Ultrafast Non-Volatile Weyl LuminoMem for Mid-Infrared In-Memory Computing

TL;DR

The paper introduces LuminoMem, an ultrafast, non-volatile optoelectronic memory device that combines electrical storage and mid-infrared light emission using a Weyl semiconductor, enabling high-speed optical data storage and neural network applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel floating-gate architecture with tellurium for simultaneous charge trapping and emission, achieving nanosecond programming and multi-level optical storage.

Findings

Achieved 4-bit (16-level) optical storage capacity.

Demonstrated neural network simulations with high accuracy on Fashion-MNIST.

Enabled direct optical access to stored states without external modulation.

Abstract

Integrated optoelectronic systems strive to combine the logic/memory density of electronics with the bandwidth of photonics, but monolithic realization is impeded by the inefficient electronic-to-photonic interface. Current architectures rely on separate readout circuitry and modulators, creating bottlenecks in energy and latency, while existing direct transduction methods often compromise on switching speed or non-volatility. Here, we report an ultrafast, non-volatile optoelectronic memory, named LuminoMem, that integrates electrical storage and mid-infrared light emission in a single device. The device utilizes a floating-gate architecture, in which the Weyl semiconductor tellurium serves simultaneously as a charge-trapping storage layer and an emissive medium. This design enables nanosecond-scale electrical programming of non-volatile photoluminescence at 3.4 um, allowing direct optical access to stored states without external modulation. We demonstrate 4-bit (16-level) optical storage capacity and validate the device's performance through neural network simulations that achieve high accuracy on the Fashion-MNIST dataset. By effectively bridging the gap between electronic storage and mid-infrared photonics, the demonstrated mid-infrared LuminoMem provides a hardware foundation for promoting current computation efficiency and potential intelligent platforms that co-integrate computing, memory, and sensing capabilities.