Ultra-Low-Energy Programmable Non-Volatile Silicon Photonics Based on Phase-Change Materials with Graphene Heaters

Silicon photonics is evolving from laboratory research to real-world applications with the potential to transform many technologies, including optical neural networks and quantum information processing. A key element for these applications is a reconfigurable switch operating at ultra-low programming energy—a challenging proposition for traditional thermo-optic or free carrier switches. Recent advances in non-volatile programmable silicon photonics based on phase-change materials (PCMs) provide an attractive solution to energy-efficient photonic switches with zero static power, but the programming energy density remains high (hundreds of attojoules per cubic nanometre). Here we demonstrate a non-volatile electrically reconfigurable silicon photonic platform leveraging a monolayer graphene heater with high energy efficiency and endurance. In particular, we show a broadband switch based on the technologically mature PCM Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ and a phase shifter employing the emerging low-loss PCM Sb₂Se₃. The graphene-assisted photonic switches exhibited an endurance of over 1,000 cycles and a programming energy density of 8.7 ± 1.4 aJ nm^–3, that is, within an order of magnitude of the PCM thermodynamic switching energy limit (~1.2 aJ nm^–3) and at least a 20-fold reduction in switching energy compared with the state of the art. Our work shows that graphene is a reliable and energy-efficient heater compatible with dielectric platforms, including Si₃N₄, for technologically relevant non-volatile programmable silicon photonics.