Non-volatile silicon photonic memory with more than 4-bit per cell capability

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a silicon-based integrated photonic phase-change memory capable of multilevel operation with a single pulse, advancing the integration of photonic memory with electronic systems.

Contribution

It is the first to showcase reliable multilevel silicon photonic memory with single-pulse programming, enabling better integration with electronic components.

Findings

Achieved multilevel operation with a single programming pulse

Compared silicon memory performance with silicon nitride

Enabled potential for tighter electronic-photonic integration

Abstract

We present the first demonstration of an integrated photonic phase-change memory using GeSbTe-225 on silicon-on-insulator and demonstrate reliable multilevel operation with a single programming pulse. We also compare our results on silicon with previous demonstrations on silicon nitride. Crucially, achieving this on silicon enables tighter integration of traditional electronics with photonic memories in future, making phase-change photonic memory a viable and integrable technology.