Optical device having a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with improved linearity

An optical device comprising:

• an MZI comprising a first optical waveguide arm and a second optical waveguide arm;
• and
• an MRR optically coupled to any one of the first optical waveguide arm or the second optical waveguide arm,
• wherein the MZI comprises a length difference between the first optical waveguide arm and the second optical waveguide arm, and wherein the length difference is based on an annular length of the MRR such that a superlinear transmission region of the MRR is aligned with peaks of an optical output of the MZI to thereby improve linearity of the optical output of the MZI.

An electronic system, comprising:

• a circuit board;
• and
• a photonic integrated circuit mounted on the circuit board, wherein the photonic integrated circuit comprises an optical device comprising:
• an MZI comprising a first optical waveguide arm and a second optical waveguide arm;
• and
• an MRR optically coupled to any one of the first optical waveguide arm or the second optical waveguide arm,
• wherein the MZI comprises a length difference between the first optical waveguide arm and the second optical waveguide arm, and wherein the length difference is based on an annular length of the MRR such that a superlinear transmission region of the MRR is aligned with peaks of an optical output of the MZI to thereby improve linearity of the optical output of the MZI.