Invited Article: Optical dynamic range compression

We introduce the concept of optical dynamic range compression and discuss its utilities in the non-uniform quantization, enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio as well as reshaping signal’s statistical distribution and extending the detection range in light detection and ranging systems. The technology...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yunshan Jiang, Saili Zhao, Bahram Jalali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2018-11-01
Series:APL Photonics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.5051566
Description
Summary:We introduce the concept of optical dynamic range compression and discuss its utilities in the non-uniform quantization, enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio as well as reshaping signal’s statistical distribution and extending the detection range in light detection and ranging systems. The technology represents a photonics hardware accelerator that reduces the burden on the dynamic range of the photodetection and the data acquisition including the required number of bits of the analog-to-digital converter. The energy of photons that are intentionally blocked can be harvested using a two-photon photovoltaic effect. Implementations using other approaches are also discussed.
ISSN:2378-0967