IEG 4030 Optical Communications

Part III. Photodiode and Receiver

Professor Lian K. Chen

Department of Information Engineering
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
lkchen@ie.cuhk.edu.hk

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 1

 Outline
• Photo-diode
– pn, p-i-n, APD
• Quantum Efficiency and Responsivity
• Noises in Photodiode
– Shot Noise, Thermal Noise, Gain Noise
• Receiver Performance
– Signal-to-Noise Ratio
– Bit-Error-Rate
• Receiver sensitivity and Noise-equivalent power (NEP)
• Optical Receiver
– high impedance, low impedance, and transimpedance receiver front-
end

Ref: [Keiser Ch6 and Ch7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5 ][Agrawal Ch4]

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 2

 Performance requirement
• high sensitivity (at 1.3 and 1.55 μm for telecommunication)
• high conversion efficiency (PÆI)
• fast response (multi-GHz)
• high fidelity (linearity, dynamic range)
• low noise (low dark current, leakage current)
• temperature stability
• cost

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 3

 Types of common Photo-detectors
• p-n diode
• P-I-N diode
used for optical communication
• avalanche photo-diode (APD)
• schottky-barrier diode (Metal-Semiconductor-Metal)
• photo conductor
• photo transistor
• photonmultiplier

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 4

 P-N Diode
V+
• P-N junction operates in reversed-bias voltage
• When an incident photon has energy > bandgap
energy, an electron-hole pair (photocarrier) can be
generated.
• The carriers are separated by the electric field in the
depletion region and collect by the reverse-bias
Ec
junction. hν
Eg
Æ photo-current Iphoto is generated. Ev

Depletion region
n p
-- -- -- -- -- +
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ -
+ -- -- -- -- -- + + + + +
+ + + + +

barrier potential

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 5

 P-N Diode
(3) (2) (1) (2) (3)

P N

Region (1) : depletion region, electrons & holes swept by E (electric field)
-- drift current (fast)
Region (2) : hole and electrons diffuse randomly towards depletion region -
- diffusion current (slow)
Region (3) : far away from depletion region (useless)

Î Diode response is fastest if electron/hole pairs generate mainly in

depletion region.

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 6

 Transit time
• Usually receivers are operated in strong reverse-biased region, thus
– create strong electric field E in the depletion region
Æ increase drift velocity v.
– increase the width, w, of depletion region
Æ increase the photon absorption.
• Longer width Æ smaller junction capacitance:
C= εA/w
ε : the permittivity of the semiconductor A: layer area

• Transit time tr=w/v where v is the drift velocity, a function of E.

trade-off : E increases Æ v↑ and w ↑, then tr ↑↓ ?

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 7

 Response Time
• Response time of photodiode is determined by
ƒ carrier transit time (fast)
ƒ carrier diffusion time (slow)
ƒ RC time constant
ƒ Avalanche build up time (only for APD)

• Bandwidth (due to transit time):

0.44 0.44Vsat ⎛ 1 ⎞
B≈ = ⎜ or = if RC constant dominant ⎟
tr w ⎝ 2πRC ⎠

• Carrier drift velocity is a function of

1) materials (GaAs, InGaAsP,......)
2) Electric field E

• Velocity value saturates at high E (due to collision with host lattice).

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 8

 Cutoff wavelength
cutoff wavelength : λc
When the incident photon wavelength is longer than a certain wavelength λc,
the photon energy is < Eg.
Æ Photon cannot be absorbed.

Ec
hc 1.24 hν
λc = or λc (in μ m) =
Eg Eg (in eV ) Eg
Ev

λc : Si:1.06 μm, GaAs 0.87 μm, and Ge:1.6 μm.

Note: Two-photon or three-photon absorption are possible, but with very small probability.
(e.g. check out the three-photon lasing at http://optics.org/article/news/8/2/14 )

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 9

 The photo-current
The current generated at photodiode is given by

I = I photo + I dark
−α s w q
I photo = Pinc (1 − Re )(1 − e )
hν
where

Iphoto:photo-current Idark:dark current

Pinc:incident optical power Re : Reflection
αs: absorption coefficient. w : absorption depth
q : electron charge (=1.6 x 10-19 C)
h :Planck’s constant (=6.625 x 10-34 J⋅s)
ν : optical frequency

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 10

 The absorption coefficient

• α ∼104 /cm
• 1.55 μm - In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As(III − V), Ge(IV)
• 1.3 μm) - In 0.7 Ga 0.3 As 0.64 P 0.36 (III-V)
• 0.85 μm - Si or GaAs

• Sharp cut-off wavelength for direct

bandgap material

Q: Can Si be used for 1550nm optical signal detection?

