High sensitivity 10Gb/s Si photonic receiver based on a low-voltage waveguide-coupled Ge avalanche photodetector

We demonstrate low-voltage germanium waveguide avalanche photodetectors (APDs) with a gain x bandwidth product above 100GHz. A photonic receiver based on such a Ge APD, including a 0.13 mu m SiGe BiCMOS low-noise trans-impedance amplifier and a limiting amplifier, is realized. A 5.8dB sensitivity improvement is demonstrated at -5.9V bias at an avalanche gain of 6 through bit error ratio measurements. The absolute sensitivity in avalanche mode is -23.4dBm and -24.4dBm at a bit error ratio of 1 x 10(-1)2 and 1 x 10(-9) respectively. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America