Silicon bipolar technology and circuits for optical communications at data rates above 10 GBit/s

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it will describe the results on a chip set with data rates as high as 32 Gbit/s, that is fabricated in a preproduction 0.8-µm silicon bipolar technology. Second, it will describe the present and near-future perspectives of silicon technology for homo- and heterojunction devices in terms of higher operating speeds, lower power consumption, lower noise figures, and new functions such as OEIC’s.