日本NEC公司和日本光电子工业与技术发展协会及东京大学的科学家们第一个成功研制出Si纳米线定向耦合器。该Si纳米线定向耦合器比传统的用玻璃光纤、基于半导体SiO2或铌酸锂波导制作的定向耦合器尺寸小得多。与传统定向耦合器的几个mm的长度相比较,Si纳米线定向耦合器的总长度 Japan NEC Corporation and Japan Optoelectronics Industry and Technology Development Association and University of Tokyo scientists successfully developed the first Si nanowire directional coupler. The Si nanowire directional coupler is much smaller in size than the conventional directional couplers made with glass optical fibers based on semiconductor SiO2 or lithium niobate guides. Compared with the length of a few mm of the conventional directional coupler, the total length of the Si nanowire directional coupler