A high-performance optical receiver for 622 Mb/s direct-detection systems

A report is presented on the measurement of receiver sensitivity and noise characteristics of a high-performance optical receiver using a low-noise InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD) and a low-noise high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT). At a bit rate of 622.08 Mb/s and a wavelength of 1.297 mu m, the measured receiver sensitivity is -48.3 dBm. This is equivalent to a sensitivity of 155 photons/b and is about 12 dB away from the quantum limit of 10 photons/b.>