Waveguide with a three-dimensional lens
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising:
- a support substrate having a top surface;
a waveguide suitable for transmitting light, the waveguide being formed embedded within the support substrate and having a waveguide thickness that is measured in the orthogonal direction from the top surface of the support substrate;
an optical lens that is integrally formed with the waveguide, the optical lens having an inclined back surface that has a first edge that joins the waveguide and a second edge that extends to the height of a maximum lens thickness of the optical lens and having a maximum lens thickness that is greater than the waveguide thickness, wherein light rays transmitted from the waveguide are collimated by the optical lens so that the light rays are emitted out of the optical lens in a plane that is substantially coplanar to the top surface of the support substrate; and
a cladding material layer that lies in contact with and underneath a bottom surface of the waveguide and in contact with and underneath a bottom surface of the integrally formed optical lens.
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Abstract
Optical transmission structures include a waveguide and an optical lens wherein the optical lens has a sufficiently large thickness to allow the formation of a curved front lens surface that collimates transmitted light rays so that they travel within a plane that is coplanar to a working surface. The present invention also relates to a technique for manufacturing the optical transmission structure, which involves the use of a photopolymer material. The optical transmission structure can be implemented in various systems such as a system for optical data input.
60 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a support substrate having a top surface; a waveguide suitable for transmitting light, the waveguide being formed embedded within the support substrate and having a waveguide thickness that is measured in the orthogonal direction from the top surface of the support substrate; an optical lens that is integrally formed with the waveguide, the optical lens having an inclined back surface that has a first edge that joins the waveguide and a second edge that extends to the height of a maximum lens thickness of the optical lens and having a maximum lens thickness that is greater than the waveguide thickness, wherein light rays transmitted from the waveguide are collimated by the optical lens so that the light rays are emitted out of the optical lens in a plane that is substantially coplanar to the top surface of the support substrate; and a cladding material layer that lies in contact with and underneath a bottom surface of the waveguide and in contact with and underneath a bottom surface of the integrally formed optical lens. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An optical device comprising:
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a support substrate having a top surface; a bottom cladding layer formed on the top surface of the support substrate; a waveguide suitable for transmitting light, the waveguide being embedded within the support substrate and formed upon the bottom cladding layer, the waveguide having a thickness that is measured in the orthogonal direction from the top surface of the support substrate; and an optical lens having a first end that is integral to and connected to the waveguide such that light rays can be communicated between the waveguide and the optical lens, the optical lens also being formed upon the bottom cladding layer and also having a second end that forms a front lens surface, the optical lens having a raised region in between the first and second end and wherein the optical lens has an inclined back surface that has a first edge that connects to the waveguide and a second edge that extends to a raised region of the optical lens, wherein the optical lens collimates the light rays such that the light rays transmitted through the front lens surface travel are parallel with the top surface of the support substrate. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification