Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

A binary coherent optical receiver for the free-space channel

Victor A. Vilnrotter

Published Feb 15, 1981• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The structure of a coherent binary optical MAP receiver was derived and the effects of background radiation and phase estimation errors on receiver performance were evaluated. It was found that random phase errors do not affect the performance of the coherent receiver significantly, as long as the standard deviation of the phase error remains less than roughly 0.14 radians (or 8 degrees). It was also shown that background radiation is effectively suppressed by the optical homodyne receiver: Significant deterioration in receiver performance is observed only in the presence of extremely intense background fields. The most notable characteristic of the binary optical homodyne receiver therefore appears to be its ability to achieve quantum limited performance in high background environments, provided that sufficiently accurate estimates of the received phase can be obtained.

Related papers

Homodyne optical coherent systems based on polarization modulation

S. Betti, Giancarlo De Marchis, Eugenio Iannone +1 more

The first homodyne receiver for polarization modulated optical signals is proposed and analyzed. It is based on the detection at the receiver of the four quadratures that completely characterize the received optical field and on the estimation of the Stokes parameters starting from them. This allows homodyne detection to be carried out without phase locking the local oscillator to the received signal. An accurate performance evaluation is carried out both at the quantum limit and in the presence of phase noise for a binary system based on an antipodal decision in the Stokes space. The system structure is described. The quantum limit performance is evaluated, and the phase-noise induced penalty is evaluated using an accurate analytical model.>

Journal of Lightwave Technology•Jan 1, 1991•18 citations

Performance of an Ideal Quantum Receiver of a Coherent Signal of Random Phase

Carl W. Helstrom

An ideal quantum receiver is to detect a coherent narrow-band optical signal in the presence of thermal background radiation. Curves are given both of the average probability of error in a binary communication system transmitting O's (blanks) and 1's (pulses) with equal probabilities, and of the probability of detection for various fixed values of the false-alarm probability.

IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems•May 1, 1969•13 citations

Quantum Detection Theory for the Free-Space Channel

Victor A. Vilnrotter, Chi-Wung Lau

The fundamental performance limits of optical communications over the freespace channel are developed using quantum theory, and presented in terms of concepts familiar to communications engineers. The compact Dirac notation generally employed in quantum mechanics is defined, and key concepts necessary for understanding quantum projection measurements are reviewed. A derivation that provides significant insights into the quantum measurement performed by the optimum receiver is developed by interpreting the familiar technique of photon counting in terms of quantum projection operators. The performance of the optimum quantum receiver for on–off keying and optical binary phase-shift-keying (BPSK) modulation is treated first as a noise-free (or pure-state) problem, then extended to include the effects of background radiation. The performance of the optimum quantum receiver is compared to that of classical optical receivers employing photon-counting and coherent detection techniques, and it is shown to be exponentially better in most cases.

Interplanetary Network Progress Report•Apr 1, 2001•24 citations

Error performance limit of binary quantum communications over a turbulent medium

Roberto Corvaja, Antonio Assalini

In this paper we consider the detection of noisy binary quantum optical coherent states transmitted over a turbulent medium, such as terrestrial links or satellite optical connections across the atmosphere. The propagation effect is accounted for by a random attenuation factor, which is characterized in terms of its statistical distribution. Depending on the knowledge of the propagation coefficient, error performance can vary significantly and different receiver structures show different behaviors and robustness to the channel mismatch. The performance of the quantum optimal receiver and the square root measurement (SRM) are compared, and their sensitivity to the variability of the propagation coefficient is considered. It results that the phase variability of the propagation coefficient plays a fundamental role. The optimal receiver, in the absence of instantaneous channel knowledge, performs worse than the SRM, denoting a greater sensitivity to channel estimation accuracy.

