Small-scale photonic Kolmogorov-Arnold networks using standard telecom nonlinear modules
Photonic neural networks promise ultrafast inference, yet most architectures rely on linear optical meshes with electronic nonlinearities, reintroducing optical-electrical-optical bottlenecks. Here we introduce small-scale photonic Kolmogorov-Arnold networks (SSP-KANs) implemented entirely with standard telecommunications components. Each network edge employs a trainable nonlinear module composed of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, semiconductor optical amplifier, and variable optical attenuators, providing a four-parameter transfer function derived from gain saturation and interferometric mixing. Despite the constrained functional form of these optical nonlinearities, SSP-KANs comprising o...
| Authors | Luca Nogueira Calçado, Sergei K. Turitsyn, Egor Manuylovich |
|---|---|
| Primary category | physics.optics |
| Published | 9 April 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 18 May 2026 |
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