PROJECT-5
OPTICAL RECEIVER
By,
HARINI B
27-03-2024
Contents….
• Introduction.
• Optical Receivers.
• Photodetectors.
• Photodiode Design using Op-amp.
Introduction…
• Optical Receivers are one of the main building blocks of the full
Si photonics chain. Indeed, as it is positioned at the end of the optical link,
it governs the whole power budget of the link, i.e., the delivered optical
power of the lasers, the insertion loss of the modulators, and the loss of
passive structures. A photodetector needs a minimum power to achieve
the BER specifications at a given data rate.
• Photodetectors are a critical component at the optical receiver. This
optical functional block converts the received light into an electrical
current. Compactness, as with the modulator, is important, as is its
bandwidth or speed of operation. A key defining performance parameter of
the photodetector is its responsivity—the electric current output that results
as a function of a unit of optical power (amp/watt) on the photodetector.
• To add the photodetector function to silicon, germanium is added through
doping the chip. Alternatively, an external material such as an indium
phosphide indium photodetector can be added using hybrid
or heterogeneous integration.
Optical Receivers
• The basic purpose of an optical receiver is to detect the received
light incident on it and to convert it to an electrical signal containing
the information impressed on the light at the transmitting end.
• The optical receiver is a critical element of an optical communication
system since it often determines the overall system performance.
The function of the optical receiver is to detect the incoming optical
power and extract from it the signal (either analog or digital) that is
being transmitted.
• A device that receives optical signals from an Optical Transmitter via
the receiver Fiber of a fiber optic cable. It converts optical signals to
electrical signals which are then conditioned and transmitted through
the fiber optical Transceiver Interface Cable to the control and the
host.
Photodetectors...
• Photodetectors are sensors that can convert the photon energy of light into
electrical signal. They are absolutely necessary for various scientific
implementations like fiber optic communication systems, process control,
environmental sensing, safety and security, and also in defense-related
applications.
• The photodetector is an essential component in an optical receiver that
converts the incoming optical signal into an electrical signal.
Semiconductor photodetectors are usually called photodiodes because
these are the main types of photodetectors utilized in
optical communication systems due to their quick detection speed, high
detection efficiency & small size.
• At present, photodetectors are widely used in industrial electronics,
electronic communications, medicine & healthcare, analytical equipment,
automotive & transport, and many more. These are also known as
photosensors and sensors of light.
Continued…..
• A photodetector definition is; an optoelectronic device that is used to detect
the incident light or optical power to convert it into an electrical signal is
known as a photodetector. Usually, this o/p signal is proportional to the
incident optical power. These sensors are absolutely needed for different
scientific implementations like process control, fiber optic communication
systems, safety, environmental sensing & also in defense applications.
Examples of photodetectors are phototransistors and photodiodes.
Continued…..
• Spectral Response – It is the photodetector’s response as a photon frequency function.
• Quantum Efficiency – The number of charge carriers generated for each photon
• Responsivity – It is the output current separated by the total power of light dropping on
the detector.
• Noise-equivalent Power – It is the required amount of light power to generate a signal
that is equivalent in size to the noise of the device.
• Detectivity – The square root of the area of the detector separated by the noise
equivalent power.
• Gain – It is the photo detector’s output current which is divided by the directly produced
current by the incident photons on the detectors.
• Dark Current- The flow of current throughout a detector even in the deficiency of light.
• Response Time – It is the required time for a detector to go from 10 – 90% of the final
output.
• Noise Spectrum – The intrinsic noise current or voltage is a function of frequency that
can be signified in a noise spectral density form.
• Nonlinearity – The photo detector’s nonlinearity limits the RF output.
Continued….
• The photodetectors are classified based on the detection mechanism of
light like the photoelectric or photoemission effect, polarisation effect,
thermal effect, weak interaction, or photochemical effect. The different
types of photodetectors mainly include a photodiode, MSM photodetector,
phototransistor, photoconductive detector, phototubes & Photomultipliers.
• Photodiodes: These are semiconductor devices with a PIN or PN
junction structure where light is absorbed within a depletion region &
produces a photocurrent. These devices are fast, highly linear, very
compact and generate a high quantum efficiency which means it
generates almost one electron for each incident photon & a high dynamic
range. Please refer to this link to know more about Photodiodes.
Continued….
• Photodiode Types:
1) PN photodiodes
2) PIN photodiodes
3) Schottky type photodiodes
4) Avalanche photodiodes
All of these types provide the following features and are widely
used for the detection of the existence, intensity, position and
color of light.
Design using APD
• We want to design a circuit where we will read the sum of the
outputs from all the 4 Quadrants and also the x and Y Sum Outputs
from the APD.
• In order to present the outputs of the 4 quadrants as X, Y and SUM, it is
necessary to first amplify the individual quadrant outputs, and then
combine them using a series of sum and difference amplifiers (for X and Y)
or just a sum amplifier (for the SUM output). The circuit we chose is shown
below
Continued…..
List of components for the Design…
• TIA: OPA855.
• OPAMP: LM358.
• Power Supply: MCP1703T.
• Connectors.
• Photodiode: QA4000-9 (Quad APD).
• High Voltage Biasing Module for QAPD.