The Centre for Innovation Competence (ZIK) SiLi-nano® looks back on 5 years of successful research. Since 2009, our Centre is supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research within the funding program „ZIK – Centres for Innovation Competence: Creating Excellency, Fostering Talents“ („ZIK – Zentren für Innovationskompetenz: Exzellenz schaffen, Talente sichern“). The two junior research groups Light to Silicon and Silicon to Light acively advance research at the interface of silicon-photonics and photovoltaics. Their aim is to augment the efficiency of solar cells by new coating layers and improve data transfer in microelectronics.