Ultralow Voltage Manipulation of Ferromagnetism.

Spintronic elements based on spin transfer torque have emerged with potential for on-chip memory, but they suffer from large energy dissipation due to the large current densities required. In contrast, an electric-field-driven magneto-electric storage element can operate with capacitive displacement charge and potentially reach 1-10 µJ cm-2 switching operation. Here, magneto-electric switching of a magnetoresistive element is shown, operating at or below 200 mV, with a pathway to get down to 100 mV. A combination of phase detuning is utilized via isovalent La substitution and thickness scaling in multiferroic BiFeO3 to scale the switching energy density to ≈10 µJ cm-2 . This work provides a template to achieve attojoule-class nonvolatile memories.

Design of optical neural networks with component imprecisions.

For the benefit of designing scalable, fault resistant optical neural networks (ONNs), we investigate the effects architectural designs have on the ONNs' robustness to imprecise components. We train two ONNs - one with a more tunable design (GridNet) and one with better fault tolerance (FFTNet) - to classify handwritten digits. When simulated without any imperfections, GridNet yields a better accuracy (∼98%) than FFTNet (∼95%). However, under a small amount of error in their photonic components, the more fault tolerant FFTNet overtakes GridNet. We further provide thorough quantitative and qualitative analyses of ONNs' sensitivity to varying levels and types of imprecisions. Our results offer guidelines for the principled design of fault-tolerant ONNs as well as a foundation for further research.

Scalable energy-efficient magnetoelectric spin-orbit logic.

Since the early 1980s, most electronics have relied on the use of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors. However, the principles of CMOS operation, involving a switchable semiconductor conductance controlled by an insulating gate, have remained largely unchanged, even as transistors are miniaturized to sizes of 10 nanometres. We investigated what dimensionally scalable logic technology beyond CMOS could provide improvements in efficiency and performance for von Neumann architectures and enable growth in emerging computing such as artifical intelligence. Such a computing technology needs to allow progressive miniaturization, reduce switching energy, improve device interconnection and provide a complete logic and memory family. Here we propose a scalable spintronic logic device that operates via spin-orbit transduction (the coupling of an electron's angular momentum with its linear momentum) combined with magnetoelectric switching. The device uses advanced quantum materials, especially correlated oxides and topological states of matter, for collective switching and detection. We describe progress in magnetoelectric switching and spin-orbit detection of state, and show that in comparison with CMOS technology our device has superior switching energy (by a factor of 10 to 30), lower switching voltage (by a factor of 5) and enhanced logic density (by a factor of 5). In addition, its non-volatility enables ultralow standby power, which is critical to modern computing. The properties of our device indicate that the proposed technology could enable the development of multi-generational computing.

Voltage control of unidirectional anisotropy in ferromagnet-multiferroic system.

Demonstration of ultralow energy switching mechanisms is imperative for continued improvements in computing devices. Ferroelectric (FE) and multiferroic (MF) order and their manipulation promise an ideal combination of state variables to reach attojoule range for logic and memory (i.e., ~30× lower switching energy than nanoelectronics). In BiFeO3 (BFO), the coupling between the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and FE order is robust at room temperature, scalable in voltage, stabilized by the FE order, and can be integrated into a fabrication process for a beyond-CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) era. The presence of the AFM order and a canted magnetic moment in this system causes exchange interaction with a ferromagnet such as Co0.9Fe0.1 or La0.7Sr0.3MnO3. Previous research has shown that exchange coupling (uniaxial anisotropy) can be controlled with an electric field. However, voltage modulation of unidirectional anisotropy, which is preferred for logic and memory technologies, has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we present evidence for electric field control of exchange bias of laterally scaled spin valves that is exchange coupled to BFO at room temperature. We show that the exchange bias in this bilayer is robust, electrically controlled, and reversible. We anticipate that magnetoelectricity at these scaled dimensions provides a powerful pathway for computing beyond modern nanoelectronics by enabling a new class of nonvolatile, ultralow energy computing elements.

Complex strain evolution of polar and magnetic order in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films.

Electric-field control of magnetism requires deterministic control of the magnetic order and understanding of the magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroics like BiFeO3 and EuTiO3. Despite this critical need, there are few studies on the strain evolution of magnetic order in BiFeO3 films. Here, in (110)-oriented BiFeO3 films, we reveal that while the polarization structure remains relatively unaffected, strain can continuously tune the orientation of the antiferromagnetic-spin axis across a wide angular space, resulting in an unexpected deviation of the classical perpendicular relationship between the antiferromagnetic axis and the polarization. Calculations suggest that this evolution arises from a competition between the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and single-ion anisotropy wherein the former dominates at small strains and the two are comparable at large strains. Finally, strong coupling between the BiFeO3 and the ferromagnet Co0.9Fe0.1 exists such that the magnetic anisotropy of the ferromagnet can be effectively controlled by engineering the orientation of the antiferromagnetic-spin axis.