International Symposium on Applied Sciences in Biomedical and Communication Technologies•Nov 1, 2010•2 citations

Error performance of optimum quantum detection for BPSK signals in the presence of phase noise and its robustness

Shinji Koyama, Tsuyoshi Sasaki Usuda

In previous research on quantum information the- ory, channel capacity of the lossy bosonic channel that is a model of free space or an ideal optical fiber was shown. However, in the optical space communication, the influence of temporal and spatial change in the propagation path on the quantum communication has not been clarified. In order to clarify them, we have studied properties of quantum communications via channels with various fluctuations. We consider phase noise since phase fluctuates by a slight drift of the receiver and it has not been considered well compared to amplitude fluctuation. In this paper, we compute the error probability of the optimum quantum receiver in the presence of phase noise and compare with that of homodyne receiver when BPSK coherent-state signals are used. Then we consider the robustness of the optimum receiver against phase fluctuations. I. INTRODUCTION In order to increase the communication rate, higher fre- quency signals should be used. Light wave has a very high frequency in particular, optical communication systems using this were realized by the invention of the laser. Currently, optical fiber communication systems which consist of laser light source, optical fiber, and photodetector have come to be generally used. Moreover, light is also a promising carrier for wireless or space communications with high capacity. However, the performance of communication systems of this scheme has been approached to the theoretical limit. The factor is due to quantum mechanical effects of light, called quantum noise. Quantum noise increases in proportion to the frequency of the electromagnetic wave. Therefore, it cannot be ignored in the high frequency band, such as optical frequency. In addition, quantum noise is essentially different from the classical noise such as thermal noise. Therefore, it is not possible to suppress quantum noise using information theory which is the basis of current communication technology. That is, in order to realize higher communication rate, a theory which can describe accurately the quantum mechanical nature of light is required. For this reason, we should study quantum information theory which had been introduced axioms of quantum mechanics into the conventional information theory (2), (3), (4). As a previous study, the channel capacity of the lossy bosonic channel which is a model of free space and optical fiber communications was shown (5). That is, performance of ideal quantum communication was clarified. Therefore, as the next step, a study aiming at the actual use is required. As an example, the study on communication model that takes account of the propagation path environment will be needed. In classical communication, such models have been studied as a theory for realizing mobile communications, etc. However, in quantum communication, there are few such results of study now. This study is intended to clarify the influence of temporal and spatial change of the propagation path environment for the quantum communication. We consider phase noise since phase fluctuates by a slight drift of the receiver and it has not been considered well compared to amplitude fluctuation.

International Symposium on Information Theory and its Applications•Dec 11, 2014•1 citation

Homodyne detection as a near-optimum receiver for phase-shift-keyed binary communication in the presence of phase diffusion

Stefano Olivares, S. Cialdi, F. Castelli +1 more

We address binary optical communication channels based on phase-shift-keyed coherent signals in the presence of phase diffusion. We prove theoretically and demonstrate experimentally that a discrimination strategy based on homodyne detection is robust against this kind of noise for any value of the channel energy. Moreover, we find that a homodyne receiver beats the performance of a Kennedy receiver as the signal energy increases and achieves the Helstrom bound in the limit of large noise.

