Sensitivity Calculations of High-Speed Optical Receivers Based on Electron-APDs

Authors

Vladimir Shulyak, University of Sheffield
Majeed M. Hayat, Marquette UniversityFollow
Jo Shien Ng, University of SheffieldFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

2-15-2020

Publisher

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)

Source Publication

Journal of Lightwave Technology

Source ISSN

0733-8724

Abstract

Sensitivity of high-speed optical receivers is heavily influenced by the performance of the optical detectors used in the receivers, the data rate, and the target bit-error-rate (BER). A simulation model for sensitivity of optical receivers based on electron-avalanche photodiodes (e-APDs) is presented. It allows for the optimization of avalanche width and operating voltage to achieve the optimum receiver sensitivity for given bit rate and target BER. The effects modelled include inter-symbol interference (ISI), various dark current components (tunnelling, diffusion, and generation), current impulse duration, avalanche gain, and amplifier's noise. The model was demonstrated through simulations of Indium Arsenide (InAs) e-APDs. For $10^{-12}$ target BER, the receiver's sensitivities were found to be −30.6, −22.7, −19.2, and −16.6 dBm, for 10, 25, 40, and 50 Gb/s data rate, respectively. Desirable avalanche properties of InAs e-APDs are counteracted by detrimental effects of high dark currents. Hence InAs e-APDs with lower dark currents are required to be more competitive with other optical detector technologies for high-speed optical receivers. The data reported in this article is available from the ORDA digital repository (DOI: 10.15131/shef.data.9959468).

Comments

Published version. Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 38, No. 4 (February 15, 2020): 989-995. DOI. © 2020 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Used with permission.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. For more information, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Shulyak, Vladimir; Hayat, Majeed M.; and Ng, Jo Shien, "Sensitivity Calculations of High-Speed Optical Receivers Based on Electron-APDs" (2020). Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications. 612.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/electric_fac/612