Applied Optoelectronics announces 100G PIN photodiode array

Applied Optoelectronics Inc (AOI) of Sugar Land, near Houston, TX, USA, a manufacturer of broadband fiber-optic access network products (including components, modules and equipment) for the Internet datacenter, CATV broadband, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and telecom markets, has developed 100Gbps (4x25Gbps) PIN photodiode (PD) arrays for high-speed optical receivers.

The indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) PIN PD is a front-illuminated photodiode with a large modulation bandwidth, high responsivity, and low dark current. Designed specifically for 100Gbps transceiver modules for datacenter and 100G EPON transceivers for FTTH applications, the PIN photodiode can also be used for PAM4 receivers in the firm’s 200G and 400G data-center transceivers. Besides the 1×4 array, the 25Gbps singlet photodiode can also be used in 25G SFP28 transceivers for 5G wireless and 25G EPON applications.

“High-speed photodiodes require high-quality epitaxial crystal material with very high purity in order to operate with low noise,” says Dr Jun Zheng, VP & head of AOI’s R&D division. “In addition, such high-performance photodiodes require very small aperture to achieve high bandwidth. Both of these requirements were achieved by our advanced metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth capability and mature wafer processing technology,” he adds.

“With in-house manufacturing for both our 100Gbps PIN PD array and 25Gbps laser diodes, AOI now controls the two key optical components for its 100G transceivers, which will greatly improve our lead time, cost, and quality,” Zheng reckons. “This product line deepens our vertical integration for our current 100G and 200G products, and opens exciting possibilities for 400G and beyond.”