Ultra-broadband all-optical nonlinear activation function enabled by MoTe2/optical waveguide integrated devices

Chenduan Chen, Zhan Yang, Tao Wang, Yalun Wang, Kai Gao, Jiajia Wu, Jun Wang, Jianrong Qiu and Dezhi Tan ()
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Chenduan Chen: Zhejiang Lab
Zhan Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tao Wang: Zhejiang Lab
Yalun Wang: Zhejiang Lab
Kai Gao: Zhejiang Lab
Jiajia Wu: Zhejiang Lab
Jun Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianrong Qiu: Zhejiang University
Dezhi Tan: Zhejiang Lab

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract All-optical nonlinear activation functions (NAFs) are crucial for enabling rapid optical neural networks (ONNs). As linear matrix computation advances in integrated ONNs, on-chip all-optical NAFs face challenges such as limited integration, high latency, substantial power consumption, and a high activation threshold. In this work, we develop an integrated nonlinear optical activator based on the butt-coupling integration of two-dimensional (2D) MoTe2 and optical waveguides (OWGs). The activator exhibits an ultra-broadband response from visible to near-infrared wavelength, a low activation threshold of 0.94 μW, a small device size (~50 µm2), an ultra-fast response rate (2.08 THz), and high-density integration. The excellent nonlinear effects and broadband response of 2D materials have been utilized to create all-optical NAFs. These activators were applied to simulate MNIST handwritten digit recognition, achieving an accuracy of 97.6%. The results underscore the potential application of this approach in ONNs. Moreover, the classification of more intricate CIFAR-10 images demonstrated a generalizable accuracy of 94.6%. The present nonlinear activator promises a general platform for three-dimensional (3D) ultra-broadband ONNs with dense integration and low activation thresholds by integrating a variety of strong nonlinear optical (NLO) materials (e.g., 2D materials) and OWGs in glass.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53371-6

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