Abstract

The structure of the optimum direct detection array receiver is obtained for a system consisting of an amplitude-stabilized optical source, a lognormal channel, and a bank of photocounting detectors. Additive independent background radiation and detector dark current are taken into account. Both orthogonal and nonorthogonal M-ary signaling formats are considered. Attention is given to detection intervals small in comparison with the correlation time of the atmospherically induced fluctuations. A saddle-point integration provides an excellent approximation to the optimum processor, resulting in a considerably simplified structure. Suboptimum aperture integration and maximum a posteriori (MAP) receivers are also considered. The performance of these receiver structures and their relative merits are presented in related papers (Parts 2 and 3).

© 1973 Optical Society of America

Photocounting Array Receivers for Optical Communication Through the Lognormal Atmospheric Channel. 2: Optimum and Suboptimum Receiver Performance for Binary Signaling

S. Rosenberg and M. C. Teich
Appl. Opt. 12(11) 2625-2635 (1973)

Averaged threshold receiver for direct detection of optical communications through the lognormal atmospheric channel

James H. Churnside and Charles M. McIntyre
Appl. Opt. 16(10) 2669-2676 (1977)

Heterodyne receivers for atmospheric optical communications

James H. Churnside and Charles M. Mclntyre
Appl. Opt. 19(4) 582-590 (1980)

Optical communications through a dispersive medium: a performance bound for photocounting

James H. Churnside
Appl. Opt. 20(4) 573-578 (1981)

Receiver performance evaluation using photocounting cumulants with application to atmospheric turbulence

Paul R. Prucnal
Appl. Opt. 19(21) 3611-3616 (1980)