Abstract

The photon statistics of a particular photon-imaging detector are studied, and the conditional probability of photon counts in the output given a certain number of counts in an associated reference channel is derived. This result is applied in a variable level discrimination technique which significantly reduces detection errors approaching the ideal limit. These results can be applied to other photon-limited detectors with nonideal pulse height distributions.

© 1984 Optical Society of America

Statistical performance of the intensified charged coupled device

B. R. Sandel and A. L. Broadfoot
Appl. Opt. 25(22) 4135-4140 (1986)

Image correlation at low light levels: a computer simulation

G. Michael Morris
Appl. Opt. 23(18) 3152-3159 (1984)

Scene matching using photon-limited images

G. M. Morris
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 1(5) 482-488 (1984)

Role of the doubly stochastic Neyman type-A and Thomas counting distributions in photon detection

Malvin Carl Teich
Appl. Opt. 20(14) 2457-2467 (1981)

Imaging thermal objects with photon-counting detectors

Edward A. Watson and G. Michael Morris
Appl. Opt. 31(23) 4751-4757 (1992)