Quantum Optics Seminar by Matthias Stegmaier

On-Chip All-Optical Processing with Phase-Change Photonics

On-chip all-optical devices have been so far predominantly volatile, i.e. they require a constant bias to keep their state. In terms of stability and energy consumption, however, for many memory and routing applications a nonvolatile operation mechanism would be beneficial. This talk is going to present how such on-chip nonvolatile all-optical devices can be realized by exploiting the extraordinary properties of phase-change materials (PCMs). In these devices, the PCM is switched by nanosecond optical pulses between its amorphous and crystalline phase state which results in a drastic change of its refractive index.