Patent ID: 7415184

Claim:
An arrangement for providing optical coupling to/from a relatively thin silicon waveguide formed in an upper silicon layer (SOI layer) of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure comprising a silicon substrate, an overlying buried oxide layer and the upper silicon layer (SOI layer), the thin silicon waveguide formed to include an endface termination at a deep trench formed through a portion of the thickness of the SOI structure into the silicon substrate, the coupling arrangement comprising: a lensing component for coupling a propagating optical signal into/out of the endface termination of the thin silicon waveguide; a reference plane defined at the interface between adjacent layers of the SOI structure; and a lensing fixture for supporting the lensing component, the lensing fixture attached to the SOI structure along the deep trench for providing focusing alignment between said thin silicon waveguide endface and said lensing component; and wherein the endface termination of the thin silicon waveguide comprises a nanotaper.