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An evaluation criterion and a design strategy for high-performance optical phase change materials in absorption-modulated integrated photonics

用于损耗型集成光子器件的相变材料评价标准和设计策略

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Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) exhibit unique optical properties and have been widely used in various fields, such as optical memory, optical switches, and optical neuromorphic computing devices. However, owing to the lack of an evaluation criterion for assessing the optical performance of PCMs, the design of new PCMs mainly depends on empirical knowledge. Herein, a new evaluation criterion known as the material figure of merit (FOM2 = Δk/kamor) was introduced to assess the optical performance of PCMs in absorption-modulated integrated photonics. The FOM value represents the potential of PCMs in constructing high-performance PCM-based photonic devices. A higher FOM value indicates broader applicability of PCMs in photonic devices. To explore the relationships between the optical parameters of PCMs and the FOM value, three new optical PCMs based on Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) were developed according to the theory of optical bandgap. The results indicate that doping with non-metallic elements, such as nitrogen, increases the FOM2 values of GST, which is beneficial for developing low-loss and high-modulation space absorption-modulated PCM-based photonic devices and large-scale absorption-modulated PCM-based photonic arrays. Additionally, the crystallization temperature of PCMs affects the programming power, endurance, and stability of the devices. Therefore, selecting suitable PCMs tailored to the specific requirements of the device in real-world applications is crucial. Our study provides an evaluation criterion for assessing the optical performance of PCMs, thereby facilitating the design of customized materials for photonic applications.

摘要

相变材料(PCM)具有优异的光学性质, 在多种集成光子器件中极 具应用前景, 如光存储器、光开关和光神经形态计算器件. 然而, 由于 集成光子器件相变材料光学性能评价标准的缺乏, 新型相变材料的设 计主要依赖于研究者的研究经验. 本文基于相变光子器件的性能需求, 引入材料品质因子(FOM2 = Δk/kamor)来评价相变材料的光学性能, 建 立了针对损耗调制型相变光子器件相变材料的光学性能评价标准. FOM值的大小代表相变材料在构建高性能相变光子器件中的应用潜 力, FOM值越大, 相变材料应用于光子器件的限制就越小. 在此基础上, 本文基于光学带隙理论, 建立了相变材料光学参数与FOM值之间的关 系, 开发了三种基于GST的新型光学相变材料. 结果表明, 氮等非金属 元素掺杂可以提高GST的FOM值, 有利于开发低损耗、高调制空间的 损耗型相变光子器件和大规模损耗型相变光子阵列. 除了FOM之外, 相变材料的结晶温度也会影响器件的编程功耗、循环寿命和稳定性, 这要求我们在实际应用场景中根据器件的需求选择合适的相变材料. 总之, 本文为相变材料的光学性能提供了评价标准, 促进了集成光子器 件应用中相变材料的定制设计.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hubei Province of China (2023AFA065), the National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFB2205100), and Hubei Province Key Scientific and Technological Project (2022AEA001). Thanks also the Center of Optoelectronic Micro&-Nano Fabrication and Characterizing Facility, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) for the support in device fabrication. The Analytical and Testing Center of HUST is acknowledged for the XRD and XPS measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Integrated Circuits, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jian Xia  (夏剑), Yunxiao Dong  (董云潇), Junjie Gong  (龚俊桀), Zixuan Wang  (王子炫), Tianci Wang  (王天赐), Rui Yang  (杨蕊) & Xiangshui Miao  (缪向水)

  2. Hubei Yangtze Memory Laboratories, Wuhan, 430205, China

    Rui Yang  (杨蕊) & Xiangshui Miao  (缪向水)

Authors
  1. Jian Xia  (夏剑)
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  2. Yunxiao Dong  (董云潇)
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  3. Junjie Gong  (龚俊桀)
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  4. Zixuan Wang  (王子炫)
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  5. Tianci Wang  (王天赐)
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  6. Rui Yang  (杨蕊)
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  7. Xiangshui Miao  (缪向水)
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Contributions

Author contributions Xia J and Yang R conceived the idea and designed the experiments. Xia J prepared the samples and carried out the material characterizations. Dong Y, Gong J, Wang Z and Wang T helped with the material characterizations. Xia J and Yang R wrote the manuscript with inputs from all the authors. Yang R and Miao X supervised the overall progress of the project.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rui Yang  (杨蕊).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary information Experimental details and supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Jian Xia is currently a PhD candidate at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). His main research interests focus on resistive switching devices, phase change materials and optical memory.

Rui Yang is a professor at the School of Integrated Circuits, HUST. After obtaining her PhD Degree from Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SICCAS) in 2010, she joined the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan as a postdoctoral fellow from 2010 to 2013. Her current research interests focus on memristive devices, PCMs integrated photonics, artificial synapses, artificial neurons and neuromorphic computing.

Supplementary information

40843_2024_2874_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Evaluation criterion and design strategy for high-performance optical phase change materials in absorption modulated integrated photonics

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Xia, J., Dong, Y., Gong, J. et al. An evaluation criterion and a design strategy for high-performance optical phase change materials in absorption-modulated integrated photonics. Sci. China Mater. 67, 2008–2015 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-024-2874-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-024-2874-2

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