Photonic Properties of Er-Doped Crystalline Silicon

During the last four decades, a remarkable research effort has been made to understand the physical properties of Si:Er material, as it is considered to be a promising approach towards improving the optical properties of crystalline Si. In this paper, we present a summary of the most important results of that research. In the second part, we give a more detailed description of the properties of Si/Si:Er multinanolayer structures, which in many aspects represent the most advanced form of Er-doped crystalline Si with prospects for applications in Si photonics.