Nonvolatile programmable silicon photonics using an ultralow-loss Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> phase change material.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34134978.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abg3500 and PMC identifier 8208718.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The next generation of silicon-based photonic processors and neural and quantum networks need to be adaptable, reconfigurable, and programmable. Phase change technology offers proven nonvolatile electronic programmability; however, the materials used to date have shown prohibitively high optical losses, which are incompatible with integrated photonic platforms. Here, we demonstrate the capability of the previously unexplored material Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> for ultralow-loss programmable silicon photonics. The favorable combination of large refractive index contrast and ultralow losses seen in Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> facilitates an unprecedented optical phase control exceeding 10π radians in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. To demonstrate full control over the flow of light, we introduce nanophotonic digital patterning as a previously unexplored conceptual approach with a footprint orders of magnitude smaller than state-of-the-art interferometer meshes. Our approach enables a wealth of possibilities in high-density reconfiguration of optical functionalities on silicon chip.