Resonant multilevel optical switching with phase change material GST

We demonstrate a multilevel optical memristive switch based on a silicon Fabry-Perot resonator. The resonator is constructed by a pair of waveguide Bragg gratings at the ends of a multimode interferometer (MMI) covered with sub-micrometer-size Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) thin film on top. The interaction between the optical field and GST is greatly enhanced due to the resonant effect. The GST phase transition is triggered by applying electrical pulses to the doped-silicon microheater. Light is transmitted when GST is amorphous while it is highly absorbed by the crystalline GST at the resonance wavelength, leading to a higher on-off extinction ratio (ER) compared to the non-resonant device. The resonant device achieves a maximum transmission contrast of 10.29 dB and a total of 38 distinct nonvolatile switching levels. Our work provides an effective solution to improving the multilevel switching performance of phase-change devices and paves the way for future nonvolatile silicon photonics devices.

Automated summary

In this study, a multilevel optical memristive switch based on a silicon Fabry-Perot resonator was demonstrated. The interaction between the optical field and GST is greatly enhanced due to the resonant effect, resulting in high transmission contrast and multiple nonvolatile switching levels.