate 10. This makes it easier to connect one end 41a of the transmission waveguide 41 to the optical signal transmitter 20 and one end 42a of the reception waveguide 42 to the optical signal receiver 30. In addition, the influence of light due to disturbances can be reduced at the other end 41b side of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b side of the reception waveguide 42 where the optical signal enters and exits.

In this embodiment, substrate 10 may be configured as a single substrate in which substrates 11 and 13 are integrated. Substrates 11 and 13 may be formed from the same material or different materials.

Fourth Embodiment
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4. Note that components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again unless otherwise specified.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a part of the optical communication device according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the optical communication device also mainly comprises a pair of optical transmission/reception devices 100 and a waveguide device 200 that connects the pair of optical transmission/reception devices 100. However, in FIG. 4, as in FIG. 2, one optical transmission/reception device 100 and the waveguide device 200 are shown, and the other optical transmission/reception device 100 is omitted. As shown in FIG. 4, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment differs from the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the first embodiment in that one end 41a of the transmission waveguide 41 and one end 42a of the reception waveguide 42, and the other end 41b of the transmission waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the reception waveguide 42 face in different directions. Note that in this embodiment, one optical transmission/reception device 100 and the other optical transmission/reception device 100 of the optical communication device have the same configuration.

In this embodiment, the other ends 41b, 42b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 are provided on the main surface of the substrate 10 on which the waveguides are provided, and the other ends 41b, 42b of each are made of grating couplers. Therefore, the other ends 41b, 42b of each transmit and receive light along the surface direction of the main surface. Note that FIG. 4 shows an example in which there are four transmitting waveguides 41 and four receiving waveguides 42.

In this embodiment, similarly to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the second embodiment, the receiving waveguide 42 is not positioned between one end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41, and the transmitting waveguide 41 is not positioned between one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42, but one end 41a of each transmitting waveguide 41 is arranged in parallel, and one end 42a of each receiving waveguide 42 is arranged in parallel.

In this embodiment, the other ends 41b of the respective transmitting waveguides 41 are provided in parallel, and the other ends 42b of the respective receiving waveguides 42 are provided in parallel and individually opposed to the ends of the respective transmitting waveguides 41. The distance between the ends of the transmitting waveguides 41 and the receiving waveguides 42 that face each other is smaller than the distance between the other ends 41b of the adjacent transmitting waveguides 41 and the distance between the other ends 42b of the adjacent receiving waveguides 42. Therefore, in this embodiment, the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42, which have the other end 41b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the receiving waveguide 42 facing each other, form a waveguide pair in which the distance between the other end 41b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the receiving waveguide 42 is smaller than the distance between the other ends 41b of the transmitting waveguides 41 and the distance between the other ends 42b of the receiving waveguides 42. In Fig. 4, as in Fig. 2, each waveguide pair is surrounded by a dotted line, but no particular reference numeral is given. In this embodiment, neither the transmitting waveguide 41 nor the receiving waveguide 42 is shared between adjacent waveguide pairs. By configuring the waveguide pair in this manner, in the present embodiment, in the waveguide pair, at one end 41 a of the transmitting waveguide 41, light is guided along the principal surface of the substrate 10 on which each of the transmitting waveguides 41 and each of the receiving waveguides 42 are provided, and at the other end 41 b of the transmitting waveguide 41, light is emitted in a direction away from the principal surface, and at one end 42 a of the receiving waveguide 42, light is guided along the principal surface, and at the other end 42 b of the receiving waveguide 42, light is incident in a direction toward the principal surface.

