Patent ID: 7269027

Claim:
A ceramic backing block for use in an optoelectronic package, the backing block comprising: a rigid backing block body formed from a single piece ceramic or fused layer having a front face and a bottom face; the front face suitable for supporting a photonic device and including a shim that is attached to the front face and positioned between a pair of alignment holes in the front face; the bottom face suitable for attachment to a driver module, the bottom face being angled relative to the front face; an electrical circuitry set formed on both the front and bottom faces of the rigid backing block body, the electrical circuitry set including a cathode pad suitable for supporting a photonic device and a plurality of anode pads; the pair of alignment holes in the front face being suitable for receiving associated alignment pins suitable for engaging an optical fiber termination device; an alignment slot positioned in the front face; at least one ground plane is formed inside the rigid backing block body under the electrical circuitry set.