Techniques for manufacturing an optical transmission device in a manner so that the photonic device is protected from damage that can be caused by exposure to the environment and physical handling are described. The invention involves placing a lens or a lens array over a photonic device, either with or without the use of a receptacle device, such that the photonic device is contained within a sealed cavity. The invention has three main embodiments in which the photonic device can be hermetically sealed, quasi-hermetically sealed, or non-hermetically sealed. The optical transmission device can be configured to serve as an optical receiver, detector, or a transceiver device.