In-plane optical wave guide with area based splitter

An optical interconnect comprising:

• a plurality of in-plane splitters, wherein each of the plurality of splitters includes a plurality of generally co-planar waveguides including a source waveguide, a reflection waveguide, and an output waveguide;
• a single pellicle disposed in the plane of the waveguides and common to each of the splitters, the pellicle having a partially-reflective surface and an opposite surface;
• wherein the source waveguide and the reflection waveguide of each of the plurality of splitters are optically coupled to the partially reflective surface such that for each of the plurality of splitters a photonic signal from the source waveguide is partially reflected as a reflected signal into the reflection waveguide;
• and
• wherein the output waveguide of each of the plurality of splitters is optically coupled to the opposite surface and configured such that a non-reflected portion of the photonic signal is diffracted into the output waveguide.

An optical interconnect comprising:

• a plurality of in-plane splitters, wherein each of the of the plurality of splitters includes a plurality of generally co-planar waveguides including a source waveguide, a reflection waveguide, and an output waveguide, wherein the source waveguide includes a reflective portion and a pass-through portion;
• a single mirror common to each of the plurality of splitters and disposed within the reflective portion of the each of the source waveguides, the mirror having a reflective surface;
• wherein for each of the plurality of splitters, the source waveguide and the reflection waveguide are optically coupled to the reflective surface of the single mirror and configured such that a photonic signal from the source waveguide in the reflective portion is reflected into the reflection waveguide;
• and
• wherein for each of the plurality of splitters, the output waveguide is optically coupled to the source waveguide and configured such that the non-reflected portion of the photonic signal propagates into the output waveguide.