High Speed Photodetector and Receiver Selection Guide

We know that high speed photodetection, as the interface from your photonics experiment to your electronic instruments, is critical to extracting and preserving your experimental results. We strive to make photodetection simple (plug & play) while delivering the lowest noise and cleanest response possible. We’ve been doing this for 20 years, and here are some of the key reasons why scientists and engineers trust our Photodetectors and Photoreceivers.

Innovative and exceptional performance.

We continually invent new detection solutions for your applications. And we optimize all of our photodetectors and photoreceivers for low noise, clean response, and high speed so that you get the results you need.

Broadest selection.

With a wide variety of standard, custom, and OEM versions, we have the broadest selection of plug-&-play photoreceivers and photodetectors available anywhere. Spanning the UV to IR with beam-positioning, balanced, ultralow-light-level, large-area, high-speed and general-purpose versions in free-space and fiber-coupled configurations, Newport is the place to find the right photoreceiver and photodetector for your needs.

Plug & play.

Just flip a switch and see your results—even with our ultrahigh-speed devices. With built-in amplifiers, driver electronics, adjustable gain and filter settings, and LabVIEW™ compatibility , we simplify the chores associated with the electronic portion
of your photonics experiment. So as an optical engineer, you won’t also have to become a good microwave engineer to achieve the results you want.

Exceptional value.

Our photodetectors and photoreceivers deliver exceptional performance and plug-&-play functionality at an affordable price.

Broad Selection for Your Detection Needs

We are pleased to introduce the broadest selection of plug-&-play photodetectors and photoreceivers spanning the UV to the IR. With the acquisition of New FocusTM, Newport now boasts an impressive line of high speed photodetector and photoreceiver modules to meet most measurement needs. These high-speed detectors find a wide variety of uses in the test and measurement of fast optical signals. Offered are the entire line of New Focus high speed detectors/receivers and the 818-BB series biased detectors. The New Focus line includes low-noise photodetectors up to 45 GHz, and high gain, low noise photoreceivers, both free space and fiber coupled, and AC or DC coupled. 818-BB series detectors are biased detectors and AC-coupled photoreceivers that can be used for general research applications.

Selecting a High Speed Detector or Photoreceiver

Click High Speed Detectors and Photoreceivers to shop or browse all of our standard models, or select a product series below to learn more about our products and capabilities. We also offer a complete line of Power and Energy Meters.

Series Features and Benefits
17-349 8-03 Biased Photodetectors, 818-BB Series * Silicon, GaAs and InGaAs high speed biased photodetectors
* Rise times down to 35 ps
* Amplified detectors provide up to 26 dB gain
* Built-in bias supply on unamplified photodetectors (except for BB-22 and BB-40)
1592_3.5GHz 3.5 and 4.5 GHz Photoreceivers * Visible and near-IR versions
* 62.5-µm fiber inputs
* Switchable DC- or AC-coupled output
1544-2 12 GHz Fiber Optic Photoreceivers * FC fiber-optic connectors, including a 62.5-µm multimode-fiber version
* Visible, broadband and near-IR versions available
* Ideal for characterization of 10-Gbit/s components
DSC_0184-V1 12 GHz Free Space Photoreceivers * Free-space optical input
* Broadband and near-IR versions available
* Ideal for characterization of 10-Gbit/s components
1554_DC-12GHz 12 GHz DC-Coupled Photoreceivers * DC- or AC-coupled output in one device
* Coverage from 400 to 1650 nm
* Ideal for characterizing OC-192 and 10-GbE components up 12.5 Gbit/s
1444_1544_2 15 and 25 GHz Photoreceivers * Visible, IR and broadband versions
* Single-mode, multimode, and free-space inputs available
* Compatible with our 20-GHz amplifiers
1004_FadedCable Time Domain Photodetectors * >40-GHz photodetectors
* High sensitivity
* Easy-to-use, self-contained module
1414stack 12 ps Photodetectors * Minimal ringing for time-domain applications
* High sensitivity with visible or near-IR input
* Compatible with SDH and SONET filters

Unamplified Photodetectors

Model Rise Time (psec) Bandwidth (-3 dB)
(GHz)
Wavelength Range
(nm)
1014 9 45 GHz 950-1650
1004 9 40 GHz 400-900
1024 (Time Domain) 12 26 GHz 950-1650
1481-S(-50) 15 22 GHz 400-870
1434, 1437 14 25 GHz 550-1330
1414, 1417 14 25 GHz 800-1630
1454 (Time Domain) 19 20 GHz 550-1330
1444 (Time Domain) 19 20 GHz 800-1630
1480-S 25 13 GHz 400-870
818-BB-35(F) <25 >12.5 GHz 1000-1650
818-BB-45(F) <30 >12.5 GHz 400-900
818-BB-30 <175 >2 GHz 1000-1600
818-BB-20 <300 >1.2 GHz 300-1100
818-BB-31 <225 >1.5 GHz 1000-1600
818-BB-21 <300 >1.2 GHz 300-1100

Amplified Detectors/Photoreceivers

Model Rise Time (psec) Bandwidth (-3 dB)
(GHz)
Wavelength Range
(nm)
1014 9 45 GHz 950-1650
1554-A 34 10 kHz to 12 GHz 550-1330
1544-A 34 10 kHz to 12 GHz 800-1650
1580-B 34 DC-12 GHz (DC), 10 KHz-12 GHz (AC) 400-870
1554-B 34 DC-12 GHz (DC), 10 KHz-12 GHz (AC) 500-1650
1544-B 34 DC-12 GHz (DC), 10 KHz-12 GHz (AC) 800-1650
1577-A 34 10 kHz to 12 GHz 500-1650
1567-A 34 10 kHz to 12 GHz 800-1650
818-BB-35A(F) <40 >10.7 GHz 1000-1650
818-BB-45A(F) <40 >10.7 GHz 400-900
1591NF 95 DC to 4.5 GHz 450-870
1592NF 115 DC to 3.5 GHz 950-1630
818-BB-30A <400 >1.5 GHz 1000-1600
818-BB-21A <500 >1.2 GHz 300-1100
1647 (APD) 250 15 kHz to 1.1 GHz 800-1650
1611FC-AC, 1611FS-AC 400 30 kHz to 1 GHz 900-1700
1601FC-AC, 1601FS-AC 400 30 kHz to 1 GHz 320-1000