The emerging field of excitonics, made possible by the remarkable advances in technology,
presents the possibility of improving on the usual data communication and processing
device paradigm of using photons and electrons. This is because excitons are bound electron-hole
pairs that are charge neutral and hence do not suffer from capacitive losses associated with electronic
devices. They are much more effective at absorbing light and undergo seamless transition
to and from a photon. They are also capable of directionally transporting energy in space as
demonstrated in natural process of photosynthesis. In addition, with a Bohr radius of no more
than a couple of nanometers, devices based on excitons can be significantly smaller when compared
to photonic devices. Together with the enhancement and localization provided by optical nanocavities, optoexcitonics offers a perfect platform to build on-chip components such as sources, modulators, routers and detectors for integrated optoexcitonic circuits.
