458 pgs, 1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers
  ISBN 978-0792346913

This book answers to most important question asked by detection system designers: How can an ultimately weak optical signal be detected? The author considers all the main types of photodetectors, from photodiodes to focal plane arrays, paying much attention to the different types of noise and ways of maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio.

Guidelines for calculating system parameters to achieve the highest possible signal-to-noise ratio, using the examples of laser range finder and IR imager, are offered. Most sections include numerical evaluations as well as simple approximations and diagrams. The book also incorporates the comments of volunteers who tested out the theories and assemblies presented in the early chapters.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Photodetecting Assembly as Detection System for Weak Optical Signals
2. Signal and Noise in Photodetecting Assemblies
3. Foundations of Theory of Optimal Filtering as Applied to Photodetecting Assemblies
4. Optimal Filtering of Photo Signals (Time-Domain Analysis)
5. Signal Processing in Real Photodetecting Assemblies
6. Detection of Weak Optical Signals with Photodetecting Assemblies Based on Avalanche Photodiodes
7. Detection and Processing of Optical Signals in Matrices
8. Detection of Weak Optical Signals in Special-Purpose Optoelectronic Systems