Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are widely utilized in laserbased fiberoptic systems to convert optical data intoelectrical form. The APD is usually packaged with a signalconditioning amplifier in a small module. An APD receivermodule and attendant circuitry appears in Figure 1. TheAPD module (figure right) contains the APD and a transimpedance(e.g., current-to-voltage) amplifier. An opticalport permits interfacing fiberoptic cable to the APD’sphotosensitive portion. The module’s compact constructionfacilitates a direct, low loss connection between theAPD and the amplifier, necessary because of the extremelyhigh speed data rates involved
