A distributed photodiode with FIR filtering function enabled by a lumped transmission line is provided. The distributed photodiode includes inductors, a plurality of photodiode segments, photodiode biasing components, and termination impedance. The electrical bandwidth due to the junction parasitic capacitance of the photodiode is increased as the parasitic capacitance is absorbed in the transmission line structure. Moreover, the delay elements inherent in the transmission line enable implementation of an analog finite impulse response (FIR) filter that has equalization capability to allow a customized photodiode frequency response compensation.