A Monolithic GaAs Receiver for Optical Interconnect Systems

Abstract

A monolithic GaAs optical receiver which includes the photodetector and preamplifier was designed and fabricated using a common 1.0-µm gallium-arsenide MESFET technology. The optical receiver operates at the data rate of 1 Gb/s. The transimpedance value can be continuously tuned from 1 to 10 kΩ. The metal-semiconductor-metal photodiode shows a 35% efficiency. Several design factors are considered to achieve high-bandwidth and low-noise operation. An array of the integrated receivers can be compactly implemented in a single chip for high-speed interconnection networks and photonic signal processing. © 1994, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.