Optical communications

Chapter 4
Pham Quang Thai
Pqthai.hcmut@gmail.com

Working principles
Optical characteristics
Modulation characteristic
Noise

PN photo diode: create electron-hole

pairs through light absorption

le n
Ho usio
if

on
tr n
ec sio
El fu
i
D

D
rif

PIN photo diode: reduce difusion time

by increase depletion region width
I: intrinsic (neither P nor N doped
material)

Avalanche photo diode (APD): increase

responsivity through impact ionization

Optical characteristics
Optical characteristics
Quantum efficiency
Responsivity
Photocurrent

Responsivity vs. wavelength

Optical characteristics
Optical characteristics

Modulation characteristics
Modulation characteristics
Series Resistance, RS arises from the resistance of the
contacts and the resistance of the undepleted silicon
Junction Capacitance, CJ the boundaries of the depletion
region act as the plates of a parallel plate capacitor
R

Cj
Cj

10

Modulation characteristics
Modulation characteristics
Shunt Resistance, RSH the slope of the I-V
curve at V=0

R sh

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Modulation characteristics

tDRIFT, the charge collection time of the carriers in the

depleted region of the photodiode.
tDIFFUSED, the charge collection time of the carriers in the
undepleted region of the photodiode.
tRC, the RC time constant of the diode-circuit combination.

Response time

Modulation
bandwidth

12

PIN vs APD

13

Noise
Noise sources
iQ2 Q2 2qI p BM 2 F ( M )
Quantum (shot noise)
2
2
DB
2qI D BM 2 F ( M )
Bulk dark current iDB
2
2

Surface dark current DS

DS 2 qI L B
4k BTB
2
2
Thermal noise
iT T
RL

B: bandwidth
M: APD gain
F(M): exceed noise factor

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Noise
Signal to Noise ratio

15

Examples for chapter 4

Problem 6-6
An InGaAs PIN photodiode has the
following parameters at 1550 nm:
ID=1nA, =0.95, RL=500. The surface
leakage current is negligible. The
incident optical power is 500nW (33dBm) and the receiver bandwidth is
150MHz. Compare the quantum noise
current, dark current and thermal noise
current.
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Examples for chapter 4

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