Advances in Optical Technologies
Volume 2008, Article ID 472305, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/472305
The Achievements and Challenges of Silicon Photonics
Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RYHC, 80 Scott Drive, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731, USA
Received 22 November 2007; Accepted 15 May 2008
Academic Editor: Pavel Cheben
Copyright © 2008 Richard Soref. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
A brief overview of silicon photonics is given here in order to provide a context for invited and contributed papers in this special issue. Recent progress on silicon-based photonic components, photonic integrated circuits, and optoelectronic integrated circuits is surveyed. Present and potential applications are identified along with the scientific and engineering challenges that must be met in order to actualize applications. Some on-going government-sponsored projects in silicon optoelectronics are also described.