Fast and Energy-Efficient Non-Volatile III-V-on-Silicon Photonic Phase Shifter Based on Memristors

Silicon photonics has evolved from lab research to commercial products in the past decade as it plays an increasingly crucial role in data communication for next-generation data centers and high-performance computing. Recently, programmable silicon photonics has also found new applications in quantum and classical information processing. A key component of programmable silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is the phase shifter, traditionally realized via thermo-optic or free-carrier effects that are weak, volatile, and power hungry. A non-volatile phase shifter can circumvent these limitations by requiring zero power to maintain the switched phases. Previously non-volatile phase modulation is achieved via phase-change or ferroelectric materials, but the switching energy remains high (pico to nano joules) and the speed is slow (micro to milliseconds). Here, a non-volatile III-V-on-silicon photonic phase shifter based on a HfO2 memristor with sub-pJ switching energy (approximate to 400 fJ), representing over an order of magnitude improvement in energy efficiency compared to the state of the art, is reported. The non-volatile phase shifter can be switched reversibly using a single 100 ns pulse and exhibits excellent endurance over 800 cycles. This technology can enable future energy-efficient programmable PICs for data centers, optical neural networks, and quantum information processing. A non-volatile III-V-on-silicon photonic phase shifter based on a HfO2 memristor with sub-pJ switching energy (approximate to 400 fJ) is reported, representing over an order of magnitude improvement in energy efficiency compared to the state-of-the-art. The non-volatile phase shifter can be switched reversibly using a single 100 ns pulse and exhibits excellent endurance over 800 cycles.image

Automated summary

Silicon photonics has become increasingly important in data communication, and programmable silicon photonic integrated circuits now have a non-volatile phase shifter with significantly improved energy efficiency, speed, and endurance. This technology has potential applications in future energy-efficient programmable PICs, optical neural networks, and quantum information processing.