Abstract: Common-base and common-gate transimpedance preamplifiers for p-i-n photodiode receiver circuits have been widely used. In this paper, we explore the design of high-performance optical transimpedance preamplifiers based on new submicron common-base and common-gate configurations. It is shown how the new design allows the efficient employment of circuit techniques to optimize performance tradeoffs inherent in such circuits. Simulated results of 7.5 GHz silicon BiCMOS common-base and 3.7 GHz CMOS common-gate input optical transimpedance preamplifiers are presented. These results are better when compared to those of similar recent designs. The new design performance approaches that of IC designs using GaAs technologies.