The confinement of light by Littrow blazed grating structures is explored for targeted device operation principles. For passive devices, these grating structures are explored in one and two-dimensional versions to study resonant pixel with sizes of about ten grating periods (for 4.5 μm-side), which retain a CMOS compatible design. The resonances are found to substantially enhance the weak silicon absorption at 940 nm, a wavelength of interest for, e.g., distance ranging and face recognition, and to achieve a 7.5° angular tolerance. The addition of gain and loss in generic Littrow structures that display an original dispersion made of crossing manifold is next considered, with a view to the issue of broad-area laser modal control.