Single- and multiple-pulse noncoherent detection statistics associated with partially developed speckle

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Signal Processing
• Statistical Optics

Background:

• Partially developed speckle fields occur when received intensity statistics deviate from negative exponential distributions.
• This phenomenon is relevant for targets with both diffuse and specular scattering components.
• Understanding these statistics is crucial for direct detection optical systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To derive detection statistics for aperture-averaged direct detection optical receivers.
• To analyze performance against partially developed speckle fields.
• To investigate the benefits of multiple-pulse processing over single-pulse processing.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of an approximate expression for integrated intensity at the aperture.
• Development of single- and multiple-pulse discrete probability density functions.
• Analysis of a Poisson signal in Poisson noise with an additive coherent component.

Main Results:

• The derived probability density functions account for partially developed speckle fields.
• In noise-free conditions, the single-pulse function simplifies to a generalized negative binomial distribution.
• Multiple-pulse processing can be more efficient than single-pulse processing for certain system parameters.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a theoretical framework for direct detection optical systems operating in complex scattering environments.
• The findings highlight the potential advantages of multiple-pulse processing for enhanced detection sensitivity.
• Results offer insights into optimizing system parameters for improved target detection performance.