Heterogeneously Integrated Memristive Laser on Silicon with Non-Volatile Wavelength Tuning

TL;DR

This paper presents the integration of a memristor with a silicon microring laser, enabling non-volatile wavelength tuning for potential use in neuromorphic computing and optical memory applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first laser with non-volatile optical memory by integrating a memristor into a silicon quantum dot microring laser.

Findings

Achieved non-volatile wavelength control of the laser

Demonstrated memristor-induced modulation of laser output

Enabled potential applications in neuromorphic computing

Abstract

The von-Neumann bottleneck has constrained computing systems from efficiently operating on the increasingly large demand in data from networks and devices. Silicon (Si) photonics offers a powerful solution for this issue by providing a platform for high-bandwidth, energy-efficient interconnects. Furthermore, memristors have emerged as a fundamental building block for non-volatile data storage and novel computing architectures with powerful in-memory processing capabilities. In this paper, we integrate an Al2O3 memristor into a heterogeneous Si quantum dot microring laser to demonstrate the first laser with non-volatile optical memory. The memristor alters the effective optical modal index of the microring laser cavity by the plasma dispersion effect in the high resistance state (HRS) or Joule heating in the low resistance state (LRS), subsequently controlling the output wavelength of the laser in a non-volatile manner. This device enables a novel pathway for future optoelectronic neuromorphic computers and optical memory chips.