Double-Slot Nanophotonic Platform for Optically Accessible Resistive Switching with High Extinction Ratio and High Endurance

Abstract

Resistive devices have gained significant research attention in the past decade due to their attractive potential applications in nonvolatile memory and unconventional computing. We propose a double-slot nanophotonic structure for optically accessible resistive switching at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. The proposed silicon-based nanophotonic resistive switch determines its states by detecting two distinct levels of optical intensity transmission. This is achieved by applying an external voltage to both the electrodes, which leads to the formation and annihilation of Ag filaments within the controlling layer through the diffusion and rupture of metal ions in the SiO2 region through the double-slot region with vertical hybrid plasmonic confinement on both sides. The novel device geometry also enables a greater impact of p-Si on Ag filaments, providing us with an effective opto-conductive filament interaction. The proposed device offers the advantages of low operating voltage, high cycling endurance, and an ultrahigh extinction ratio of 35 dB using a strong light–matter interaction in 10 nm wide two-slot regions of SiO2 for 20 μm long devices at subwavelength scales. The nanophotonic structure used in the device also exhibits broadband propagation in the wavelength range of 1.5 to 1.6 μm. The experimental results show that the proposed switch with its short and compact geometry has the potential for efficient and high-performance functionalities in optical interconnects, data storage, neuromorphic computing, and reconfigurable nanophotonic circuitry.