2-Gb/s sensitivity of a Ga0.47In0.53As photoconductive detector/GaAs field-effect transistor hybrid photoreceiver

We have measured the 2-Gb/s sensitivity of a photoreceiver consisting of a Ga0.47In0.53As photoconductive detector and a GaAs low-noise field-effect transistor. For a bit error rate of 10−9, the photoconductive receiver shows a sensitivity of −28.8 dBm at 2 Gb/s and 1.51 μm. In view of its high receiver sensitivity and simplicity, the Ga0.47In0.53As photoconductive detector may be attractive for applications in high data rate lightwave communication systems, particularly local area networks.