Ferroelectric-based Pockels photonic memory

Abstract

Efficient data transfer between memory and photonic components is crucial for a wide range of applications. However, this necessity brings forth energy-efficient data movement challenges associated with the memory wall, underscoring the demand for a fast and low-energy electro-optic photonic memory solution. Here, we demonstrate a class of energy-efficient electro-optic devices, namely Pockels photonic memory, that combines low-field switchable ferroelectrics with lithium niobate’s Pockel’s effect. Among such devices, this article will describe in detail the integrated embodiment of a ferroelectric field-effect transistor with lithium niobate on insulator micro ring resonator. We achieve switchable and non-volatile multiple optical memory states (6 states per transistor) with ultra-low energy cost (femto Joule/state), while achieving robust 10 year data retention and read-write endurance exceeding 10⁷ cycles. Furthermore, we demonstrate the possibility of linear memory state stacking. The Pockels photonic memory enables the scaling of reconfigurable photonic systems into the femto Joule/state energy efficiencies.

Xu et al. report a Pockels photonic memory by integrating ferroelectric field-effect transistor with lithium niobate on insulator micro ring resonator. Through the manipulation of ferroelectric domains and the Pockels effect, the device achieves energy consumption at fJ/state level.