Photonics is a key technology of this century. The combination of photonics and Si technology is of great importance due to the potentiality of coupling electronics and optical functions on a single chip. Many experimental and theoretical studies have been performed to understand and design the photonic properties of Si nanocrystals. Generation of light in Si is a challenging perspective in the field; however, the issue of light-emitting devices does not limit the activity in the field. The research is also focused on light modulators, optical waveguides and interconnectors, optical amplifiers, detectors, memory elements, photonic crystals, etc. A particularly important task of Si nanostructures is to generate electrical energy from solar light. Understanding the optical properties of Si-based materials is central in designing photonic components. It is not possible to control the optical properties of nanoparticles without fundamental information on their microscopic structure, which explains a large number of theoretical works on this subject. Many fundamental and practical problems should be solved in order to develop this technology. In addition to open fundamental questions, even more difficult is to develop the known experimental results towards practical realization. However, the world market for Si photonics is expected to be huge; thus, we expect more research activity in the field of Si nanophotonics in the future.
This book describes different aspects of Silicon Nanophotonics, from fundamental issues to practical devices. The 2nd edition is essentially different from the book published in 2008. Eight chapters of the 1st edition are not included in the new edition because the recent progress on those topics has not been large enough. Instead, seven new topics appear which include Modeling Nonlinear Optical Phenomena in Silicon-Nanocrystal Structures; Band Structure of Silicon Nanocrystals; Room Temperature Light Emission from Silicon Nanowires Fabricated by a Metal-Assisted Wet Etching Process; All-Inorganic Colloidal Silicon Nanocrystals; Engineering Nonlinear Sources with Silicon-Compatible Optical Materials; Information Capacity of Silicon Nanophotonics; Silicon Nanostructures for Photovoltaics. Other eight chapters are essentially modified to describe recent achievement in the field.
