InP electronic preamplifiers in photoreceiver applications

Transmission over fibre networks at 1.3-1.5 /spl mu/m is presently developing very rapidly in telecom and TV broadcasting networks, and is actively researched for high speed interconnects and microwave transmission. In most cases, conventional photoreceivers are used, associating InGaAs/InP p-i-n or APD photodetectors and Si or GaAs-based hybrid or integrated preamplifiers. The major progress experienced in InP microelectronics during the last 10 years, illustrated by the record cut-off frequencies of InP transistors, now allows the fabrication of low-noise preamplifiers, suitable for the monolithic integration of wideband high-sensitivity photoreceivers or for compact, low consumption photoreceiver arrays. In this paper, after a short review of the available devices and integration schemes being presently developed, some illustrative results on AlInAs-InGaAsP-InP HFET preamplifiers used in hybrid or integrated photoreceivers are presented.