Optical Receiver Comprising Breakdown-Voltage Compensation
AssigneePrinceton Lightwave, Inc.
InventorsKetan Mukund Patel, Mark Allen Itzler
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Abstract
The present invention enables the detection of light using an APD that has high gain and/or a wide range of operating temperature. A first APD is biased with a voltage bias that is controlled based on the breakdown voltage of a second APD, which is thermally coupled with the first APD. Changes in the breakdown voltage of the second APD due to aging, temperature chances, and the like, are reflective of changes in the breakdown voltage of the first APD. As a result, the first APD can be operated with greater stability and reliability at high gain and over larger temperature excursions than APDs known in the prior art.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- a first APD having a first breakdown voltage;
- and
- a second APD having a second breakdown voltage;
- wherein the first APD and the second APD are thermally coupled, and wherein the second breakdown voltage provides an indication of the first breakdown voltage, and further wherein the first APD is biased with a first bias voltage that is based on the second breakdown voltage.
A apparatus comprising:
- a first APD having a first breakdown voltage;
- a second APD having a second breakdown voltage, wherein the first APD and second APD are thermally coupled;
- and
- a circuit, wherein the circuit biases the first APD with a first bias voltage that is based on the second breakdown voltage.
A method comprising:
- applying a first bias voltage to a first APD having a first breakdown voltage;
- and
- controlling the first bias voltage based on a second breakdown voltage, wherein the second breakdown voltage is the breakdown voltage of a second APD, and wherein the first APD and second APD are thermally coupled.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.