Laser induced magnetization reversal for detection in optical interconnects

Azim, Zubair Al; Fong, Xuanyao; Ostler, Thomas; Chantrell, Roy; Roy, Kaushik

Abstract

Optical interconnect has emerged as the front-runner to replace electrical interconnect especially for off-chip communication. However, a major drawback with optical interconnects is the need for photodetectors and amplifiers at the receiver, implemented usually by direct bandgap semiconductors and analog CMOS circuits, leading to large energy consumption and slow operating time. In this letter, we propose a new optical interconnect architecture that uses a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) at the receiver side that is switched by femtosecond laser pulses. The state of the MTJ can be sensed using simple digital CMOS latches, resulting in significant improvement in energy consumption. Moreover, magnetization in the MTJ can be switched on the picoseconds time-scale and our design can operate at a speed of 5 Gb/s for a single link.

Citation

Azim, Z. A., Fong, X., Ostler, T., Chantrell, R., & Roy, K. (2014). Laser induced magnetization reversal for detection in optical interconnects. IEEE Electron Device Letters, 35(12), 1317-1319. https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2014.2364232

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 17, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Oct 27, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Deposit Date: Jun 15, 2022
• Journal: IEEE Electron Device Letters
• Print ISSN: 0741-3106
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1317-1319
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2014.2364232
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4014609