Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Integrated Oscillator Arrays for Energy-Efficient Physical Reservoir Computing (NOEMIA)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Electronics and Computer Sci
Abstract
A significant percentage of the global energy production is consumed by Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and the consumption will be further accelerated with rapid and broad adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where demand on complex machine learning models with high power consumption is increasing.
The NOEMIA project aims to develop a fundamentally novel energy-efficient hardware alternative for machine learning by using Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (NOEMS) technology. Within the project timeline, NOEMIA targets to deliver a world-first Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical (NOEM) coupled oscillator array integrated with GeSn photodetectors fabricated via silicon-compatible technologies. Active integration of silicon photonics components with nanomechanical oscillators will allow us to detect sub-nW oscillation with excellent sensitivity and with minimal energy loss. The dynamic behaviour and scalability of the systems will be explored theoretically and device and material-level system tunability will be investigated towards the application for physical reservoir computing, a fast, simple, and energy-efficient option of machine learning.
The NOEMIA project (1.16M EUR in total) is approved in the EU CHIST-ERA scheme, and the project consortium consists of 5 institutions from 5 different countries with complementary expertise. The project lead, University of Southampton (UOS) in the UK offers strong expertise of nanodevice fabrication and advanced nanophotonics, and Institut d'électronique de microélectronique et de nanotechnologie (IEMN) in France provides skills of MEMS technology and opto-electro-mechanical characterisation. National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taiwan contributes with their Si photonics and GeSn photodetector expertise, and laser annealing and material modification are conducted by Riga Technical University (RTU) in Latvia. The Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Czech Republic leads theoretical investigation of nonlinear oscillators.
Successful demonstration of novel NOEM integrated oscillator arrays by the unique and interdisciplinary NOEMIA consortium will make a significant impact on the development of next generation AI hardware, one of the most exciting research fields in ICT.
The NOEMIA project aims to develop a fundamentally novel energy-efficient hardware alternative for machine learning by using Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (NOEMS) technology. Within the project timeline, NOEMIA targets to deliver a world-first Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical (NOEM) coupled oscillator array integrated with GeSn photodetectors fabricated via silicon-compatible technologies. Active integration of silicon photonics components with nanomechanical oscillators will allow us to detect sub-nW oscillation with excellent sensitivity and with minimal energy loss. The dynamic behaviour and scalability of the systems will be explored theoretically and device and material-level system tunability will be investigated towards the application for physical reservoir computing, a fast, simple, and energy-efficient option of machine learning.
The NOEMIA project (1.16M EUR in total) is approved in the EU CHIST-ERA scheme, and the project consortium consists of 5 institutions from 5 different countries with complementary expertise. The project lead, University of Southampton (UOS) in the UK offers strong expertise of nanodevice fabrication and advanced nanophotonics, and Institut d'électronique de microélectronique et de nanotechnologie (IEMN) in France provides skills of MEMS technology and opto-electro-mechanical characterisation. National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taiwan contributes with their Si photonics and GeSn photodetector expertise, and laser annealing and material modification are conducted by Riga Technical University (RTU) in Latvia. The Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Czech Republic leads theoretical investigation of nonlinear oscillators.
Successful demonstration of novel NOEM integrated oscillator arrays by the unique and interdisciplinary NOEMIA consortium will make a significant impact on the development of next generation AI hardware, one of the most exciting research fields in ICT.
Publications
Tsuchiya Y
(2023)
Nonlinear Silicon Nanoelectromechanical Resonators
Tsuchiya Y
(2024)
Silicon Nanosystems and Conducting Polymer integration
J. Y. Ou
(2024)
(Invited) Nanomechanical Metamaterials
Gholipour B
(2023)
Reconfigurable photonic platforms: feature issue introduction
in Optical Materials Express
Ben F
(2023)
Characterisation and modelling of nonlinear resonance behaviour on very-high-frequency silicon nanoelectromechanical resonators
in Micro and Nano Engineering
A. S. Ansari
(2024)
Chalcogenide nano-optomechanical phase change metasurface
| Description | NOEMIA Project under Chist-Era Call 2021 NOEMS for ICT |
| Organisation | Institute of Electronics Microelectronics and Nanotechnology |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The NOEMIA consortium consists of five institutions from five different participating countries, UK, France, Taiwan, Latvia, and Czechia.We the University of Southampton team coordinate the project and provide expertise on silicon nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), and nano-optomechanics and nanofabrication to develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. |
| Collaborator Contribution | To develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. the partner in France, IEMN provides expertise of MEMS resonators and opto-electro-mechanical characterisation while the Taiwanese partner NTU provides strong expertise on Group IV material growth and photonic device technology. The RTU Latvia uses laser annealing to improve the performance of NOEMS devices, while ITCAS of Czechia contributes to nonlinear dynamics thory. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | NOEMIA Project under Chist-Era Call 2021 NOEMS for ICT |
| Organisation | Institute of Thermomechanics |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The NOEMIA consortium consists of five institutions from five different participating countries, UK, France, Taiwan, Latvia, and Czechia.We the University of Southampton team coordinate the project and provide expertise on silicon nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), and nano-optomechanics and nanofabrication to develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. |
| Collaborator Contribution | To develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. the partner in France, IEMN provides expertise of MEMS resonators and opto-electro-mechanical characterisation while the Taiwanese partner NTU provides strong expertise on Group IV material growth and photonic device technology. The RTU Latvia uses laser annealing to improve the performance of NOEMS devices, while ITCAS of Czechia contributes to nonlinear dynamics thory. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | NOEMIA Project under Chist-Era Call 2021 NOEMS for ICT |
| Organisation | National Taiwan University |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The NOEMIA consortium consists of five institutions from five different participating countries, UK, France, Taiwan, Latvia, and Czechia.We the University of Southampton team coordinate the project and provide expertise on silicon nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), and nano-optomechanics and nanofabrication to develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. |
| Collaborator Contribution | To develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. the partner in France, IEMN provides expertise of MEMS resonators and opto-electro-mechanical characterisation while the Taiwanese partner NTU provides strong expertise on Group IV material growth and photonic device technology. The RTU Latvia uses laser annealing to improve the performance of NOEMS devices, while ITCAS of Czechia contributes to nonlinear dynamics thory. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | NOEMIA Project under Chist-Era Call 2021 NOEMS for ICT |
| Organisation | Riga Technical University (RTU) |
| Country | Latvia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The NOEMIA consortium consists of five institutions from five different participating countries, UK, France, Taiwan, Latvia, and Czechia.We the University of Southampton team coordinate the project and provide expertise on silicon nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), and nano-optomechanics and nanofabrication to develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. |
| Collaborator Contribution | To develop a prototype of coupled nan-opto-electro-mechanical oscillators. the partner in France, IEMN provides expertise of MEMS resonators and opto-electro-mechanical characterisation while the Taiwanese partner NTU provides strong expertise on Group IV material growth and photonic device technology. The RTU Latvia uses laser annealing to improve the performance of NOEMS devices, while ITCAS of Czechia contributes to nonlinear dynamics thory. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2023 |