Silicon photonic microcavities for optical switching

The prospect of silicon photonics is particularly promising: the fabrication is mostly compatible with standard CMOS technology and it will offer tremendous advantages over traditional optical communication solutions with respect to size, cost and power. There has been a significant activity in the development of photonic circuits having a density approaching that of modern electronic circuits for future chip-to-chip or on- chip optical interconnects. Therefore, an ultrasmall footprint of integrated optical components is of pivotal importance.