Thermally tuned on-chip optical memory

Abstract

Phase-change materials, known as Chalcogenide alloys, are a promising alternative to traditional random-access memory. They possess characteristics that are particularly beneficial for non-volatile storage applications. The features of the Phase change material Ge-Sb-Te alloy (GST) used for substrate-integrated optical memory include scaling, quick switching times, minimal switching energy, and exceptional thermal stability. The material has two tuneable states, amorphous and crystalline, with the amorphous layer for loading data optically. In contrast, the crystalline state holds the data longer without significant loss. The study designed a classic thermally tuned optical memory on a silicon substrate. It demonstrated a dependency of lattice structure on external voltage and revealed a large storage capacity for information in the form of an optical signal. The heat transport simulation utilized the Heat Transport (HEAT) solver of the Finite Element Eigenmode (FEEM) solver. At the same time, the optical response analysis involved the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) solver of Lumerical. The proposed structure exhibits a memory-switching phenomenon when a temperature shift of about 60 °C from room temperature is induced by a change in the external voltage of 147 mV. These findings have substantial implications for non-volatile storage memory development, providing a potential solution for high-capacity, low-energy data storage.