Transimpedance preamplifier with 70-dB AGC range in fine-line NMOS

The test results for an NMOS transimpedance preamplifier with 50- Omega drive capability and built-in automatic gain control (AGC) function are presented. Measurements at 0.88 Gb/s using lambda =1.3 mu m and a p-i-n photodiode yield an average output power of -26 dBm with bit error rate (BER)=10/sup -9/. A method to estimate the receiver sensitivity from noise-figure measurements is also proposed. This provides a relatively simple complementary technique to optical bit error rate (BER) measurements.<
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