System and method for programmable nonlinear silicon photonic circuit

An all-optical device, comprising:

• a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) coupled to a Mach-Zehnder coupler (MZC);
• the MZI comprising at least one microring resonator (MRR) and a first tunable element, the MRR further comprising a second tunable element;
• the MZC comprising a third tunable element;
• the first, second, and third tunable elements configured to control biases of the all-optical device to achieve a desired power transfer function.

A method for operating an all-optical device, the all-optical device including a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) coupled to a Mach-Zehnder coupler (MZC), the MZI including a first tunable element and at least one microring resonator (MRR) having a second tunable element, the MZC having a third tunable element, the method comprising:

• controlling the first tunable element to adjust a bias of the MZI to introduce a desired phase difference;
• controlling the second tunable element to adjust a bias of the MRR such that the all-optical device is functioning at about a resonance wavelength;
• and
• controlling the third tunable element to adjust a bias of the MZC to balance amplitudes of two arms of the MZI;
• the biases of the MZI, MRR, and MZC being controlled to achieve a desired power transfer function.