All-Optical Modulator Using MXene Inkjet-Printed Microring Resonator

All-optical modulators have a wide range of applications and are in great demand for its potential in all-optical communications, interconnects and signal processing. Two-dimensional materials can modulate light with superior performance, MXene, one of the latest additions to the world of 2D materials, exhibits good electrical conductivity, excellent stability, and highly tunable electronic/optical properties. Thus, it is promising in practical photonic applications. In this work, an integrated all-optical modulator using MXene Ti
₃
C
₂
T
_x
inkjet-printed on a microring resonator is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Based on its strong photo-thermal conversion efficiency, the all-optical modulation was successfully realized with a tuning efficiency of 0.09π mW
^-1
and a modulation depth of ~7.8 dB. The measured 10%-90% rise and decay time are 300 μs and 90 μs, respectively. It is believed that the proposed MXene-based all-optical modulation mechanism could pave the way for MXene to realistic on-chip applications.