Optically storing and addressing data on photonic chips is of particular interest as such capability would eliminate optoelectronic conversion losses in data centers. It would also enable on-chip non-von Neumann photonic computing by allowing multinary data storage with high fidelity. Here, we demonstrate such an optically addressed, multilevel memory capable of storing up to 34 nonvolatile reliable and repeatable levels (over 5 bits) using the phase change material ${\mathrm{Ge}}_2{\mathrm{Sb}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_5$ integrated on a photonic waveguide. Crucially, we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a technique that allows us to program the device with a single pulse regardless of the previous state of the material, providing an order of magnitude improvement over previous demonstrations in terms of both time and energy consumption. We also investigate the influence of write-and-erase pulse parameters on the single-pulse recrystallization, amorphization, and readout error in our multilevel memory, thus tailoring pulse properties for optimum performance. Our work represents a significant step in the development of photonic memories and their potential for novel integrated photonic applications.

中文翻译：

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使用5位非易失性光子存储单元进行快速可靠的存储

在光子芯片上光学存储和寻址数据特别受关注，因为这种功能可以消除数据中心的光电转换损耗。通过允许高保真地进行多元数据存储，它还可以实现片上非冯·诺依曼光子计算。在这里，我们演示了一种光学寻址的多级存储器，该存储器能够使用相变材料存储多达34个非易失性可靠且可重复的级别（超过5位）${\mathrm{通用电器}}_{\mathrm{2个}}{锑}_{\mathrm{2个}}{特}_5$集成在光子波导上。至关重要的是，据我们所知，我们首次展示了一种技术，该技术使我们能够使用单个脉冲对设备进行编程，而与材料的先前状态无关，从而在以下方面比以前的演示提供了一个数量级的改进：时间和能源消耗。我们还研究了写和擦除脉冲参数对多级存储器中单脉冲重结晶，非晶化和读出误差的影响，从而调整了脉冲特性以实现最佳性能。我们的工作代表了光子存储器发展及其在新型集成光子应用中的潜力的重要一步。