Patent ID: 6980720

Claim:
An optical waveguiding structure comprising a slab/strip single crystal silicon waveguide including a top major surface; a silicon rib waveguide disposed over a portion of the top major surface of the slab-strip single crystal silicon waveguide, the silicon rib waveguide defined as comprising an input face and an output face such that an optical signal propagating along the silicon slab/strip waveguide will be coupled through the silicon rib input face to thereafter propagate along both the slab/strip and the rib, and subsequently exit the silicon rib waveguide along the output face and then propagate along the slab/strip silicon waveguide; and at least one silicon lensed taper disposed along a portion of the slab-strip waveguide top major surface so as to be contiguous with at least one of the silicon rib waveguide input face and output face, the silicon lensed taper used to improve optical coupling between the silicon slab/strip waveguide and the silicon rib waveguide.