High-speed sampler modules for making 40 Gb/s eye diagram measurements

100 GHz bandwidth equivalent-time sampler modules have been built and tested. These modules include strobe generation circuitry, sampling diodes, blow-by compensation, and IF amplification. The modules have been characterized for risetime, swept frequency response, timing jitter, linearity, dynamic range, and input referred noise. High-speed pulse response measurements yield a deconvolved 10%-90% risetime of approximately 3 ps. This corresponds to an estimated bandwidth of 113 GHz. Long-duration (100 ns) pulse measurements showed clean responses as well. Swept frequency measurements corroborate the bandwidth estimate, showing little to no change in response out to 65 GHz (limit of measurement system). Timing jitter measurements yielded a value of approximately 175 fs. Linearity measurements showed uncorrected linearity to within a few percent and corrected linearity of approximately 0.1%. This was over a dynamic range of 2 V_pp. Noise measurements gave a typical input referred noise of 2.5 mV_rms, approximately 0.1% of the dynamic range, very close to the calculated quantum limit.