On the design of a wide-dynamic range GaAs preamplifier IC for photonic links

This paper discusses ongoing experimental research involving the design of novel architectures applicable to high-speed non-regenerated systems insensitive to parasitic effects, characterization and modeling of the noise performance in GaAs MESFET RF devices used in short-haul transmissions and wireless applications. Three major design concerns are the noise figure of the low-noise amplifier (LNA), the dynamic range of the receiver circuit and the link performance which is strongly dependent on both the sensitivity and the dynamic range.