Demonstration of Ru as the 4th ferromagnetic element at room temperature.

Development of novel magnetic materials is of interest for fundamental studies and applications such as spintronics, permanent magnetics, and sensors. We report on the first experimental realization of single element ferromagnetism, since Fe, Co, and Ni, in metastable tetragonal Ru, which has been predicted. Body-centered tetragonal Ru phase is realized by use of strain via seed layer engineering. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy confirm the epitaxial mechanism to obtain tetragonal phase Ru. We observed a saturation magnetization of 148 and 160 emu cm-3 at room temperature and 10 K, respectively. Control samples ensure the ferromagnetism we report on is from tetragonal Ru and not from magnetic contamination. The effect of thickness on the magnetic properties is also studied, and it is observed that increasing thickness results in strain relaxation, and thus diluting the magnetization. Anomalous Hall measurements are used to confirm its ferromagnetic behavior.

Overcoming thermal noise in non-volatile spin wave logic.

Spin waves are propagating disturbances in magnetically ordered materials, analogous to lattice waves in solid systems and are often described from a quasiparticle point of view as magnons. The attractive advantages of Joule-heat-free transmission of information, utilization of the phase of the wave as an additional degree of freedom and lower footprint area compared to conventional charge-based devices have made spin waves or magnon spintronics a promising candidate for beyond-CMOS wave-based computation. However, any practical realization of an all-magnon based computing system must undergo the essential steps of a careful selection of materials and demonstrate robustness with respect to thermal noise or variability. Here, we aim at identifying suitable materials and theoretically demonstrate the possibility of achieving error-free clocked non-volatile spin wave logic device, even in the presence of thermal noise and clock jitter or clock skew.

Non-volatile Clocked Spin Wave Interconnect for Beyond-CMOS Nanomagnet Pipelines.

The possibility of using spin waves for information transmission and processing has been an area of active research due to the unique ability to manipulate the amplitude and phase of the spin waves for building complex logic circuits with less physical resources and low power consumption. Previous proposals on spin wave logic circuits have suggested the idea of utilizing the magneto-electric effect for spin wave amplification and amplitude- or phase-dependent switching of magneto-electric cells. Here, we propose a comprehensive scheme for building a clocked non-volatile spin wave device by introducing a charge-to-spin converter that translates information from electrical domain to spin domain, magneto-electric spin wave repeaters that operate in three different regimes--spin wave transmitter, non-volatile memory and spin wave detector, and a novel clocking scheme that ensures sequential transmission of information and non-reciprocity. The proposed device satisfies the five essential requirements for logic application: nonlinearity, amplification, concatenability, feedback prevention, and complete set of Boolean operations.

Error-free transmission of microring-modulated BPSK.

We demonstrate the generation of error-free binary-phase-shift-keyed (BPSK) data at 5 Gb/s using a silicon microring modulator. The microring-modulated BPSK signal is propagated at fiber lengths up to 80 km, maintaining error-free performance, while demonstrating resilience to chromatic dispersion. Bit-error-rate measurements and eye diagrams show near equivalent performance of a microring-based BPSK modulator as compared to commercial LiNbO3 phase modulators.

Synchronization of micromechanical oscillators using light.

Synchronization, the emergence of spontaneous order in coupled systems, is of fundamental importance in both physical and biological systems. We demonstrate the synchronization of two dissimilar silicon nitride micromechanical oscillators, that are spaced apart by a few hundred nanometers and are coupled through an optical cavity radiation field. The tunability of the optical coupling between the oscillators enables one to externally control the dynamics and switch between coupled and individual oscillation states. These results pave a path toward reconfigurable synchronized oscillator networks.

Broadband tuning of optomechanical cavities.

We demonstrate broadband tuning of an optomechanical microcavity optical resonance by exploring the large optomechanical coupling of a double-wheel microcavity and its uniquely low mechanical stiffness. Using a pump laser with only 13 mW at telecom wavelengths we show tuning of the silicon nitride microcavity resonances over 32 nm. This corresponds to a tuning power efficiency of only 400 mW/nm. By choosing a relatively low optical Q resonance (≈ 18,000) we prevent the cavity from reaching the regime of regenerative optomechanical oscillations. The static mechanical displacement induced by optical gradient forces is estimated to be as large as 60 nm.

