The realization of optical switching generated from the combination of Ag/a-Si/p-Si memristor and silicon waveguide

Much attention has been attracted by applications of memristor in data storage, unconventional computing and logic circuit since 2008, but very few have been focused on applications in optical switches and optical modulators. Here, by combining a silicon waveguide with a memristor of Ag/a-Si/p-Si structure, a novel optical switch (OS) for use at 1.55μm has been set up. The device consists of a bottom p-Si waveguide, an upper a-Si layer and a top Ag electrode, i.e. a sandwich structure named as Ag/a-Si/p-Si. The light transmitting through the silicon waveguide can be modulated by changing optical parameters of a-Si dielectric layer in which the formation and annihilation of Ag filament can be adjusted by an alternately electrical field between Ag and p-Si electrodes. The distribution of optical power dependence on the thicknesses of a-Si layer and Ag layer as well as the geometric size of waveguide have been studied by numerical analysis. Finally, based on Ag/a-Si/p-Si sandwich structure and the simulated results, we have proposed a new and improved OS.