Multi Gbit/s, high-sensitivity all silicon 3.3V optical receiver using PIN lateral trench photodetector

Abstract

We report a 3.3V silicon optical receiver consisting of a CMOS-compatible lateral trench PIN photodiode and a transimpedance amplifier that achieved a sensitivity of -17.1dBm at 2.5Gb/s and demonstrated error-free (BER<10-10) operation up to 6.5Gb/s at 845nm. This is the highest reported sensitivity at data rates above 2.0Gb/s and the fastest operation of any Si-based optical receiver.