Low noise and high bandwidth 0.35 µm CMOS transimpedance amplifier

Abstract

This paper describes and analyzes the optimization of a low-noise and high-bandwidth transimpedance amplifier featuring a large dynamic range. The designed amplifier is configured on three identical stages that use an active load. This topology displays a transimpedance gain of 160 kΩ, which is necessary to obtain a high sensitivity. This structure operates at 3.3 V power supply voltage, exhibits a gain bandwidth product of 28 THzΩ and a low-noise level of about 0.862 pA/Hz0.5 This transimpedance amplifier can reach a transmission speed of 350 Mb/s for a photocurrent of 0.5 µA. The predicted performance is verified using simulations by means of PSPICE tools with 0.35 µm CMOS AMS parameters.