Researchers at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) have developed a novel method to create an optical nanocavity at an arbitrary place on a silicon chip by placing a compound semiconductor nanowire on a silicon photonic crystal.
NTT sais a large number of nanophotonic devices could be integrated on a silicon chip using this methos, paving the way for dense optical networks on a processor chip.
NTT Nanophotonics Center (NPC) is located in Atsugi, Japan.
The researchers plan to extend this approach to various nanowires with specific functions, such as optical gain or optical nonlinearity, so as to realize functional photonic devices, such as lasers and optical switches, on a silicon chip.
http://www.ntt.co.jp