Patent ID: 8531045

Claim:
A substrate-based assembly for carrying optical components, the assembly comprising: a substrate; at least one active optical component and at least one passive optical component mounted on the substrate; a packaging layer formed on the substrate for protecting said optical components, the optical components and the packaging layer being carried by the substrate; wherein the packaging layer comprises at least two packaging layers, each of said packaging layers being at least one of (a) a planarization layer or (b) a passivation layer, at least one of the packaging layers comprising a hybrid glass material having both organic and inorganic components and being provided with a plurality of recesses, wherein each of the recesses has a wall surface therewithin supporting at least one of the optical components, each recess having a perimeter which is substantially closed, into which at least one of the components is mounted; and wherein the refractive index of a first of the at least two packaging layers is different from the refractive index of either a second of the at least two packaging layers or at least one of the optical components.