Influence of loss on linearity of microring-assisted Mach-Zehnder modulator

The microring-assisted (MRA) Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator offers a potential solution to attaining highly linear optical modulators. In this paper, the influence of waveguide loss on the linearity property of the MRA-MZ modulator is analyzed. The way to choose the biasing points is introduced. Analysis shows that the linearity of the MRA-MZ modulator is high, even at low-loss conditions. By properly setting the biasing phases, the 2nd - and 3rd-order harmonic terms of the modulation curve can be removed. The linearity range can reach 90% when the round-trip loss of the microring is less than 3 dB. The maximum modulation depth is the main factor that limits the linearity range of the modulation curve when the loss is large, but with proper power ratio setting between the two arms of the MZ interferometer, the intrinsic maximum modulation depth can be improved and the linearity range can be kept large.