Burst Mode Receiver for Passive Optical Networks: High-speed Transimpedance Amplifier with Rapid Gain Adjustment

Broadband internet access is currently one of the fastest growing markets in telecommunication. Common technologies are Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL) and cable TV. The most promising future technology is Passive Optical Networks (PON). Catch phrases like Fiber To The Home (FTTH) and Fiber To The Curb (FTTC) are used. This technology requires optical receivers for a very high range of input power. So called Burst Mode Receivers achieve this goal by rapidly changing the gain. This book describes the development of such a receiver and introduces a novel circuit named Prepare and Hold to setup and rapidly change the operating point and gain of the amplifier. This book describes basics of optical receivers and circuit design. The development of the test chip is presented in thorough detail including schematics, simulation graphs and the layout. Two evaluation PCBs were designed and the measurement results are presented and compared to other published works. This book addresses engineers working in the field of optoelectronics, chip design and communications engineering as well as students and others who are interested in a practical work in these fields.