First demonstration of long-haul transmission using silicon microring modulators.

We report error-free long-haul transmission of optical data modulated using a silicon microring resonator electro-optic modulator with modulation rates up to 12.5 Gb/s. Using bit-error-rate and power penalty characterizations, we evaluate the performance of this device with varying modulation rates, and perform a comparative analysis using a commercial electro-optic modulator. We then experimentally measure the signal integrity degradation of the high-speed optical data with increasing propagation distances, induced chromatic dispersions, and bandwidth-distance products, showing error-free transmission for propagation distances up to 80 km. These results confirm the functional ubiquity of this silicon modulator, establishing the potential role of silicon photonic interconnects for chip-scale high-performance computing systems and memory access networks, optically-interconnected data centers, as well as high-performance telecommunication networks spanning large distances.

Ultra high bandwidth WDM using silicon microring modulators.

We report 50 Gbit/s modulation capability using four silicon micro ring modulators within a footprint of 500 microm(2). This is the highest total modulation capability shown in silicon using compact micro-ring modulators. Using the proposed techniques, silicon nanophotonic bandwidths can meet the requirements of future CMOS interconnects by using multiple wavelengths to extend beyond single device speeds.

Ultra-low voltage, ultra-small mode volume silicon microring modulator.

We show GHz modulation in a 2.5 microm radius silicon micro-ring, with only 150 mV peak-peak drive voltage and an electro-optic modal volume of only 2 microm(3). The swing voltage and the micro-ring modulator are the smallest demonstrations so-far in silicon. The presented approach lays the ground work for a new class of high speed low voltage modulators enabling, seamless integration of nanophotonics with low voltage digital CMOS nano-electronics.

Integrated GHz silicon photonic interconnect with micrometer-scale modulators and detectors.

We report an optical link on silicon using micrometer-scale ring-resonator enhanced silicon modulators and waveguide-integrated germanium photodetectors. We show 3 Gbps operation of the link with 0.5 V modulator voltage swing and 1.0 V detector bias. The total energy consumption for such a link is estimated to be approximately 120 fJ/bit. Such a compact and low power monolithic link is an essential step towards large-scale on-chip optical interconnects for future microprocessors.

Optical nonreciprocity in optomechanical structures.

We demonstrate that optomechanical devices can exhibit nonreciprocal behavior when the dominant light-matter interaction takes place via a linear momentum exchange between light and the mechanical structure. As an example, we propose a microscale optomechanical device that can exhibit a nonreciprocal behavior in a microphotonic platform operating at room temperature. We show that, depending on the direction of the incident light, the device switches between a high and low transparency state with more than a 20 dB extinction ratio.

Deposited silicon high-speed integrated electro-optic modulator.

We demonstrate a micrometer-scale electro-optic modulator operating at 2.5 Gbps and 10 dB extinction ratio that is fabricated entirely from deposited silicon. The polycrystalline silicon material exhibits properties that simultaneously enable high quality factor optical resonators and sub-nanosecond electrical carrier injection. We use an embedded p(+)n(-)n(+) diode to achieve optical modulation using the free carrier plasma dispersion effect. Active optical devices in a deposited microelectronic material can break the dependence on the traditional single layer silicon-on-insulator platform and help lead to monolithic large-scale integration of photonic networks on a microprocessor chip.

Broadband hitless silicon electro-optic switch for on-chip optical networks.

We report on the demonstration of a broadband (60 GHz), spectrally hitless, compact (20 microm x 40 microm), fast (7 ns) electro-optical switch. The device is composed of two coupled resonant cavities, each with an independently addressable PIN diode. This topology enables operation of the switch without perturbing adjacent channels in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system.

Tunable superluminal propagation on a silicon microchip.

We demonstrate tunable superluminal propagation in a silicon microphotonic device in a solid-state room-temperature device of tens of micrometers in dimension allowing easy integration with high-bandwidth room-temperature systems. We achieve tunable negative delays up to 85 ps and effective group indices tunable between -1158 and -312.

Wide temperature range operation of micrometer-scale silicon electro-optic modulators.

We demonstrate high bit rate electro-optic modulation in a resonant micrometer-scale silicon modulator over an ambient temperature range of 15 K. We show that low bit error rates can be achieved by varying the bias current through the device to thermally counteract the ambient temperature changes. Robustness in the presence of thermal variations can enable a wide variety of applications for dense on chip electronic photonic integration.