Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH, U.K.
State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Nano Lett. 2022 May 11;22(9):3532-3538. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c04286. Epub 2022 Apr 22.
The use of nonlinear elements with memory as photonic computing components has seen a huge surge in interest in recent years with the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. A key component is the nonlinear element itself. A class of materials known as phase change materials has been extensively used to demonstrate the viability of such computing. However, such materials continue to have relatively slow switching speeds, and issues with cyclability related to phase segregation of phase change alloys. Here, using antimony (Sb) thin films with thicknesses less than 5 nm we demonstrate reversible, ultrafast switching on an integrated photonic platform with retention time of tens of seconds. We use subpicosecond pulses, the shortest used to switch such elements, to program seven distinct memory levels. This portends their use in ultrafast nanophotonic applications ranging from nanophotonic beam steerers to nanoscale integrated elements for photonic computing.
近年来，随着人工智能和机器学习的兴起，使用具有记忆功能的非线性元件作为光子计算组件引起了极大的兴趣。一个关键组件是非线性元件本身。一类被称为相变材料的材料已被广泛用于证明这种计算的可行性。然而，这种材料仍然具有相对较慢的开关速度，并且与相变合金的相分离有关的循环性问题。在这里，我们使用厚度小于 5nm 的锑 (Sb) 薄膜在集成光子平台上演示了具有数十秒保持时间的可逆、超快切换。我们使用亚皮秒脉冲，这是用于切换此类元件的最短脉冲，来编程七个不同的存储级别。这预示着它们在超快纳米光子学应用中的使用，包括从纳米光子束转向器到用于光子计算的纳米级集成元件。
