Patent ID: 7058259

Claim:
An optical device, comprising a first waveguide lens optically coupled to a second waveguide lens via a slab region, wherein: for each of the first and second waveguide lenses, the waveguide lens comprises a first optical waveguide connected to a second optical waveguide, wherein: the second waveguide is a multimode waveguide; a first mode of the first waveguide couples to at least two modes of the second waveguide; and the second waveguide has a length selected such that, when the first mode excites the at least two modes, the second waveguide outputs a converging beam of light; and if an optical signal is coupled to the first mode of the first waveguide in the first waveguide lens, the converging beam of light produced by the second waveguide of the first waveguide lens enters the slab region, wherein said converging beam transforms into a corresponding diverging beam, which impinges upon the second waveguide of the second waveguide lens, wherein: the diverging beam couples to at least two modes of the second waveguide of the second waveguide lens; and the at least two modes of the second waveguide in the second waveguide lens couple to the first mode of the first wave guide in the second waveguide lens.