[{"article_number":"3176","tmp":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","image":"/images/cc_by.png","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","short":"CC BY (4.0)"},"fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7","date_created":"2026-03-30T12:22:47Z","oa":1,"abstract":[{"text":"Extracting light from silicon is a longstanding challenge in modern engineering and physics. While silicon has underpinned the past 70 years of electronics advancement, a facile tunable and efficient silicon-based light source remains elusive. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the generation of tunable radiation from a one-dimensional, all-silicon nanograting. Light is generated by the spontaneous emission from the interaction of these nanogratings with low-energy free electrons (2–20 keV) and is recorded in the wavelength range of 800–1600 nm, which includes the silicon transparency window. Tunable free-electron-based light generation from nanoscale silicon gratings with efficiencies approaching those from metallic gratings is demonstrated. We theoretically investigate the feasibility of a scalable, compact, all-silicon tunable light source comprised of a silicon Field Emitter Array integrated with a silicon nanograting that emits at telecommunication wavelengths. Our results reveal the prospects of a CMOS-compatible electrically-pumped silicon light source for possible applications in the mid-infrared and telecommunication wavelengths.","lang":"eng"}],"quality_controlled":"1","DOAJ_listed":"1","day":"18","scopus_import":"1","OA_type":"gold","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"OA_place":"publisher","main_file_link":[{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7","open_access":"1"}],"extern":"1","volume":10,"publication_status":"published","type":"journal_article","oa_version":"Published Version","ddc":["530"],"user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","date_published":"2019-07-18T00:00:00Z","publisher":"Springer Nature","date_updated":"2026-04-15T06:58:28Z","author":[{"first_name":"Charles","last_name":"Roques-Carmes","id":"e2e68fc9-6505-11ef-a541-eb4e72cc3e82","full_name":"Roques-Carmes, Charles"},{"first_name":"Steven E.","last_name":"Kooi","full_name":"Kooi, Steven E."},{"first_name":"Yi","last_name":"Yang","full_name":"Yang, Yi"},{"first_name":"Aviram","last_name":"Massuda","full_name":"Massuda, Aviram"},{"first_name":"Phillip D.","last_name":"Keathley","full_name":"Keathley, Phillip D."},{"first_name":"Aun","last_name":"Zaidi","full_name":"Zaidi, Aun"},{"full_name":"Yang, Yujia","first_name":"Yujia","last_name":"Yang"},{"first_name":"John D.","last_name":"Joannopoulos","full_name":"Joannopoulos, John D."},{"full_name":"Berggren, Karl K.","first_name":"Karl K.","last_name":"Berggren"},{"last_name":"Kaminer","first_name":"Ido","full_name":"Kaminer, Ido"},{"full_name":"Soljačić, Marin","last_name":"Soljačić","first_name":"Marin"}],"status":"public","article_type":"original","publication":"Nature Communications","citation":{"ista":"Roques-Carmes C, Kooi SE, Yang Y, Massuda A, Keathley PD, Zaidi A, Yang Y, Joannopoulos JD, Berggren KK, Kaminer I, Soljačić M. 2019. Towards integrated tunable all-silicon free-electron light sources. Nature Communications. 10, 3176.","ama":"Roques-Carmes C, Kooi SE, Yang Y, et al. Towards integrated tunable all-silicon free-electron light sources. <i>Nature Communications</i>. 2019;10. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7\">10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7</a>","chicago":"Roques-Carmes, Charles, Steven E. Kooi, Yi Yang, Aviram Massuda, Phillip D. Keathley, Aun Zaidi, Yujia Yang, et al. “Towards Integrated Tunable All-Silicon Free-Electron Light Sources.” <i>Nature Communications</i>. Springer Nature, 2019. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7\">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7</a>.","mla":"Roques-Carmes, Charles, et al. “Towards Integrated Tunable All-Silicon Free-Electron Light Sources.” <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 10, 3176, Springer Nature, 2019, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7\">10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7</a>.","ieee":"C. Roques-Carmes <i>et al.</i>, “Towards integrated tunable all-silicon free-electron light sources,” <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 10. Springer Nature, 2019.","short":"C. Roques-Carmes, S.E. Kooi, Y. Yang, A. Massuda, P.D. Keathley, A. Zaidi, Y. Yang, J.D. Joannopoulos, K.K. Berggren, I. Kaminer, M. Soljačić, Nature Communications 10 (2019).","apa":"Roques-Carmes, C., Kooi, S. E., Yang, Y., Massuda, A., Keathley, P. D., Zaidi, A., … Soljačić, M. (2019). Towards integrated tunable all-silicon free-electron light sources. <i>Nature Communications</i>. Springer Nature. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7\">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7</a>"},"title":"Towards integrated tunable all-silicon free-electron light sources","year":"2019","intvolume":"        10","article_processing_charge":"No","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["2041-1723"]},"doi":"10.1038/s41467-019-11070-7","month":"07","_id":"21538"}]