Optical Transimpedance Receiver for High Data Transmission in OFDM Modulation Format

This paper presents the design and performance of a single-ended transimpedance amplifier (TIA) for gigabit passive optical networks implementing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation format. The circuit is realized using an industrial GaAs integrated technology. Low power consumption and small chip area are the main challenges in the TIA design. On-wafer characterization in terms of S-parameters, noise figure, gain compression, and intermodulation are presented and compared to simulated results showing a good agreement. The TIA is linked with a broadband PIN photodiode and introduced in a radio over fiber system. The optical link is simulated in a microwave software and characterized in terms of error vector magnitude by varying the radio frequency input power and the laser bias current.