Silicon photonic devices and their integration

Optical communication is accepted as practical when the cost of introducing it is less than that of the conventional electronics. Silicon photonics is the prime candidates for low-cost highly integrated photonic devices because silicon semiconductor industry gives the most cost-effective and highly-integrated devices today. In addition to that, silicon as an optical material offers high-index contrast waveguides and hence it gives micro-meter scale passive optical devices. Those advantages could lead silicon photonics as a key technology for shorter interconnects such as on-chip networks as well as for long-haul telecommunication devices. Low cost integration of photonics with LSI using 3D-integration and surface-plasmon devices will be discussed briefly.