Patent ID: 8798409

Claim:
An optical communication system, comprising: a first planar substrate of a semiconductor material, located on a planar surface of a sub-mount and having a planar first edge, wherein said first substrate includes a plurality of lasers, each laser having an optical output at the first edge; a second planar substrate of a different second material, the second substrate being located on said planar surface of said sub-mount and having a planar second edge, wherein said second substrate includes a plurality of planar light guiding structures, each of said light-guiding structures having an end at the second edge, said second edge facing said first edge; and an alignment assembly located on said sub-mount, said alignment assembly including: rigid standoff structures to fixedly vertically align said first and second edges above said sub-mount, and one or more electrical circuit components, including at least one insulated electrical line insulated by a first insulating layer that is adjacent to one side of the one electrical line and by a second insulatin layer that is adjacent to an opposite side of the one electrical line, wherein the electrical line and the first and second insulating layers are located between said rigid standoff structures and said planar surface of said sub-mount, to fixedly vertically align said first edge above said sub-mount such that each optical output of one of said lasers is vertically aligned with the end of one of said light-guiding structures.