In this embodiment, a multicore fiber is used as the waveguide device 200. In the waveguide device 200 of this embodiment, the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 are arranged in the same arrangement as the other end 41b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the receiving waveguide 42 in one optical transmitting/receiving device 100. Therefore, each first waveguide 201 is parallel, and each second waveguide 202 is parallel to each first waveguide 201 individually facing each other. In this embodiment, the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 facing each other form a waveguide pair in which the distance between the first waveguide 201 and the second waveguide 202 is smaller than the distance between the first waveguides 201 and the distance between the second waveguides 202. In order to avoid complicating the drawing, Fig. 4 illustrates the optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 in a state separated from each other, similar to Fig. 2, but in reality, the optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 are connected to each other. As long as each transmitting waveguide 41 and each first waveguide 201 are individually optically coupled, and each receiving waveguide 42 and each second waveguide 202 are individually optically coupled, the optical transceiver 100 and the waveguide device 200 may be separated from each other.

In the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, one end 41a and the other end 41b of each transmission waveguide 41 face in different directions, and one end 42a and the other end 42b of each reception waveguide 42 face in different directions. Therefore, the direction in which the optical signal transmission unit 20 and the optical signal reception unit 30 transmit and receive light can be changed from the direction in which the multicore fiber, which is the waveguide device 200 connected to the optical transmission/reception device 100, transmits and receives light. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the waveguide device 200 increases, and the degree of freedom in the design of the optical transmission/reception device 100 increases. In addition, according to the optical transmission/reception device 100 of this embodiment, the transmission waveguide 41 and the reception waveguide 42 are not formed to the edge of the substrate 10, so that the propagation loss of light can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the portion of the substrate 10 where the grating coupler is provided may be a separate substrate, and the substrate 10 may be configured from the separate substrate and the substrate where the optical signal transmitting unit 20 and the optical signal receiving unit 30 are provided. In addition, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which the other end 41b, 42b is configured from a grating coupler, but the other end 41b, 42b may be configured from another structure that transmits and receives light along the surface direction of the main surface of the substrate 10 where the transmitting waveguide 41 and the receiving waveguide 42 are provided.

The present invention has been described above using the above embodiment as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the above embodiment, the number of transmitting waveguides 41 and receiving waveguides 42 may differ from that of the above embodiment as long as they are each multiple, and the number of transmitting waveguides 41 and the number of receiving waveguides 42 may be different.

In addition, in the optical communication device of the present invention, one optical transceiver 100 and the other optical transceiver 100 may have different configurations.

Furthermore, the optical transmission/reception device 100 of the present invention only needs to include at least one waveguide pair consisting of a transmitting waveguide 41 and a receiving waveguide 42 in which the distance between the other end 41b of the transmitting waveguide 41 and the other end 42b of the receiving waveguide 42 is smaller than the distance between the other ends 41b of the respective transmitting waveguides 41 and the distance between the other ends 42b of the respective receiving waveguides 42, and the number of such waveguide pairs is not necessarily multiple.

In addition, as long as the waveguide device 200 is a waveguide device that individually optically couples each transmitting waveguide 41 of one optical transceiver 100 to each receiving waveguide 42 of the other optical transceiver 100, and individually optically couples each receiving waveguide 42 of one optical transceiver 100 to each transmitting waveguide 41 of the other optical transceiver 100, it may be not only a polymer waveguide, a multi-core fiber, an image fiber, or a plastic optical fiber, but also a multi-element fiber in which multiple single-core fibers are bundled and integrated with resin, or a fiber array in which the ends of multiple single-core fibers are arranged in parallel in a connector.

According to the present invention, an optical transceiver device that can be miniaturized and highly densely mounted and that can suppress crosstalk that affects communications, and an optical communication device using the same can be provided, and can be used in fields such as optical communications.

Claims (9)

