Hybrid optical and electrical reconfigurable logic gates based on silicon on insulator technology

Abstract In this paper we present the first measurements of optically reconfigurable and enabled logic gates based upon the original concept of Silicon-On-Insulator Photo-Activated Modulators (SOI-PAM). The inputs of the fabricated logic gates can either be electric (voltage) or photonic while the output is electric. The principle of the switching operation relays on the optically induced voltage redistribution in SOI Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) structure. Optical generation of free minority carriers under the buried oxide layer of the SOI cuts-off the conductivity of the silicon channel located on the top layer. By using the photonic commands, the operation rate is expected to be faster. In this paper we show the preliminary experimental validation of such logic gates based on devices having dimensions of less than one cubic micron.