Wide-dynamic-range optical receiver design

This paper commences with a brief review of wide dynamic range optical receiver design techniques by discussing their relative merits and drawbacks in relation to the other major receiver performance parameters. In particular, the review focuses on the use of the PIN photodiode detector incorporated within the receiver rather than the APD to provide for the most economic design solutions. This is followed by discussion of a novel PIN-FET optical receiver design which utilizes a degenerative feedback loop in order to extend the dynamic range performance. The implementation of this receiver design strategy, using thick film technology, is then described in order to optimize the device dynamic range. Finally, the major performance characteristics of the optical receiver are reported, which indicate a minimum dynamic range of 40 dB over a bandwidth of 3 MHz.