We have developed 10, 20, 30, and 40 Gb bandwidth balanced photoreceivers which have applications for both analog and digital fiber optic communications. The devices can operate at C and L optical bands as well as 1064 nm and 1310 nm wavelengths. The analog applications include low noise RF photonic links. The digital applications include 10 Gb and 40 Gb DPSK and DQPSK modulation formats for enhanced sensitivities. The advantages of balanced photoreceivers are: RIN noise cancellation, suppression of even order harmonics, doubling the optical power handling capacity of a photonic link, and better reliability.