Flexible optoelectronic circuit and associated method

A flexible optoelectronic circuit is assembled on and releasedfrom a substrate, and therefore independent of a substrate. Thesubstrate includes semiconductor substrates having a release layer.The release layer is etched to release the optoelectronic circuitsuch that the resulting circuit is flexible. Both optical elements,such as waveguides, and conductive elements are formed in layers,generally between insulating layers. The elements may be formed andpatterned using standard semiconductor manufacturingtechniques.