A 5.5 Gbit/s Optical Receiver in 130 nm CMOS with Speed-Enhanced Integrated Photodiode

The design and measurement of a high-speed optical receiver is presented. The intrisically low speed of a silicon photodiode is increased by a new photodiode structure which combines a high speed and a high responsivity. On top of this, an equalizer is used to increase the attainable bit rate even more. The receiver, existing from a photodiode, TIA, equalizer and post amplifier is integrated in a standard 130 nm CMOS technology. At a bit rate of 5.5 Gbit/s and an optical input power of -3.4 dBm, the BER is below 10−12. The power consumption is only 58.5 mW.status: publishe