A Broadband Amplification device: Design, Evaluation,and Application

Abstract

This paper describes a broadband amplifier for 40Gbit/s optical communication systems. 0.1μm-gate InGaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (p-HEMT) and distributed amplifier technologies were applied for high performance. The broadband amplifier consists of 8sections of cascode amplifiers, which results in a broad bandwidth and very flat gain response. As an experimental result, a high gain of 11.5dB, a gain flatness of +/-0.6dB, a high output voltage of 2.8V and a broad bandwidth of 69GHz were obtained. These results indicate combination of 0.1μm-gate InGaAs/AlGaAs p-HEMT and distributed circuit technology is one of promising candidates for an electroabsorption (EA) modulator driver in 40Gbit/s optical communication systems.