A 12 Gbit/s limiting amplifier using 2μm GaAs HBT technology for fiber-optic transmission system

摘要

A 12 Gbit/s limiting amplifier for fiber-optic transmission system is realized in a 2 fun GaAs HBT technology. The whole circuit consists of an input buffer, three similar amplifier cells, an output buffer for driving 50Ω transmission lines and a pair of feedback networks for offset cancellation. At a positive supply voltage of 2 V and a negative supply voltage of―2V, the power dissipation is about 280 mW. The small-signal gain is higher than 46 dB and the input dynamic range is about 40 dB with a constant single-ended output voltage swing of 400 mV. Satisfactory eye-diagrams are obtained at the bit rate of 12 Gbit/s limited by the test set-up. The chip area is 1.15 mm x 0.7 mm.