Lightwave receivers.

This memorandum covers the development of lightwave receiver circuits as influenced by photodetector and transistor noise physics and by lightwave system requirements. These considerations led directly to the new high-sensitivity, wide-dynamic-range, micro-FET feedback receiver ICs; such receivers are now entering production in GaAs and in CMOS, for bit-rates from 50 Mb/s to 1.7 Gb/s. This memorandum also covers photodetector and transistor technology choices and some probable future device developments, in light of the receiver design advances, the noise physics, and the system requirements. This memorandum is written for both receiver designers and device physicists.