Near-field components and evaluation of the photoluminescence in Si nano-structure

Summary form only given. In order to increase the data transmission rates and capacity of optical transmission systems, the size of photonic devices must be decreased. Thus, we proposed nanometer-scale photonic integrated circuits (ICs) that are composed of sub-100-nm scale dots and wires. Furthermore, we developed a far/near-field conversion device by introducing a metallized Si wedge. The use of such a conversion device will realize the coupling of nanometer-scale photonic ICs with external conventional diffraction-limited photonic devices. Furthermore, since visible photoluminescence (PL) of the Si nanocrystals due to the confinement effect has been reported, Si nanocrystals are a promising candidate material for a visible light-emitting device. Due to the indirect-gap band structure of Si, however, the quantum efficiency is low. To overcome these difficulties, we propose using the optical near-field as a carrier for signal transmission, since it does not have to follow the wavevector conservation law. Consequently, an increase in the PL quantum efficiency is expected.