Patent ID: 8428401

Claim:
An on-chip optical waveguide comprising: a substrate; a dielectric layer disposed on top of the substrate, wherein said dielectric layer is patterned to form a core of said on-chip optical waveguide; side walls of said optical waveguide which are disposed adjacent to said core and which are made of metal; a first metallization layer disposed on said dielectric layer and on the side walls; a second metallization layer disposed on a lower surface of said dielectric layer and on a first lower surface portion of the side walls, wherein said side walls, said first metallization layer and said second metallization layer form a cladding layer of said on-chip optical waveguide around said core; an optical transmitter device formed in said substrate and configured to transmit light into said dielectric layer via a reflector arrangement; and an optical receiver device formed in said substrate and configured to receive said light from said optical waveguide formed from said dielectric layer via said reflector arrangement.