A low power wideband RGC-based modified-MIC trans-impedance amplifier in 0.18 μm CMOS process

ABSTRACT This paper presents a novel Trans-Impedance Amplifier (TIA) based on Regulated-Cascode (RGC) structure. A modified MOS-based Immittance Converter (MIC) is used to achieve high bandwidth with lower power consumption. Combining the MIC scheme with RGC structure, in the presence of an inductor, provides both a negative input resistance which increases the input pole frequency and a negative inductance which improves stability of the circuit. As a result, -3dB bandwidth enhances while consuming lower power. Post-layout simulation results in TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology show a trans-impedance gain of 49.7 dB with -3dB bandwidth of 9.2 GHz considering 500 fF of photodiode capacitance at the TIA input. The circuit occupies an active area of 0.068 mm2 and consumes 5.3 mW from a 1.8-V supply. The minimum input-referred current noise of the TIA is about 15.3 pA/√Hz.