Programmable and reconfigurable silicon photonic circuits using the low-loss phase change material Sb2Se3 (Conference Presentation)

Abstract

The emerging fields of on-chip photonic data processing, neuromorphic computing, and quantum technology are enabled by mature integrated photonics platforms. Silicon is considered the material of choice and silicon photonics is rapidly becoming a mainstream industrial platform. One of the key elements lacking is the availability of non-volatile programmable materials compatible with silicon photonics which could be used to reconfigure and program circuits without requiring continuous power to maintain its state. Recently, a new family of phase change materials Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3 have gained interest for their properties including a refractive index close to silicon, large switching of refractive index at telecommunications wavelength and ultralow optical losses. I will present here our results in developing the materials and their integration into new types of reconfigurable silicon photonics devices.