High power capacity optical receiver apparatus and method employing distributed photodetectors.

摘要

A high power capacity optical receiver comprises an optical transmission channel (4) and a plurality of opto-electric photodetectors (2) distributed along said optical transmission channel (4) to transduce respective portions of an optical signal (36) propagating along said optical transmission channel (4) into respective electrical signals (38). An electrical transmission line (8) is provided with electrical input connections (14) from said photodetectors (2) distributed along said electrical transmission line (8). Further provided are a plurality of capacitance elements distributed along said electrical transmission line (8) to adjust the speed at which electrical signals (38) propagate along said electrical transmission line (8) so that the electrical inputs from said photodetectors (2) positively accumulate along said electrical transmission line (8).