Lavakumar Navilipuri and Andy Heinig, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS/EAS, Germany

Transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) are crucial in converting current signals from sensors, photodiodes, and other transducers into voltage signals for processing in various electronic systems. This paper explores three TIA topologies: common emitter with negative resistive feedback, regulated cascode, and Darlington pair with negative resistive feedback. Each topology offers unique advantages and trade-offs regarding bandwidth, gain, and noise performance. We analyze the characteristics of each topology, discussing their impact on TIA design and performance. We investigate methods to optimize gain, bandwidth, and noise performance for different application requirements through theoretical analysis and circuit simulations. Our findings provide valuable insights into TIA design considerations, offering engineers a comprehensive understanding of TIA topologies and their implications for electronic system design.

Common Base, Common Emitter, Regulated Cascode, Darlington Pair, Optical receivers, SiGe BiCMOS technology, Transimpedance Amplifier