Detection of a weak external signal via the switch-on-time statistics of a semiconductor laser

Bit-error rate and frequency response in superregenerative semiconductor laser receivers

A superregenerative receiver scheme developed for radio communications is translated to the scope of optical communications. Starting from application of the quasi-deterministic theory to the single-mode Langevin rate equations, closed expressions for basic parameters and features, such as bit-error rate and frequency response, are obtained. A comparison of superregenerative receivers with well-established optical receivers shows that improvements in direct-detection receiver sensitivities of more than 10 dB can be obtained; this places superregenerative receiver sensitivities closer to the shot limit. Moreover, the intrinsic frequency selectivity of the superregenerative scheme makes it especially suitable for wavelength-division multiplexed systems. Finally, appropriate devices for implementation of this receiver are suggested.