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The capacity of the photon counting channel


Abstract:

Previous work has shown that the capacity of the single-mode photon-counting channel in the region in which quantum effects are most pronounced is1/(kT \ln 2)bit/J. HereT...Show More

Abstract:

Previous work has shown that the capacity of the single-mode photon-counting channel in the region in which quantum effects are most pronounced is1/(kT \ln 2)bit/J. HereTis the quantum noise temperature, andkis Boltzmann's constant. However, to achieve this, the number of photons per second must be very low, so this does not determine the capacity of the average power-limited photon channel in bits per second. Here the previous work is extended and the capacity is determined in bits per second. This includes a determination of the optimum counting time. The capacity in bits per second is for lowTasymptotic toP_{s}/(kT \ln 2), whereP_{s}is the average signal power. This is high enough to suggest that photon counting be seriously considered for applications such as a deep space to near Earth link. Some related problems are also considered including a peak power limitation.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Information Theory ( Volume: 27, Issue: 1, January 1981)
Page(s): 61 - 77
Date of Publication: 06 January 2003

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