Photonic applications of Silicon nanostructures

This presentation highlights of some scientific insights on the possibilities of photonic applications of silicon nanostructures (NSs) one of the most fertile research field in nano-crystallite physics that has innumerable possibilities of device applications. Nanostructured silicon is generic name used for porous Si (p-Si) as well as Si nanocrystals (NC-Si) having length scale of the order of few nanometer. The emission of a very bright photo-luminescence (PL) band and relatively weak electro-luminescence (EL) from low-dimensional silicon has opened up new avenue in recent years. It is important from a fundamental physics viewpoint because of the potential application of Si wires and dots in optoelectronics devices and information technology. Nanostructuring silicon is an effective way to turn silicon into a photonic material. It is observed that low-dimensional (one and two dimensions) silicon shows light amplification, photon confinement, photon trapping as well as non-linear optical effects. There is strong evidence of light localization and gas sensing properties of such NSs. Future nanotechnology would replace electrical with optical interconnects that has appealing potentialities for higherspeed performance and immunity to signal cross talk. A varieties of applications includes LD, LED, solar cells, sensors, photonic band gap devices and Fibonacci quasi-crystals, to cite a few.