Patent ID: 7365665

Claim:
An optical receiver comprising: a photodiode configured to convert received optical signals into electrical signals; a high gain signal path electrically coupled to the photodiode, wherein the high gain signal path is configured to provide a high gain output signal; a low gain signal path electrically coupled to the photodiode, wherein the low gain signal path is configured to provide a low gain output signal; first analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) circuitry coupled to the high gain signal path; second ADC circuitry coupled to the low gain signal path; a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to monitor at least one of the low gain or high gain output signals and further configured to select data provided by the first ADC circuitry if an amplitude of the at least one of the low gain and high gain output signals falls below a predetermined threshold; and a blocking diode coupled between the photodiode and the low gain signal path, wherein a cathode of the blocking diode is coupled to a cathode of the photodiode, and wherein an anode of the blocking diode is coupled to an input to the second amplifier.