2021/11/25 by K. Tyszka, M. Furman, Tyszka, K. +19
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic and Optical Devices #Strong Light-Matter Interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2111.13123
openalex publication_date 2021/11/25 · openalex created_date 2022/11/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This paper introduces a new approach to neuromorphic photonics in which microcavities exhibiting strong exciton-photon interaction may serve as building blocks of optical spiking neurons. The experimental results demonstrate the intrinsic property of exciton-polaritons to resemble the Leaky Integrate-and-Fire spiking mechanism. It is shown that exciton-polariton microcavities when non-resonantly pumped with a pulsed laser exhibit leaky-integration due to relaxation of the excitonic reservoir, threshold-and-fire mechanism due to transition to Bose-Einstein condensate, and resetting due to stimulated emission of photons. These effects, evidenced in photoluminescence characteristics, arise within sub-ns timescales. The presented approach provides means for energy-efficient ultrafast processing of spike-like laser pulses at the level below 1 pJ/spike.