MMIC adaptive transversal preamplifier for high speed lightwave systems

A fractionally spaced preamplifier using cascode MESFET's and a distributed structure for pulse shaping has been designed for use in high speed lightwave systems. The capability of the technique is demonstrated with a MMIC implementation using Nortel's 0.8 µm GaAs MESFET technology. Frequency response measurements demonstrate that the bandwidth can be controlled up to 5 GHz.