Complete monolithic integrated 2.5 Gbit/s optoelectronic receiver with large area MSM photodiode for 850 nm wavelength

A novel optoelectronic receiver cli ip for a data rate of 2.5 Gbit/s has be en developed and tested. It integrates a metal-semiconductor-metal photodio de with a GaAs HEMT transimpedance amplifier, a high gain amplifier and a l imiting output buffer which is able to drive a 50 Q load. A special feature of the chip is that it comprises a very large photodiode of 300 mum diamet er, eliminating the need for expensive fibre alignment. Measurements reveal that the receiver achieves the required sensitivity of -15.7 dBm at a bit error rate of 10(-9).