
Philips Semiconductors
Product specification
SA5211
Transimpedance amplifier (180MHz)
1998 Oct 07
14
60
then the total input capacitance, C
IN
= 4 pF which will lead to
only a 12% bandwidth reduction.
NOISE
Most of the currently installed fiber-optic systems use non-coherent
transmission and detect incident optical power. Therefore, receiver
noise performance becomes very important. The input stage
achieves a low input referred noise current (spectral density) of
2.9pA/
√
Hz. The transresistance configuration assures that the
external high value bias resistors often required for photodiode
biasing will not contribute to the total noise system noise. The
equivalent input
RMS
noise current is strongly determined by the
quiescent current of Q
1
, the feedback resistor R
F
, and the
bandwidth; however, it is not dependent upon the internal
Miller-capacitance. The measured wideband noise was 41nA RMS
in a 200MHz bandwidth.
DYNAMIC RANGE CALCULATIONS
The electrical dynamic range can be defined as the ratio of
maximum input current to the peak noise current:
Electrical dynamic range, D
E
, in a 200MHz bandwidth assuming
I
INMAX
= 60
μ
A and a wideband noise of I
EQ
=41nA
RMS
for an
external source capacitance of C
S
= 1pF.
(Max. input current)
(Peak noise current)
D
E
D
E
(dB)
20log
(60
( 2 41 10
10
6
)
9
)
D
E
(dB)
20log(58nA)
60dB
In order to calculate the optical dynamic range the incident optical
power must be considered.
For a given wavelength
λ
;
Energy of one Photon = hc watt sec (Joule)
Where h=Planck’s Constant = 6.6
×
10
-34
Joule sec.
c = speed of light = 3
×
10
8
m/sec
c /
λ
= optical frequency
No. of incident photons/sec=
P
hs where P=optical incident power
No. of generated electrons/sec =
P
hs
where
η
= quantum efficiency
no. of generated electron hole paris
no. of incident photons
P
hs
e Amps (Coulombs sec.)
I
where e = electron charge = 1.6
×
10
-19
Coulombs
e
hs Amp/watt
Responsivity R =
I
P
R
Assuming a data rate of 400 Mbaud (Bandwidth, B=200MHz), the
noise parameter Z may be calculated as:
1
I
EQ
qB
(1.6
10
Z
41
10
9
19
)(200
10
6
)
1281
where Z is the ratio of
RMS
noise output to the peak response to a
single hole-electron pair. Assuming 100% photodetector quantum
efficiency, half mark/half space digital transmission, 850nm
lightwave and using Gaussian approximation, the minimum required
optical power to achieve 10
-9
BER is:
P
avMIN
12hcB Z
12
2.3
10
19
200
10
6
(1281)
1139nW
719nW
31.5dBm
29.4dBm
where h is Planck’s Constant, c is the speed of light,
λ
is the
wavelength. The minimum input current to the SA5211, at this input
power is:
I
avMIN
qP
avMIN
hc
1
Joule
Joule
sec
q
I
707
10
2.3
9
1.6
10
10
19
19
= 500nA
Choosing the maximum peak overload current of I
avMAX
=60
μ
A, the
maximum mean optical power is:
hcI
avMAX
q
1.6
10
P
avMAX
2.3
10
19
19
60
10 A
86 W or
10.6dBm (optical)
Thus the optical dynamic range, D
O
is:
D
O
= P
avMAX
- P
avMIN
= -4.6 -(-29.4) = 24.8dB.
D
O
P
avMAX
P
avMIN
20.8dB
31.5
(
10.6)
1. S.D. Personick, Optical Fiber Transmission Systems
Plenum Press, NY, 1981, Chapter 3.
INPUT
OUTPUT +
OUTPUT –
A1
A2
A3
A4
R
F
SD00327
Figure 11. SA5211 – Block Diagram
This represents the maximum limit attainable with the SA5211
operating at 200MHz bandwidth, with a half mark/half space digital
transmission at 850nm wavelength.