Patent ID: 7378861

Claim:
An apparatus disposed on an integrated substrate comprising: first and second grating couplers and an optical waveguide coupled between the first and second grating couplers, where a light beam directed to the first grating coupler propagates through the optical waveguide and exits from the second grating coupler, wherein the first grating coupler and the optical waveguide are disposed on a same side of the integrated substrate; wherein a source of the light beam is outside the integrated substrate and not physically coupled to the integrated substrate, wherein the integrated substrate is selected from a group comprising: silicon, silicon on insulator (SOI), silicon on sapphire (SOS), silicon on nothing (SON) and a first layer of monocrystalline silicon, a second layer of dielectric material disposed on the first layer, a third layer of monocrystalline silicon disposed on the second layer, a fourth layer of dielectric material disposed on the third layer, a fifth layer of monocrystalline silicon disposed on the fourth layer, wherein the apparatus comprises an optical alignment loop.