Design of low noise CMOS OEIC for blu-ray disc optical storage systems

This paper discusses the design of an optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC intended for optical recording systems. The electronic noise in the system is an issue for high-speed operation and dual-layer blu-ray discs. In order to get a good impression of the various noise sources in the system, a noise calculation model has been developed. The design of the photo-diode and the preamplifiers in a BiCMOS/CMOS processes is discussed. The advantage of CMOS downscaling on the speed race is reported. A novel low-noise, low-voltage and low-power CMOS topology is described. Furthermore, some preliminary results of a test OEIC in 0.18 μm CMOS are also reported. The measured input-referred current noise is 350 fAHz^-12/ at 20 MHz equivalent with the shot-noise level generated by a photo current of 380 nA. The active area of the test die, excluding bonding pads, is 0.36×0.26 mm² and the power consumption is 12.5 mW from a 1.5 V supply voltage at room temperature.