An auto-gain control transimpedance amplifier with low noise andwide input dynamic range for 10-Gb/s optical communication systems

This paper describes a 10-Gb/s transimpedance amplifier (TIA), fabricated in a 0.1-μm-p-HEMT technology. To improve the optical overload characteristics, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit is included. The measured results show excellent performance, transimpedance of 63.3 dBΩ (1.46 kΩ), bandwidth of 8.0 GHz, and equivalent input noise current density of 6.5 pA/rtHz. When the bit error rate is 10^-9, the minimum sensitivity and the optical overload are -21.2 dBm, +4.3 dBm, respectively, using a 0.8 A/W pin photodiode (PD). The power dissipation is about 0.5 W from a single -5-V supply. The die area is 1.3×1.6 mm²