A plurality of transmit waveguides;
A plurality of receiving waveguides;
an optical signal transmitting unit that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal and transmits the converted optical signal from one end of each of the transmission waveguides to the transmission waveguide;
an optical signal receiving unit that receives an optical signal from one end of each of the receiving waveguides and converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal;
a substrate on which each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides are provided;
Equipped with
each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides are provided on a main surface of the substrate;
the receiving waveguide is not located between the one ends of the transmitting waveguides,
the transmitting waveguide is not located between the one ends of the receiving waveguides,
at least one of the transmitting waveguides and at least one of the receiving waveguides intersect in a plane on the principal surface of the substrate;
at least one waveguide pair including the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide, in which a distance between the other end of the transmitting waveguide and the other end of the receiving waveguide is smaller than a distance between the other ends of the respective transmitting waveguides and a distance between the other ends of the respective receiving waveguides;
the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are optically coupled to a plurality of waveguides included in a multicore fiber and arranged in a straight line on an end face of the multicore fiber,
1. An optical transmitter/receiver comprising: A plurality of transmit waveguides;
A plurality of receiving waveguides;
an optical signal transmitting unit that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal and transmits the converted optical signal from one end of each of the transmission waveguides to the transmission waveguide;
an optical signal receiving unit that receives an optical signal from one end of each of the receiving waveguides and converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal;
a substrate on which each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides are provided;
Equipped with
the one end side of each of the transmitting waveguides and the one end side of each of the receiving waveguides are provided on a main surface of the substrate,
the receiving waveguide is not located between the one ends of the transmitting waveguides,
the transmitting waveguide is not located between the one ends of the receiving waveguides,
the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are provided inside the substrate,
At least one of the transmitting waveguides and at least one of the receiving waveguides intersect three-dimensionally inside the substrate;
The distance between the other end of the transmitting waveguide and the other end of the receiving waveguide is
at least one waveguide pair including the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide, the distance between the other ends of the transmitting waveguides being smaller than the distance between the other ends of the respective receiving waveguides,
the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are optically coupled to a plurality of waveguides included in a multicore fiber and arranged in a circular ring shape on an end face of the multicore fiber,
1. An optical transmitter/receiver comprising: 3. The optical transmitter-receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said waveguide pairs. 4. The optical transmitting/receiving device according to claim 3, wherein in the plurality of waveguide pairs, one of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide is shared, and the other of the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide is not shared. 2. The optical transmitting/receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are alternately arranged on the straight line. 3. The optical transmitting/receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the other end of each of the transmitting waveguides and the other end of each of the receiving waveguides are alternately arranged on the annular ring. A plurality of transmit waveguides;
A plurality of receiving waveguides;
an optical signal transmitting unit that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal and transmits the converted optical signal from one end of each of the transmission waveguides to the transmission waveguide;
an optical signal receiving unit that receives an optical signal from one end of each of the receiving waveguides and converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal;
a substrate on which each of the transmitting waveguides and each of the receiving waveguides are provided;
Equipped with
the optical signal transmission unit is provided on the substrate,
at least one waveguide pair including the transmitting waveguide and the receiving waveguide, in which a distance between the other end of the transmitting waveguide and the other end of the receiving waveguide is smaller than a distance between the other ends of the respective transmitting waveguides and a distance between the other ends of the respective receiving waveguides;
the receiving waveguide is not located between the one ends of the transmitting waveguides,
the transmitting waveguide is not located between the one ends of the receiving waveguides,
an optical transmitting/receiving device, characterized in that, in at least one of the waveguide pairs, at the one end of the transmitting waveguide, light is guided along a principal surface of the substrate, and at the other end of the transmitting waveguide, light is emitted in a direction away from the principal surface, and at the one end of the receiving waveguide, light is guided along the principal surface, and at the other end of the receiving waveguide, light is incident in a direction toward the principal surface. A pair of optical transmitter-receivers according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
The multicore fiber,
the multi-core fiber optically couples each of the transmission waveguides of one of the optical transceivers to each of the reception waveguides of the other of the optical transceivers, and optically couples each of the reception waveguides of one of the optical transceivers to each of the transmission waveguides of the other of the optical transceivers.
1. An optical communication device comprising: A pair of optical transmitter-receivers according to claim 7;
a waveguide device that optically couples each of the transmission waveguides of one of the optical transceivers to each of the reception waveguides of the other of the optical transceivers and optically couples each of the reception waveguides of one of the optical transceivers to each of the transmission waveguides of the other of the optical transceivers;
An optical communication device comprising:

Images