Patent ID: 6509139
Filing Date: 2003-01-21
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
A method of fabricating an integrated optical component on a silicon-on insulator chip comprising a crystalline silicon layer separated from a substrate by an insulating layer, the component having a first set of features at a first level in the crystalline silicon layer adjacent the insulating layer and a second set of features at a second level in the crystalline silicon layer further from the insulating layer, the method comprising the steps of:selecting a silicon-on-insulator chip having a crystalline silicon layer of sufficient thickness for the first set of features; fabricating the first set of features in the crystalline silicon layer so as to form said first set of features at a first level in the crystalline silicon layer; increasing the thickness of the crystalline silicon layer in selected areas by forming a second level of the crystalline silicon layer directly on at least part of an exposed surface of the crystalline silicon layer of the first level; and fabricating the second set of features at the second level in the crystalline silicon layer.