Patent ID: 8137572

Claim:
A method of making a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) waveguide capable of being integrated with a surface-mounted component, the method comprising: etching a silicon substrate to form a slanted wall; forming a nonreflective waveguide portion on the silicon substrate, wherein light travels through the nonreflective waveguide portion in substantially a first direction; depositing a reflective layer on the slanted wall so that the light from the nonreflective waveguide portion strikes the reflective layer to be redirected in a second direction; wherein the nonreflective waveguide portion has an exit face that is spaced apart from the slanted wall by a gap, and wherein the light coming out of the exit facet travels across the gap in a first direction before striking the reflective layer, the gap being filled with a material having a different index of refraction from the nonreflective waveguide portion.