News and New Products

Microsemi Debuts InGaAs/InP Photodetectors For Fiber Optic Apps

Electronic News -- Electronic News, 12/14/2000

Microsemi Corp. today said it is sampling its line of high-speed indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) photodetectors for fiber optic applications in the 1310nm and 1550nm spectral range, with volume production expected by summer 2001.

The Santa Ana, Calif.-based maker of analog, mixed-signal and discrete semiconductors said the series, dubbed the MXP4000, is designed specifically for fiber optic transponder modules and hybrids. The indium phosphide-based InGaAs photodectors offer a breakdown voltage of 20V, with bandwidth options from 156 Mbit/sec to 10Gbit/sec, Microsemi said. Initially, the four-product series is being offered in die form for manufacturers of photodiode modules, supervisory vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) monitoring circuits and combination PIN photodiode-transimpedance amplifier hybrids.

Microsemi announced its 850nm InGaAs photodetectors in September. The company said it will continue to expand its expertise in compound semiconductors by focusing on III-V and II-VI materials. Th MXP4000 series is the fourth product the company has introduced since July.

"Customers in this niche marketplace are eager to have another supplier to support the rapid growth of optical communication networks," said Manuel Lynch, vice president of marketing and business development, in a statement. "Their interest has been very high during our evaluation of our prototype designs for these applications."

Microsemi today also announced that it has almost completed the design stage of its first InGaP hetero-bipolar transistor (HBT) transimpedance amplifier, which will complement its InGaAs/InP detector line. The company expects these devices to sample beginning in March 2001.