arXiv:1305.4201•Physical Review A•May 17, 2013•49 citations
The structure of a coherent binary optical MAP receiver was derived and the effects of background radiation and phase estimation errors on receiver performance were evaluated. It was found that random phase errors do not affect the performance of the coherent receiver significantly, as long as the standard deviation of the phase error remains less than roughly 0.14 radians (or 8 degrees). It was also shown that background radiation is effectively suppressed by the optical homodyne receiver: Significant deterioration in receiver performance is observed only in the presence of extremely intense background fields. The most notable characteristic of the binary optical homodyne receiver therefore appears to be its ability to achieve quantum limited performance in high background environments, provided that sufficiently accurate estimates of the received phase can be obtained.
The first homodyne receiver for polarization modulated optical signals is proposed and analyzed. It is based on the detection at the receiver of the four quadratures that completely characterize the received optical field and on the estimation of the Stokes parameters starting from them. This allows homodyne detection to be carried out without phase locking the local oscillator to the received signal. An accurate performance evaluation is carried out both at the quantum limit and in the presence of phase noise for a binary system based on an antipodal decision in the Stokes space. The system structure is described. The quantum limit performance is evaluated, and the phase-noise induced penalty is evaluated using an accurate analytical model.>
The fundamental performance limits of optical communications over the freespace channel are developed using quantum theory, and presented in terms of concepts familiar to communications engineers. The compact Dirac notation generally employed in quantum mechanics is defined, and key concepts necessary for understanding quantum projection measurements are reviewed. A derivation that provides significant insights into the quantum measurement performed by the optimum receiver is developed by interpreting the familiar technique of photon counting in terms of quantum projection operators. The performance of the optimum quantum receiver for on–off keying and optical binary phase-shift-keying (BPSK) modulation is treated first as a noise-free (or pure-state) problem, then extended to include the effects of background radiation. The performance of the optimum quantum receiver is compared to that of classical optical receivers employing photon-counting and coherent detection techniques, and it is shown to be exponentially better in most cases.
In this paper we consider the detection of noisy binary quantum optical coherent states transmitted over a turbulent medium, such as terrestrial links or satellite optical connections across the atmosphere. The propagation effect is accounted for by a random attenuation factor, which is characterized in terms of its statistical distribution. Depending on the knowledge of the propagation coefficient, error performance can vary significantly and different receiver structures show different behaviors and robustness to the channel mismatch. The performance of the quantum optimal receiver and the square root measurement (SRM) are compared, and their sensitivity to the variability of the propagation coefficient is considered. It results that the phase variability of the propagation coefficient plays a fundamental role. The optimal receiver, in the absence of instantaneous channel knowledge, performs worse than the SRM, denoting a greater sensitivity to channel estimation accuracy.
In previous research on quantum information the- ory, channel capacity of the lossy bosonic channel that is a model of free space or an ideal optical fiber was shown. However, in the optical space communication, the influence of temporal and spatial change in the propagation path on the quantum communication has not been clarified. In order to clarify them, we have studied properties of quantum communications via channels with various fluctuations. We consider phase noise since phase fluctuates by a slight drift of the receiver and it has not been considered well compared to amplitude fluctuation. In this paper, we compute the error probability of the optimum quantum receiver in the presence of phase noise and compare with that of homodyne receiver when BPSK coherent-state signals are used. Then we consider the robustness of the optimum receiver against phase fluctuations. I. INTRODUCTION In order to increase the communication rate, higher fre- quency signals should be used. Light wave has a very high frequency in particular, optical communication systems using this were realized by the invention of the laser. Currently, optical fiber communication systems which consist of laser light source, optical fiber, and photodetector have come to be generally used. Moreover, light is also a promising carrier for wireless or space communications with high capacity. However, the performance of communication systems of this scheme has been approached to the theoretical limit. The factor is due to quantum mechanical effects of light, called quantum noise. Quantum noise increases in proportion to the frequency of the electromagnetic wave. Therefore, it cannot be ignored in the high frequency band, such as optical frequency. In addition, quantum noise is essentially different from the classical noise such as thermal noise. Therefore, it is not possible to suppress quantum noise using information theory which is the basis of current communication technology. That is, in order to realize higher communication rate, a theory which can describe accurately the quantum mechanical nature of light is required. For this reason, we should study quantum information theory which had been introduced axioms of quantum mechanics into the conventional information theory (2), (3), (4). As a previous study, the channel capacity of the lossy bosonic channel which is a model of free space and optical fiber communications was shown (5). That is, performance of ideal quantum communication was clarified. Therefore, as the next step, a study aiming at the actual use is required. As an example, the study on communication model that takes account of the propagation path environment will be needed. In classical communication, such models have been studied as a theory for realizing mobile communications, etc. However, in quantum communication, there are few such results of study now. This study is intended to clarify the influence of temporal and spatial change of the propagation path environment for the quantum communication. We consider phase noise since phase fluctuates by a slight drift of the receiver and it has not been considered well compared to amplitude fluctuation.