Silicon nanophotonics for on-chip light manipulation

The field of silicon nanophotonics has attracted considerable attention in the past decade because of its unique advantages, including complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility and the ability to achieve an ultra-high integration density. In particular, silicon nanophotonic integrated devices for on-chip light manipulation have been developed successfully and have played very import roles in various applications. In this paper, we review the recent progress of silicon nanophotonic devices for on-chip light manipulation, including the static type and the dynamic type. Static on-chip light manipulation focuses on polarization/mode manipulation, as well as light nanofocusing, while dynamic on-chip light manipulation focuses on optical modulation/switching. The challenges and prospects of high-performance silicon nanophotonic integrated devices for on-chip light manipulation are discussed.