Patent ID: 7379638

Claim:
A method comprising: (a) transferring an optical signal between an optical device of an optical device subunit and an external transfer planar optical waveguide of the optical device subunit, the optical device subunit comprising a device substrate, the optical device formed on the device substrate, and the external-transfer planar optical waveguide formed over the device substrate, the external-transfer planar optical waveguide being integrated with the optical device for enabling transfer of optical power between the optical device and the external-transfer planar optical waveguide, the optical signal propagating in the external-transfer optical waveguide; and (b) transferring the optical signal between the external-transfer planar optical waveguide and a transmission optical waveguide of an optical transmission subunit, the external-transfer planar optical waveguide and the transmission optical waveguide each having a respective optical junction region thereof, the external-transfer planar optical waveguide or the transmission optical waveguide being adapted for enabling transverse-transfer of optical power between the optical waveguides at the respective optical junction regions, the optical device subunit and the optical transmission subunit comprising discrete subunits assembled together.