AlGaAs/InGaAs HBT IC modules for 40-Gb/s optical receiver

Optical frontend and distributed amplifier IC modules, both containing GaAs heterojunction-bipolar-transistors (HBT), have been developed for 40 Gb/s optical receiver. To achieve high-speed operations, the elements in the mod ules including the IC and signal lines, were designed to achieve a wider ba ndwidth with lower electrical reflection. The influence of a bonding-wire i nductance was taken into particular account in optimizing the parameters of the ICs. The optical frontend, consisting of a waveguide pin-photodiode an d an HBT preamplifier IC, exhibits a transimpedance gain of 43 dB Ohm and a bandwidth of 31 GHz. The distributed amplifier IC module achieves a gain o f 9 dB and a bandwidth of 39 GHz. A 40-Gb/s optical receiver constructed wi th these modules exhibited a high receiver sensitivity of -28.2 dBm for a 4 0-Gb/s optical return-to-zero signal.