Patent ID: 7012291

Claim:
A monolithic optical coupler integrally fabricated on an optical chip and having a solid, void-free, multilevel three-dimensional shape comprising: a first layer of lithographically definable material on a top surface of said chip, said first layer being individually and at least partially exposed lithographically to define an arbitrary first layer pattern corresponding to the shape of a first level of the multilevel optical coupler; multiple additional layers of lithographically definable material, each additional layer being on a top surface of a preceding layer, each additional layer being individually and at least partially exposed lithographically to define vertically aligned arbitrary patterns corresponding to the shapes of respective additional levels of the multilevel optical coupler; a barrier between each of said layers of lithographically definable material; said layers, upon development, each being of a selected arbitrary shape and being vertically aligned and stacked to form said solid, three-dimensional, multilevel monolithic optical coupler for connecting an optical device on said chip to another optical device either on the chip or external to it.