Heterogeneous III-V/Si micro-ring laser array with multi-state non-volatile memory for ternary content-addressable memories

Stanley Cheung (), Yanir London (), Yuan Yuan, Bassem Tossoun, Yiwei Peng, Yingtao Hu, Thomas Vaerenbergh, Di Liang, Chong Zhang, Geza Kurczveil and Raymond G. Beausoleil
Additional contact information
Stanley Cheung: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Yanir London: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Yuan Yuan: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Bassem Tossoun: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Yiwei Peng: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Yingtao Hu: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Thomas Vaerenbergh: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Di Liang: University of Michigan
Chong Zhang: Nexus Photonics
Geza Kurczveil: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Raymond G. Beausoleil: Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract In this work, we introduce programmable memory elements embedded within III-V/Si light sources which facilitate non-volatile wavelength tuning. These non-volatile III-V/Si micro-ring lasers (MRLs) exhibit non-volatile wavelength shifts of ~80 pm with ~40 dB signal extinction ratio while consuming 0 electrical static tuning power. An array of 5 cascaded MRLs is demonstrated with each laser capable of 4 programmable non-volatile states, thus yielding 1024 unique states altogether. Write/erase operations were performed up to 100 cycles with non-volatile time duration lasting up to 24 h. These non-volatile lasers are used to demonstrate optical ternary content-addressable memories (O-TCAM) which can find utility in fast memory search and in-memory computing functions necessary for various machine learning algorithms. The end-to-end energy consumption of the non-volatile MRL O-TCAM with 5 ternary symbols is 1156 fJ/sym. This work provides an opportunity for realizing photonic memory applications in next generation non-volatile photonic systems.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59832-w

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