PART 1: Advances in Fundamental Research -- Enhanced optical properties of Si nanocrystals -- Inversion-based lasing and Raman lasing in doped silicon -- Reduced graphene oxide-Ge quantum dot nanocomposites -- Stimulated emission in the near infrared from disordered Ge dots -- Lasing in strained Ge microbridges -- Obtaining efficient light emission from crystalline Ge nanostructures -- Spin-based light emission in group IV semiconductors -- Exceptional points sensing with silicon photonics -- Topological photonics in array of silicon microresonators -- Entangled photon generations in silicon photonics -- Sn lasing in silicon -- PART 2: New Technologies -- Parallel digital gradient search technique for rapid automated alignment of devices on silicon photonics integrated circuits -- All optical neural networks based on silicon optical chips -- Transformative optics in regard to planar silicon photonic devices for optical switching and optical computing techniques -- Subwavelength grating periodic structures in silicon-on-insulator technology -- Silicon photonics transceivers for data centers.