An ultrawide-bandwidth, low-noise optical receiver has been designed for use in both multigigabit direct-detection or coherent heterodyne systems at 1.3 and 1.55 μm wavelengths. The receiver consists of a low-capacitance InGaAs PIN photodiode connected to a high-impedance three-stage GaAs FET preamplifier. Inductive peaking at the front end is used to reduce the receiver noise at high frequencies. The receiver has an equivalent input RMS noise current of < 12 pA/√Hz from 4 to 7 GHz. The measured 3 dB bandwidth of 8 GHz is the widest receiver bandwidth reported to date.