Re: Photodiode TIA

On 15 Nov 2006 08:57:13 -0800, wellies@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

I realise there is quite a bit of advice in this group on TIA's but i
thought i'd save myself some time and get an off the shelf TIA,
designed to work with PIN photodiodes in high speed applications.
However i'm now confused. I'm only working with 160Mbps, but everything
either stops at 155 or goes up to 622 due to various fibre optic
standards. I'm looking at using the max3665 which runs up to 622Mbps,
reading the data***, the device has a bandwidth of 470MHz. Reading on
it then states:

"In general, the bandwidth of a fiber optic preamplifier
should be 0.6 to 1 times the data rate. Therefore, in a
622Mbps system, the bandwidth should be between
375MHz and 622MHz. Lower bandwidth causes pattern-
dependent jitter and a lower signal-to-noise ratio,
while higher bandwidth increases thermal noise."

Does this mean that the thermal noise would be large in my system if i
used it for 160Mbps? Or is this not really an issue? I was going to use
the Optek OPV480 and reverse bias to around 20V and feed it straight
into this chip, or it is easier just to design my own transimpedance
amp around a single opamp and feedback resistor and capacitor?

Thanks

Andrew

A lot depends on how much light you have. If it's microwatts, the
noise budget will be tight. If's it's in the milliwatt range, you'll
probably overload the Maxim and might be better off making your own
TIA. I've had good results using a current-mode opamp as a TIA when
there's lots of light.

What's the capacitance of the OPV480? That's a serious issue at high
speeds.

John

.

Loading