Silicon-Based Optoelectronics
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an article on Si-based optoelectronics. Many new experimental and theoretical contributions have come from academia, research laboratories, and industry. This demonstrates that Si-based optoelectronics is a rapidly developing field in which synergy among engineering of material properties, proper design of device structures, and effective integration are required in order to move from basic research to the realm of optocommunication applications. The search for efficient Si-based optical functions (visible and infrared light sources, waveguides, modulators, amplifiers, and detectors) to be integrated with Si electronic functions has driven intense research on a large variety of materials and device structures. This has given rise to several breakthroughs, new promising approaches, and potential commercialization of lowcost, Si-based photonic devices. The physical properties and optical performance of various materials (nanocrystals, porous Si, and Er-doped Si and SiGe, for example) are now reasonably well-understood, and the issues remaining to achieve efficient device performance have been elucidated. This field has now clearly shifted its focus from the pure engineering of materials properties to using these properties for development and optimization of novel optical devices. In this MRS Bulletin issue, the most recent developments in the field of Si-based optoelectronics are reviewed. This overview provides a snapshot of our current comprehension and shows the field's evolution. The contribution by R.A. Soref describes the present and envisioned applications of Si-based optoelectronics. It presents commercial applications of the hybrid integration of III-V photonics with Si electronics, as well as the status and perspectives of various Si-based functions (such as light sources, waveguides, and modulators) and photonic integrated circuits. State-of-the-art and future
trends for several different Si-based opti-1 cal functions are also described. Silicon-based visible and infrared light f sources are shown to represent compet-i; ing and complementary methods for overcoming the poor performance of Si as a light emitter. As shown in the contribution by S. Coffa et al., Er doping of crystalline Si has become a reliable method for the achievement of efficient electroluminescence at 1.54 ^im at room temperature. Noticeable progress in Er 4 incorporation and codoping procedures, J a more comprehensive understanding of excitation and deexcitation processes, and the design of novel device structures provide efficient light emission at room temperature that can be directly modulated at frequencies up to 10 MHz. The contribution by Leonid Tsybeskov shows that the preservation of proper passivation and the enhancement of electronic-transport properties are the major limitations to improving the efficiency of visible-light emission from nanostructures and porous Si (currently at the 0.1% level). Partial confinement of electron-hole pairs within nanocrystals with a size comparable to the Bohr exciton diameter is believed to b
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