40 Gbit/s optical receiver module with high conversion gain and sensitivity

An optical receiver for 40 Gbit/s communication systems with 8274 V/W conversion gain and 950 mV_p-p limiting differential output is reported. A back-to-back sensitivity of -9.4 dBm at a bit error rate of 10^-12 was observed for a 2³¹-1 pseudorandom binary sequence. The receiver incorporates an InP based pin diode, a transimpedance amplifier and a limiting amplifier. This is the largest conversion gain with high sensitivity reported for 40 Gbit/s receivers without optical amplification.