GaAs IC chip set for compact optical module of giga bit rates

A GaAS IC chip set, which is ideal for a compact optical receiver of gigabit data rates, was developed, comprising a transimpedance amplifier (preamplifier) IC, a limiting amplifier (main amplifier) IC, and an ECL (emitter coupled logic) buffer IC. The unique variable transimpedance circuit can prevent overload on a simultaneous basis without compromise of the low-noise characteristic. The main amplifier and the ECL buffer IC made a great contribution to achieving a simple but high-performance receiver circuit. A PIN optical receiver module fabricated with these chips within a very small package (26 mm×12.7 mm×6 mm) demonstrated low current consumption and a high sensitivity of -26.5 dBm at 1.0625 Gb/s with 1.3-μm light transmission. Dramatic improvement of dynamic range (at least 26.5 dB) was verified