Femtojoule/bit integrated nanophotonics based on photonic crystals

Abstract

This review article shows that the photonic-crystal nanocavity technology has enabled various nanophotonic devices, including all-optical switches, all-optical memories, electro-optic modulators, and lasers, which can operate with extremely-small consumption energy, owing to their very tight light confinement. These wavelength-scale largely-integrable low-power photonic devices are promising for realizing a dense photonic network in a processor chip, which will enable high-performance information processing with small consumption power and reduced heat generation.