Patent ID: 7539370

Claim:
A semiconductor optical device comprising: a platform having a cross-section in which the platform is missing an exterior corner, the platform having an upper horizontal surface, a lower horizontal surface, and a middle horizontal surface between the upper and the lower horizontal surfaces, the platform having a left vertical surface, a right vertical surface, and a middle vertical surface between the left and the right vertical surfaces, the middle horizontal surface meeting the middle vertical surface to define an interior corner corresponding to the exterior corner missing in the platform; a mounting structure on the middle horizontal surface of the platform; an emitting semiconductor optical element attached to the mounting structure, the optical element attached to the mounting structure in such a way that a left side of the optical element protrudes from the left vertical surface of the platform, an upper side of the optical element protrudes from the upper horizontal surface of the platform, a first gap is defined between a bottom side of the optical element and the middle horizontal surface of the platform, and a second gap is defined between a right side of the optical element and the middle vertical surface of the platform; and, a refractive index matching gel disposed at least within the first and the second gaps in such a way that at least the left side of the optical element remains at least substantially uncovered by the gel.