Design methodologies for high-speed CMOS photoreceiver front-ends

A hierarchical design methodology for wide bandwidth photoreceiver front-ends is presented in this paper. We propose a unified approach for both optoelectronic and electronic components in the front-end, capable of improving system performance with respect to traditional segregated design flows. Based on a synthesis platform aimed at fast multi-domain system design automation, we optimize photodiode structure and CMOS transimpedance amplifiers for different technology nodes with accurate performance prediction.