Mo2TiC2Tx MXene Saturable Absorption for Neural Networks on a Chip
Abstract
MXenes have attracted considerable interest for integrated nonlinear photonics owing to their broadband optical response and chemical tunability, yet investigations have focused predominantly on Ti-based compositions, leaving the nonlinear potential of double-transition-metal MXenes largely unexplored. Here we quantify the nonlinear optical response of the double-transition-metal MXene \ce{Mo2TiC2T_x} and demonstrate its functionality as a waveguide-integrated nonlinear activation element for neuromorphic photonics. Z-scan measurements at \SI{800}{\nano\metre} reveal strong saturable absorption in films of two different thicknesses, yielding effective nonlinear absorption coefficients (βeff) between approximately −2.69×103 and −0.88×103 \si{\centi\metre\per\giga\watt}, with the nonlinear response decreasing at higher excitation intensities. The extracted nonlinear absorption is approximately one order of magnitude larger than that reported for \ce{Ti3C2T_x} MXene under comparable conditions. We integrate an ultrathin \ce{Mo2TiC2T_x} MXene layer onto a silicon rib waveguide to realize a compact nonlinear optical activation function, which, when implemented in a neural-network emulator, achieves 98.39% classification accuracy on the MNIST benchmark. This work expands the MXene material platform beyond Ti-based compositions and establishes double-transition-metal MXenes as promising candidates for high-performance integrated nonlinear photonic and neuromorphic computing technologies.
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BibTeX
@misc{watad2026mo2tic2tx,
title = {{Mo2TiC2Tx MXene Saturable Absorption for Neural Networks on a Chip}},
author = {Shadad Watad and Aviad Katiyi and Bar Favelukis and Muhammad Sharif Uddin and Anupma Thakur and Maxim Sokol and Babak Anasori and Alina Karabchevsky},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.19849},
eprint = {2609.19849},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19849},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Mo2TiC2Tx MXene Saturable Absorption for Neural Networks on a Chip
AU - Shadad Watad
AU - Aviad Katiyi
AU - Bar Favelukis
AU - Muhammad Sharif Uddin
AU - Anupma Thakur
AU - Maxim Sokol
AU - Babak Anasori
AU - Alina Karabchevsky
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.19849
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19849
AB - MXenes have attracted considerable interest for integrated nonlinear photonics owing to their broadband optical response and chemical tunability, yet investigations have focused predominantly on Ti-based compositions, leaving the nonlinear potential of double-transition-metal MXenes largely unexplored. Here we quantify the nonlinear optical response of the double-transition-metal MXene \ce{Mo2TiC2T_x} and demonstrate its functionality as a waveguide-integrated nonlinear activation element for neuromorphic photonics. Z-scan measurements at \SI{800}{\nano\metre} reveal strong saturable absorption in films of two different thicknesses, yielding effective nonlinear absorption coefficients (β_eff) between approximately −2.69×10^3 and −0.88×10^3 \si{\centi\metre\per\giga\watt}, with the nonlinear response decreasing at higher excitation intensities. The extracted nonlinear absorption is approximately one order of magnitude larger than that reported for \ce{Ti3C2T_x} MXene under comparable conditions. We integrate an ultrathin \ce{Mo2TiC2T_x} MXene layer onto a silicon rib waveguide to realize a compact nonlinear optical activation function, which, when implemented in a neural-network emulator, achieves 98.39% classification accuracy on the MNIST benchmark. This work expands the MXene material platform beyond Ti-based compositions and establishes double-transition-metal MXenes as promising candidates for high-performance integrated nonlinear photonic and neuromorphic computing technologies.
ER -