Apparatuses and methods associated with silicon photonic chips, are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a quarter wave plate (QWP) is provided to a silicon photonic chip to convert a first linearly polarized mode (e.g., TE mode) optical beam from a laser disposed on the silicon photonic chip, into a combination of orthogonal polarization modes optical beam, and to convert or contribute in converting a reflection of the combined polarized modes optical beam into a second linearly polarized mode (e.g., TM) optical beam with polarization orthogonal to the first. The optical beam is rotated relative to an axis of the QWP, or the QWP and its axis are rotated relative to a polarization axis of the optical beam. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.