Millimeter-wave long-wavelength integrated optical receivers grown on GaAs

Abstract

Compact monolithically integrated narrow-band photoreceivers with a high responsivity at millimeter-wave frequencies were realized. In these receivers, a 1.3-1.55 mu m wavelength In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As p-i-n photodiode, grown lattice relaxed on GaAs, is conjugately matched to a two-stage narrow-band amplifier based on 0.15-mu m GaAs based dual-gate PHEMT's. A first receiver, designed for operation around 42 GHz, obtains an optical responsivity of 7 A/W. This is a 38-dB increase in comparison with the measured responsivity of a terminated p-i-n photodiode. For a second receiver, operating at 58 GHz, a responsivity of 2-5 A/W is obtained. These receivers are, to our knowledge, the first high-gain millimeter-wavee long-wavelength photoreceivers monolithically integrated on GaAs. Their high responsivity makes them attractive for use in various microwave and millimeter-wave-over-fiber applications

High Performance Optical Receiver Using a PIN Photodiode and Amplifier for Operation in the Millimeter-wave Region

“…The design achieves high performance in terms of output power while maintaining low cost and ease in fabrication. The module amplifies the RF output power of the PIN photodiode by 33.9 dB at the design frequency (with respect to a standard commercial photodiode module) and maintains the advantages of hybrid technology (simplicity, flexibility and cost) when compared to fully integrated MMIC designs [8].…”