A high-speed integrated optoelectronic photoreceiver

The authors present a high-speed optoelectronic photoreceiver, specifically designed for use in optical interconnections. This photoreceiver is composed of an MSM (metal-semiconductor-metal) photodetector coupled with a HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) transimpedance amplifier. Through the use of the lattice-mismatched materials system of AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs and quarter-micron gate length HEMTs, speeds in excess of 4 GHz as well as transimpedance gains of over 50 dB were achieved, well matching the results of the iSMILE simulator. The high performance of the pseudomorphic HEMTs was reflected in their transit frequency of f/sub 1/=66 GHz. This design also included an MSM photodetector with a measured dark current of less than 10 nA.<
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