PIN Photodiodes Offer Ultra-Wide Bandwidth

InGaAs photodiodes for 1.3- to 1.6-micron fiber optic applications can handle up to 200 mW of power dissipation (40 mA of reverse current with 5V bias) for dc to 8, 12 or 18 GHz bandwidth models, while 28-GHz units are rated at 100 mW and the 40-GHz models take up to 50 mW. Avoiding the loss of 11 dB per 100 meters in coax in high power CATV, ground and intra-satellite links, the diodes working with optical fibers offer 0.1 dB per 100 meters. Analog bandwidths support digital bit rates of 2.5 (OC-48), 10 (OC-192), 17, 25, 40 (OC-768), or 50 Gbits/s; a few selected 60-Gbit/s units also are available.