R&D: Non-Volatile Optoelectronic Memory Based on Photosensitive Dielectric

Nature Communications has published an article written by Rui Zhu, Huili Liang, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, P. R. China, and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, P. R. China, Shangfeng Liu, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, P. R. China, and State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, P. R. China, Ye Yuan, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, P. R. China, Xinqiang Wang, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, P. R. China, and State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, P. R. China, Francis Chi-Chung Ling, Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong, P. R. China, Andrej Kuznetsov, Department of Physics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048, Oslo, NO-0316, Norway, Guangyu Zhang, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, P. R. China, and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, P. R. China, and Zengxia Mei, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, P. R. China, and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, P. R. China.

Abstract: “Recently, the optoelectronic memory is capturing growing attention due to its integrated function of sense and memory as well as multilevel storage ability. Although tens of states have been reported in literature, there are still three obvious deficiencies in most of the optoelectronic memories: large programming voltage (>20 V), high optical power density (>1 mW cm⁻²), and poor compatibility originating from the over-reliance on channel materials. Here, we firstly propose an optoelectronic memory based on a new photosensitive dielectric (PSD) architecture. Data writing and erasing are realized by using an optical pulse to switch on the PSD. The unique design enables the memory to work with a programming voltage and optical power density as low as 4 V and 160 µW cm⁻², respectively. Meanwhile, this device may be extended to different kinds of transistors for specific applications. Our discovery offers a brand-new direction for non-volatile optoelectronic memories with low energy consumption.“