Phase Change Electro-optical Devices for Space Applications

M. Rais-Zadeh (California Institute of Techn., USA)

Phase change materials from chalcogenide compounds has been heavily investigated for both memory and RF applications. The change in electrical resistance of phase change materials is the property that is exploited for their use in RF switch applications. Germanium Telluride (GeTe) for example, can provide five to seven orders of magnitude change in resistivity when going through the phase change transition. Both crystalline states of the material are stable at room temperature providing zero power consumption in the steady state, which is ideal for low duty cycle applications. GeTe also undergoes significant change in refractive index, which can be used for implementing optical switch, modulator, and diffraction gratings. In this talk, I will present advanced concepts using this property of GeTe for electro-optical devices with application in Space.