Square-law detector performance in an impulsive noise background

The purpose of this correspondence is to report on some nxasurements of output SNR (signal-to-noise ratio or S/N), characteristics for a square-law detector extracting signals from non-Gaussian noise, specifically, impulsive noise. Non-Garlssian noise arises in varioas communication media such as the atmosphere, wire lines, and under water. In experimental and theoretical investigations of the effects of non-Gaussian noise on various communications systems, a simple correlator is often considered because it is possible to obtain theoretical predictions of the (S/N), for signal and additive non-Gaussian noise at the correlator input if an appropriate noise model is available for calculating the required fourth-order moment. Middleton (1962), in his analysis of correlator performance in non-Gaussian background noise, employed the so-called Poisson impulse noise model. His theoretical predictions reveal that impulsive noise always degrades the (S/N), as compared with Gaussian noise backgrounds having the same spectral distribution for a given input SNR. However, his theoretical formulas are rather difficult to check experimentally in their full generality and assess the relative importance of various parameters. We compare a study restricted to the case of a square-law detector with Middleton's results.