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 11

 Quantum Efficiency and Responsivity

Photo-current: I p = Prec (1 − Re ) 1 − e( q
−α s w

hν
)
Define Quantum efficiency : η = (1 − R e ) 1 − e (
−α s w
) η=
Ip q
Prec (hν )
ηq
and Responsivity: Ro = Unit: A/W
hν
Thus, I p = Prec Ro

Note: Ro is wavelength-dependent. Below λc, Ro increases as λ increases.

Example: A InGaAs detector has an energy bandgap=0.73eV and η=60% for

1.3 μm optical signal. The responsivity is

Ro=0.6(1.609×10-19) λ /(6.6256×10-34 ⋅ 3×108)= 0.63 (A/W).

The cutoff wavelength=1.24/Eg=1.70 μm.

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 12

 P-I-N Photodiode
• A P-I-N diode is a P-N junction with an intrinsic (undoped or lightly-
doped) layer sandwiched between the P-N layers
Æ increase the width of the depletion region

• Advantages of P-I-N: P I N
+ -

1. Increasing the width of the depletion region, w: hν

- most carriers can be transported by drift
process
- increases the photon capturing area.
2. w ↑ Æ the junction capacitance ↓
Æ RC constant ↓ (bandwidth ↑ )
However, transit time increases as w increases.
1 2
Common practice: <w<
αs αs
Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 13
 Characteristics of P-I-N Photodiodes

Parameter Symbol Unit Si Ge InGaAs

Wavelength λ μm 0.4-1.1 0.8-1.8 1.0-1.7
Responsivity Ro A/W 0.4-0.6 0.5-0.7 0.6-0.9
Quantum efficiency η % 75-90 50-55 60-70
Dark current Id nA 1-10 50-500 1-20
Rise time Tr ns 0.5-1 0.1-0.5 0.05-0.5
Bandwidth B GHz 0.3-0.6 0.5-3 1-5
Bias voltage Vb V 50-100 6-10 5-6

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 14

 APD and pin photodiode

guard ring(n)
SiO2 hν SiO2
n p+

p Metal
contact n
p+ Depletion Metal
Depletion
region n+
contact
region
Avalanche photodiode pn photodiode

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 15

 Avalanche Photodiode (APD)
• APD is similar to P-I-N diode; except that its reverse-biased
voltage is high enough (≥ 100Volt) to create photo-current gain.
• The gain process is due to impact ionization of carriers with
lattice atoms.
Minimum field
required for impact
n+ region
ionization
Electric field
n+
Multiplication region Multiplication Î
p

Depletion region
Photon carrier hν
π

p+
p+ region

• Separate absorption and multiplication (SAM) structure

→ localize the multiplication process in a narrow region and
separate from absorption region → more efficient
Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 16
 Impact Ionization of APD n+ region

Impact ionization
• a single primary electron (hole), generated
through absorption of a photon, creates Photon carrier hν
many secondary electrons and holes
Æ impact ionization coefficients: αe (electrons), αh (holes) p+ region

• ionization probability per unit length (cm-1)

αe-1 : average distance between ionization for electrons.
αh-1 : average distance between ionization for holes.

• When E (electric field) increases and temperature decreases, αe and αh

increase.

• Ionization ratio : kA=αh/αe (typical values are 0.01 to 100)

(1) if kA<< 1, most of the ionization is achieved by electrons.
(2) if kA>> 1, most of the ionization is achieved by holes.
• Multiplication factor: M(kA) (if kA =1, M Æ ∞ Î avalanche breakdown)

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 17

 Pros and cons of APD
• Pros:
– provides gain on photo-current generation

• Cons:
– fabrication difficulties (complex structure, high cost)
– multiplication process (random) gives additional noise
– high bias voltages (100-400 volts)
– temperature dependence of device (can be compensated by
feedback control)

