Photonic Properties of Silicon-Based Materials

Photonics is a key technology of this century. The fast development of optical communications is a consequence of the advantages of photonics with respect to electrical signaling. As a bright demonstration, Charles K. Kao was awarded by the 2009 Nobel Prize in physics for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication. The combination of photonics and Si technology is a great challenge because of the potentiality of coupling electronics and optical functions on a single chip, which is a dream for optical computing. Si-based light emitting device with high efficiency is a missing part in the design of complete optoelectronic circuits based on Si technology.