Programmable and nonvolatile computing with composition tuning in thin film lithium niobate

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Devata, Abhiram, Ponce, Axel Magaña, Barton, David
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866910018080604160
author Devata, Abhiram
Ponce, Axel Magaña
Barton, David
author_facet Devata, Abhiram
Ponce, Axel Magaña
Barton, David
contents Matrix-vector multiplications are fundamental operations in artificial intelligence and high-throughput computations, and are executed repeatedly during training and inference. Their high energy cost in electronic processors motivate scalable photonic computing approaches that reduce the energy required per operation. Thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) is a dominant photonic platform due to its large electro-optic effect. However, it lacks nonvolatile index tuning mechanisms, which promise to pave the way for energy-efficient photonic computing. Here, we explore electrochemical lithiation as a route to nonvolatile matrix-vector multiplications in TFLN. The LiNbO3 phase is stable at room temperature over a 2% Li composition window with an associated composition-dependent refractive index. We computationally demonstrate this as a programmable, low-loss approach to perform matrix-vector multiplications by using composition to control matrix weights. We design Mach-Zehnder interferometers to perform image processing tasks under realistic material loss constraints. We also design microring resonators for iterative weight updates, using gradient descent training to program target matrix operations with matrix-vector multiplication accuracy validated at 1.5% average relative error. These demonstrations show a facile route towards nonvolatile photonic computing in TFLN, addressing a critical requirement for energy-efficient photonic matrix operations at scale.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_10066
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Programmable and nonvolatile computing with composition tuning in thin film lithium niobate
Devata, Abhiram
Ponce, Axel Magaña
Barton, David
Optics
Matrix-vector multiplications are fundamental operations in artificial intelligence and high-throughput computations, and are executed repeatedly during training and inference. Their high energy cost in electronic processors motivate scalable photonic computing approaches that reduce the energy required per operation. Thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) is a dominant photonic platform due to its large electro-optic effect. However, it lacks nonvolatile index tuning mechanisms, which promise to pave the way for energy-efficient photonic computing. Here, we explore electrochemical lithiation as a route to nonvolatile matrix-vector multiplications in TFLN. The LiNbO3 phase is stable at room temperature over a 2% Li composition window with an associated composition-dependent refractive index. We computationally demonstrate this as a programmable, low-loss approach to perform matrix-vector multiplications by using composition to control matrix weights. We design Mach-Zehnder interferometers to perform image processing tasks under realistic material loss constraints. We also design microring resonators for iterative weight updates, using gradient descent training to program target matrix operations with matrix-vector multiplication accuracy validated at 1.5% average relative error. These demonstrations show a facile route towards nonvolatile photonic computing in TFLN, addressing a critical requirement for energy-efficient photonic matrix operations at scale.
title Programmable and nonvolatile computing with composition tuning in thin film lithium niobate
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.10066