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 18

 Characteristics of Avalanche Photodiode

Parameter Symbol Unit Si Ge InGaAs

Wavelength λ μm 0.4-1.1 0.8-1.8 1.0-1.7
Responsivity Ro A/W 80-130 3-30 5-20
APD gain M - 100-500 50-200 10-40
kA-factor kA - 0.02-0.05 0.7-1.0 0.5-0.7
Dark current Id nA 0.1-1 50-500 1-5
Rise time Tr ns 0.1-2 0.5-0.8 0.1-0.5
Bandwidth B GHz 0.2-1.0 0.4-7 1-3
Bias voltage Vb V 200-250 20-40 20-30

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 19

 Noise in Photodetectors

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 20

 Noise in Photodetectors – shot noise
Shot Noise
• Photon arrivals are discrete and random in nature → Poisson distributed
n n exp(− n )
Probability of receiving n photons in time interval τ is p (n) =
where n is the mean value of n. n!

• For a certain quantum efficiency η at the photodetector, the mean number

of photoelectron generated ( m ) is m = η n
2
⎛q⎞ ⎛q⎞
Mean photocurrent generated is i p = ⎜ ⎟m Variance: σ = ⎜ ⎟ σ m2
2
• ;
⎝τ ⎠
i
⎝τ ⎠
Since both n and m are Poisson distributed, σ m2 = m q: electron charge
2
⎛q⎞ ⎛ q ⎞⎛ q ⎞ ⎛ q ⎞
Thus, σ i2 = ⎜ ⎟ m = ⎜ ⎟⎜ m ⎟ = ⎜ ⎟ i p = 2qi p B since B =
1
⎝τ ⎠ ⎝ τ ⎠⎝ τ ⎠ ⎝ τ ⎠ 2τ
(B: bandwidth)
Shot noise σ i2 = 2qi p B
In the presence of dark current iD of the PN junction ⇒ σ i2 = 2q(i p + iD )B
Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 21
 Noise in Photodetectors – thermal noise
Thermal Noise
• also called Johnson noise or Nyquist noise
• at a certain temperature, electrons move randomly in any conductor
• random thermal motion of electrons in a resistor ⇒ fluctuating current
even with no applied voltage bias, thermal noise still exists

4k B TB
• Thermal noise σ T2 =
Req

where kB is the Boltzmann constant (1.38×10-23 J/K), T is the operating temperature

in Kelvin scale, Req is the equivalent receiver resistance.

4k B TFt B
• In the presence of FET preamplifier, σ T2 =
Req
where Ft is the amplifier noise figure
(Ft represents the factor by which thermal noise is enhanced by various resistors
used in the preamplifier)

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 22

 Noise in Photodetectors – APD Gain noise
• the impact ionization process is random → generation of multiplied
photoelectrons is also random → additionally contributed to shot noise
• multiplication factor, M, is also a random variable
• Shot noise in APD:

σ i2 = 2q(i p + iD )M FA B
100
2
50

Excess Noise Factor FA

where FA is the excess noise 20
kA=1
0.5
factor of APD with 0.2
10 0.1
0.05
FA = k A M + (1 − k A )(2 − 1 / M ) 5 0.02
0.01
0.005
assume kA << 1 2
0

• If kA=0, FA is at most 2 and 1

1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500
nearly independent of APD APD Gain M
gain M at high M e.g. For Si APD with kA=~0.1, M=100 Æ FA=11.8
Æ mean detected photocurrent increases 100 times.
Æ noise increases by a factor of 11.8.

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 23

 Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
• SNR is an important parameter to evaluate the performance of a photodetector
Signal photocurrent

SNR =
2
M i p2
=
(MR P )
o rec
2

2q(i p + iD )FA M B + 2qiL B + 4kBTBFt / Req 2q(Ro Prec + iD )FA M B + 2qiL B + 4kBTBFt / Req
2 2

Shot/Gain noise Thermal noise

where ip is the mean generated photocurrent,

iD is the dark current,
iL is the surface dark/leakage current,
M is the mean APD gain,
FA is the excess noise factor of the APD,
Ro is the responsivity, *For P-I-N photodiode, M =1, FA=1
Prec is the mean received optical power,
*If no FET preamplifier is used, Ft=1
B is the receiver bandwidth,
Ft is the noise figure of the FET preamplifier,
Req is the equivalent receiver circuit resistance,
T is the operating temperature (in Kelvin scale),
kB is the Boltzmann constant (1.38×10-23 J/K),
q is the electric charge (1.609×10-19 C)
Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 24
 Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
Example: For InGaAs P-I-N diode with the following parameters:
incident power 300nW @1300 nm, ID=4 nA, η=0.65, RL=1000 Ω and
negligible leakage current.
If the receiver has bandwidth 20MHz, the signal and noises are
Ip=RoP=(ηq/hν)P=0.205 μA
σs2=2 q Ip M2 B FA =1.32×10-18 A2
σD2 =2 q ID M2 B FA =2.57×10-20 A2
σth2= 4 kBTB/RL =3.31×10-16 A2 at T=27oC

