Simply silicon - pp491

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.190

Silicon integrated optical chips that can generate, modulate, process and detect light signals offer the tantalizing prospect of cost-effectively meeting the ever-increasing demands on data speed and bandwidth.

Full text - Simply silicon | PDF (133KB) - Simply silicon

Towards fabless silicon photonics - pp492 - 494

Michael Hochberg & Tom Baehr-Jones

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.172

Silicon photonic devices can be built using commercial CMOS chip fabrication facilities, or 'fabs'. However, nearly all research groups continue to design, build and test chips internally, rather than leveraging shared CMOS foundry infrastructure.

Full text - Information storage | PDF (365KB) - Information storage

Mid-infrared photonics in silicon and germanium pp495 - 497

Richard Soref

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.171

Ingenious techniques are needed to extend group IV photonics from near-infrared to mid-infrared wavelengths. If achieved, the reward could be on-chip CMOS optoelectronic systems for use in spectroscopy, chemical and biological sensing, and free-space communications.

Full text - A bright future for quantum communications | PDF (260KB) - A bright future for quantum communications

Integrating silicon photonics - pp498 - 499

Interview with Mario Paniccia

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.189

Mario Paniccia, Intel fellow and director of Intel's Photonics Technology Lab, talks to Nature Photonics about the company's progress in commercializing high-speed silicon photonics.

Full text - Integrating silicon photonics | PDF (311KB) - Integrating silicon photonics

Recent progress in lasers on silicon - pp511 - 517

Di Liang & John E. Bowers

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.167

Silicon lasers have long been a goal for semiconductor scientists. This Progress Article reviews the most recent developments in this field, including silicon Raman lasers, the first germanium-on-silicon lasers operating at room temperature, and hybrid silicon microring and microdisk lasers. Challenges and opportunities for the present approaches are also discussed.

Abstract - title | Full text - Recent progress in lasers on silicon | PDF (2,438KB) - Recent progress in lasers on silicon

Silicon optical modulators -  pp518 - 526

G. T. Reed, G. Mashanovich, F. Y. Gardes & D. J. Thomson

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.179

CMOS-compatible silicon optical modulators with high modulation speeds, large bandwidths, small footprints, low losses and ultralow power consumption are needed for current optical communications systems relying on highly integrated on-chip optical circuits. This Review summarizes the techniques used to implement silicon optical modulators, gives an outlook for these devices, and discusses the candidate solutions of the future.

Abstract - Silicon optical modulators | Full text - Silicon optical modulators | PDF (3,057KB) - Silicon optical modulators

High-performance Ge-on-Si photodetectors -  pp527 - 534

Jurgen Michel, Jifeng Liu & Lionel C. Kimerling

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.157

Owing to their excellent optoelectronic properties, Ge-on-Si photodetector can be monolithically integrated with silicon-based read-out circuits for applications such as high-performance photonic data links and low-cost infrared imaging at low power consumption. This Review covers the major developments in Ge-on-Si photodetectors, including epitaxial growth and strain engineering, free-space and waveguide-integrated devices, as well as recent progress in Ge-on-Si avalanche photodetectors.

Abstract - High-performance Ge-on-Si photodetectors | Full text - High-performance Ge-on-Si photodetectors | PDF (357KB) - High-performance Ge-on-Si photodetectors

Nonlinear silicon photonics -  pp 535 - 544

J. Leuthold, C. Koos & W. Freude

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.185

The increasing capability for manufacturing a wide variety of optoelectronic devices from polymer and polymer-silicon hybrids, including transmission fibre, modulators, detectors and light sources, suggests that organic photonics has a promising future in communications and other applications.

Abstract - Nonlinear silicon photonics | Full text - Nonlinear silicon photonics | PDF (286KB) - Nonlinear silicon photonics