Work

Ultrafast non-volatile charge storage and mid-infrared photoluminescence in LuminoMem tellurium devices for in-memory computing

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Integrated optoelectronic systems strive to combine the logic and memory density of electronics with the bandwidth of photonics, but monolithic realization is impeded by the inefficient electronic-to-photonic interface. Current architectures rely on separate readout circuitry and modulators, creating bottlenecks in energy and latency, while existing direct transduction methods often compromise on switching speed or non-volatility. Here, we develop an ultrafast, non-volatile optoelectronic memory, named LuminoMem, that integrates electrical storage and mid-infrared light emission ( ~ 3.4 μm) in a single device. The device utilizes a floating-gate architecture, in which the semiconductor tellurium serves simultaneously as a charge-storage layer and an emissive medium. This design enables nanosecond-scale electrical programming of non-volatile photoluminescence, allowing direct optical access to stored states without external modulation. We demonstrate that LuminoMem achieves 4-bit optical storage capacity and enables highly accurate image-recognition neural network simulations, providing a hardware foundation that co-integrates optical emission, memory, and computing capabilities. The monolithic integration of memory and photonic devices is normally limited by inefficient electronic-to-photonic interfaces. Here, the authors report optoelectronic floating-gate memory devices based on tellurium, integrating multi-bit electrical storage and mid-infrared light emission at 3.4 μm with nanosecond-scale electrical programming speed.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-75638-w