Example: For a P-I-N photodiode with a load resistance of 1 kΩ without FET

preamplifier. The quantum efficiency at 1550 nm is 0.8 and the
receiver bandwidth is 500-MHz. The operating temperature is 27oC.
η qλ
Responsivity Ro = =1.0
hc
If the detected power is -30dBm, i.e. Prec= 1 μW, and with B=500MHz,
Req=1 kΩ, T=300K, and Ro=1.0

Use SNR =
(R P )
o rec
2

⇒ SNR = 118.47 =20.74 dB

2qRo Prec B + 4k B TB / Req
Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 25
 Optimal APD Gain
• Increase in APD gain does not guarantee better SNR performance

• There exists an optimum APD gain (Mopt) to achieve the maximum SNR

• Recall: SNR =
(M R P )
o rec
2

2 q (R o Prec + i D )F A M B + 4 k B TBF t / R eq
2

Substitute FA = k A M + (1 − k A )(2 − 1 / M )

and differentiate SNR w. r. t. M

d (SNR ) 4k B TFt
k A M opt + (1 − k A )M opt =
3
=0
qReq (Ro Prec + i D )
⇒
dM

Note that Prec ↑ ⇒ Mopt ↓

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 26

 Optimal APD Gain
For example, if Ro=1, iD=2 nA, kA=0.8, B=500-MHz, T=300K, Ft=2, Req=1kΩ.
18 70

16
65
14
SNR (dB)

SNR (dB)
12
60
10
Prec = -40dBm Prec =0dBm
8 55
6

4 50

2
45
20 40 60 80 100 20 40 60 80 100

APD Gain, M APD Gain, M

At high Prec, the optimum APD gain, Mopt =1 ⇒ APD even worsen the SNR
⇒ use P-I-N photodetector

At low Prec , the optimum APD gain, Mopt >1 ⇒ APD can improve the SNR
⇒ use APD photodetector

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 27

 Bit-Error-Rate (BER)
Probability of detection error: Pe = P (1) i P (0 |1) + P (0) i P (1| 0)

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 28

 Decision and BER
Gaussian approximation :
Assume the output is a Gaussian random variable with mean V for "1"
bit and 0 for "0" bit.

If P(1)=P(0)=0.5 and assume σ1=σ0=σ, the BER is given by

1⎡ ⎛ V ⎞⎤
Pe= ⎢1- erf ⎜ ⎟⎥
2⎣ ⎝ 2 2σ ⎠⎦

2 x
erf( x) = ∫ e − y dy
2

where
π 0

Note that Pe only depends on V/σ, which is related to the SNR as

(S/N)dB=20 log (V/σ) .

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 29

 Decision and BER (contd.)
• To have BER=10-9 Î v/σ=12.

• More generally, if "0" bit amplitude is not 0,

1⎡ ⎛ Q ⎞⎤
Pe= ⎢1-erf ⎜ ⎟⎥
2⎣ ⎝ 2 ⎠⎦
vth − voff von − vth
where Q is defined as Q = =
σ off σ on

• von, voff, and vth are the mean amplitude of "1"

bit, "0" bit, and the threshold, respectively.

• Q≈ 6 for BER=10-9 or ≈7 for BER=10-12

• (Need to find the optimum threshold value)

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 30

 Receiver sensitivity and NEP
Receiver sensitivity :
the required minimum average (One and Zero Bit) incident optical
power or energy to achieve a desired BER (typical value=10-9) at a
specific bit-rate.

