Integrated optical receivers using MSM detectors

The performance of a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) detector when combined with preamplifier electronics is discussed, and it is noted that certain advantages due to its horizontal surface can result in receivers with fundamentally higher performance than that possible with vertical p-i-n detector designs. The sensitivity of optical receivers using a MSM detector is analyzed, and a set of scaling rules is used to compare a MSM receiver´s sensitivity with that of a similar receiver using a vertical p-i-n photodiode structure. Assuming identical preamplifier designs it is shown that the MSM-based receiver, except at very high bit rates, can in principle consistently outperform its p-i-n counterpart with as much as a 6-dB improvement in sensitivity