HIGH DYNAMIC-RANGE AND LOW-POWER INTEGRATED FRONT-END DESIGN TECHNIQUES FOR AVALANCHE PHOTODIODE READOUT

Design techniques of high dynamic range and low power readout integrat ed circuits, especially in BICMOS technology, matched to the capacitiv e impedance source of avalanche photodiodes are presented. More precis ely, a BiCMOS integrated linear mode transimpedance amplifier, combini ng the advantages of both bipolar and CMOS transistors, coupled with a fast gain switching integrated circuit is analysed. In addition, othe r techniques including discrete solutions and nonlinear amplifiers are reviewed.