A monolithically integrated, optically clocked 10 GS/s sampler with a bandwidth of >30 GHz and a jitter of <30 fs in photonic SiGe BiCMOS technology

This paper presents an optically clocked 10 GS/s-sampler monolithically integrated in a photonic 0.25 μm SiGe-BiCMOS technology, which uses an ultra-stable optical pulse train generated by a hybrid mode-locked laser to sample an electrical signal. The integrated circuit includes optical waveguides, as well as a grating coupler, Germanium photodiodes with a bandwidth of >50 GHz, and an integrate-and-dump sampler. Experimental results demonstrate an analog bandwidth exceeding 30 GHz, a jitter of <30 fs, as well as a THD of <-33 dB over the entire bandwidth, and a SNR of 35.3 dB.