Typical value (@1550nm)

2.5 Gbit/s : ~ -24dBm for for PIN and -32dBm for APD receivers.
10 Gbit/s : ~ -21dBm for PIN and -27dBm for APD

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 31

 Noise Equivalent Power NEP
Noise Equivalent Power (NEP):
the optical signal power required to generate a photocurrent that is
equal to the total noise at the detector for given wavelength and within
a bandwidth of 1 Hz.
R0 P = [2q ( I p + I d ) Be ]1/ 2 ----- assume shot noise dominant

P 1
NEP= = [2q ( I p + I d )]1/ 2 (unit: W Hz -1/2 )
Be1/ 2 Be =1Hz
R0

Ex. A Si pin photodiode has an NEP of 1x10-13 WHz-1/2. What is the

optical power needed for an SNR=1 if the the bandwidth is operating
at 1 GHz?
P =NEP ⋅ Be1/ 2 =(10-13 W Hz -1/2 )(109 Hz)1/2 = 3.16 nW

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 32

 Typical optical communication link

Data In
Laser Data Out
Driver PD
LD PreAmp. AGC
Fiber
Post Amp. Timing /
Data Recovery

Components Functions
Detectors (Photodiode PD) Convert hν to e-
Preamplifier 1st amplification brings μV to mV
(incoming signal ~ -30 dBm, 1A/W)
Postamplifier 2nd amplification brings mV to a usable range of a few V
Automatic Gain Control Fixes the gain / dynamic range
(AGC)
Timing and Data Recovery Retrieval of data and timing (for digital)

Q: Why two Amp and what is the function of timing/data recovery?

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 33

 Receiver Front-end (Preamplifier)*
• Front end of a receiver consists of a photodiode followed by a preamplifier.
• Design of the front-end requires trade-off between speed and sensitivity.
• Three types of front-end:
– low impedance front-end (LZ)
– high impedance front-end (HZ)
– transimpedance front-end (TZ)

(1). Low impedance front-end (LZ)

-low impedance bias resistor, e.g. 50 Ω, into a low impedance amplifier
-simple but with limited sensitivity (large thermal noise)

Ip RL CT

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 34

 Receiver Front-end (Preamplifier)*
(2). High impedance front-end (HZ)
– noise is reduced by using high bias resistor and amplifier with high
input impedance Æ improve the receiver sensitivity.
– smaller bandwidth (large RC constant)
– need equalizer to compensate the high frequency cut-off due to large
RC constant. (integration-and-differentiation).
– smaller dynamic range (easier to saturate the receiver).
– the need of equalizer implies more adjustment to optimize (required
special adjustment for each unit)

Ip RL CT

For examples: Si bipolar preamp or GaAs MESFET are used for high frequency (>~ GHz) and
Si MOSFET or JFET preamp are used for low frequency (<50MHz).

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 35

 Receiver Front-end (Preamplifier)*
(3). Transimpedance front-end (TZ)
(utilizing a negative feedback resistor Rf)
– provide improved dynamic range over HZ.
– bandwidth is improved by G times over the high impedance front-end
for the same RL and CT.
– however, gain at the low frequency is also reduced by G → less likely
to have saturation.
– no or little equalization is needed.

Rf

G
B≤
2π R f CT
-G
Ip RL CT 4k BTBFt
σ T2 =
Rf

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 36

 Analog receiver
For digital communication Æ performance index : BER
For analog communication Æ performance index : SNR

P (mW)
Amplitude Modulation :
P = P0 [1 + m s (t )]
Ps
Po
where P0 is the received DC optical
power and m is the optical modulation I (mA)
index. s(t) is the analog modulation Ith
signal.

For AM modulation, the DC portion does not

IS
carry information.
IDC

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 37

 Analog Receivers
Example: s(t)=cos(ωt), m=Ps/Po. P (mW)
P(t ) = Po [1 + ms (t )]

The modulation index in electrical

domain is given by Ps
Po
me=Is/(IDC-Ith)
I (mA)
Ith
If the P-I curve is a straight line (linear),
then m=me

For analog AM modulation, the SNR is IS

IDC
1
2
(
m M ip
2
)
SNR =
2 q (i p + i D )F A M B + 2 qi L B + 4 k B TBF t / Req
2

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 38

 Optical Receiver Products
• Bookham:
http://www.bookham.com/common/receiver_lines.cfm
2.5G APD Rx:
http://www.bookham.com/datasheets/receivers/ATM2400C.cfm (file)

• JDSU:
http://www.jdsu.com/products/optical-
communications/products/detectors-receivers.html

Photodiode, PIN/TIA, 1310/1550 nm, 2.5 Gb/s, ROSA

http://www.jdsu.com/product-literature/pl-slr-00-l23-cx_ds_cc_ae.pdf

Prof. Lian K Chen Part 3 - Photodioe and Receiver 39