Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Analysis of a periodically modulated light beam by measurement of the moment-generating function of the number of photopulses
Felipe González, Fernando G. Moreno
Abstract
We analyze a low-intensity square-wave modulated light signal by measuring the moment-generating function of the number of photopulses, Qn(s, T). The behavior of the experimental errors in the determination of the period and the modulation factor of the signal is studied by means of a theoretical error model. A set of experimental measurements was carried out, and the results found through the Qn(s, T) measurement and by the normalized second-order factorial moment n(2)(T) are compared.