Silicon photonics: a bright future?

Silicon photonics has expanded considerably in the last decade and a number of companies have also released products onto the market place. Some of the recent results from the field are reviewed before the main areas requiring further research before they can be achieved are discussed. An overview is given of the major Si photonics research presently being pursued in the UK. Finally, a number of potential new applications are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]